I was a BIG supporter of Flip. Not anymore. Too loyal to players not performing well.
by jmpalomo on Jan 6, 2011 12:09 PM EST
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PrintI was a big supporter of Flip Sauders. I remember how he took Minnesota from the bottom to the top with Kevin Garnett.
He kept Detroit in all those conference championship games.
I thought he would do the same thing here, especially since we have John Wall now.
The bottom line:
Leaving Andray Blatche at Power Forward (or anyone else for that matter) during close games, knowing that he is not playing very good, has cost us a bunch of games. To have Javale or Hilton all by themselves down low against the Power Forward and Center of the other team while Andray hangs out 18 feet from the basket is just ridiculous. We need a power forward who will commit to playing the position.
We have other alternatives at Power Forward, specifically Trevor Booker, who has shown that he is a pretty good down low defender. We also have Kevin Seraphin who can give you a couple of minutes.
Flips excuses that Andray is one of our best players and that's why he is still in is just a horrible excuse for bad coaching. If a player is playing bad then take him out and try someone else.
Last night Andray played 40 MINUTES and only had 6 rebounds and shot 1 FREE THROW.
PLAY THE BEST! PLAY TO WIN! ALL THE TIME!
This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.
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agreed
I don’t think blatche should be traded but for Gods sake he needs to be benched. —especially against bigger players ie. brand and okafor. What ever happened to good old fashioned punishment? If he wants to play, he needs to play hard. If he doesn’t want to play hard, he can ride the pine until he chooses to straighten up. It boggles my mind how flip leaves him in after bad play after bad play. Booker needs more PT. Whatever happened to developing the young team strategy? under a min for TB last night is a joke. Also i hate to say it up against bigger centers i would consider starting Hilton.
I also agree.
Why does Flip continue to watch Dray shoot 20 footers and dribble on the perimeter all night? Is that his offense, having the 4 play on the perimeter? I seem to remember KG posting up on the block all game in Minnesota. We’ve all made it apparent that we do not like the way Dray has been playing lately, but shouldn’t Flip be the one in his ear game after game? Shouldn’t Flip be telling him how to break out of his slump? Shouldn’t Flip tell him that if he would post up, attack the rim, get high percentage shots and more free throw attempts, that his game will improve? Instead all I see is Dray doing the same thing game after game, and while Dray should recognize this, it’s definitely on the coach to actually “coach”.
KG used to take Js at top of the key all the time in Minny.
At this point Blatche’s play reflects as poorly on Flip as it does on the player.
Either Dray is terrible and not playing the interior like he’s supposed to, but Flip leaves him on the floor anyway.
Or Blatche is doing what Flip wants on offense, but just shooting poorly.
Neither scenario bodes particularly well for us.
KG took plenty of jumpers,
he has a great mid range shot, but he very rarely floated along the 3 point arch asking for the ball, dribbling between his legs, and throwing up off-balanced jumpers off one foot. While Dray does have a pretty good mid-range/outside jump shot, he needs to play the 4 position differently. His play at the 4 is not working for this team.
When Rashard came here, Flip said he didn’t want him to hang around the 3 point arch so much and to play like he did in Seattle, posting up on the block. Why doesn’t he say the same to Blatche?
by PhenomenalSwag on Jan 6, 2011 10:10 PM EST up reply actions
Rashard is hanging around the 3pt line
He took 8 shots outside of 17ft just last night.
Maybe no one listens to what Flip says, or Flip says one thing in public and another in the locker room.
I don't know if Flip is the right coach for this team
For a young team in the rebuilding stage it would be wise to have a players type coach that can help a team develop some chemistry. Flip doesn’t really fit that description. He’s coached a veteran Timberwolves and Pistons team before. Maybe he’s not the answer at the head coach position.
a players type coach that can help a team develop some chemistry
That’s actually a perfect description of Flip.
As for player development, I’ll just say that Young, Blatche, McGee, and Al Thornton (yes Al Thornton) have all improved a whole lot under his watch.
If it wasn't for injuries, Nick would probably still be in the bench.
I’m on the fence as to how much of Nick’s play is because of Flip and how much is despite Flip. Probably some of both.
Flip broke Nick's game down and rebuilt it
That’s pretty well documented. Nick now comes off screens, and either takes the shot or, if the defense is pressing, takes one to two dribbles and takes the shot. If its not there, he passes back to the point. He floats to the corner or follows fast breaks for open three point attempts. He’s doing things right on the court. That’s Flip’s doing.
He plays effectively on the defensive end regardless of whether his shots are falling. He has shown a better understanding of team defensive concepts. Flip gets a lot of credit there too.
And he did it all by capitalizing on Nick’s strengths; the things Nick does well naturally. In other words he let Nick be what he is and enhanced that, instead of benching/discarding him for what he isn’t. We should probably credit the whole staff, but that’s a given.
Starting or not is irrelevant. Nick was playing lights out in a reserve role to begin the season.
I credit Flip with forcing him to play D, that's it.
Of course playing D is huge, and it’s great Flip has gotten him to consistently defend.
But I dont think Flip broke down Nick’s offensive game and rebuild it, no way.
Well aside from the fact that this is documented and is not conjecture or guessing on my part,
how else do you explain the fundamental change in his offensive game? You do see the fundamental change right?
Guess we have different definitions for fundamental change.
Nick dribbles less, that’s it. His bread&butter has always been long, contested 2s and it still is. Now when he doesnt have a spot after 3-4 dribbles he gets it back to the PG, before he tried to probe more often with poor results. Fundamentally his game is the same, hit a long J in someone’s face on a shot he shouldnt be able to make yet does.
It’s great Flip tweaked his game like that, I just think the breaking down and building back that gets talked about would be if Nick started slashing most of the time, or taking shots that other players could make.
Again, credit to Flip for the changes….but I think Flip wanted much more changes and didnt get them, which is why it took injuries for Nick to see the floor.
Curling off screens and shooting off the catch, or off of 1-2 dribbles max.
Not going one on one, not pounding the rock into the court, and not hoisting a bad shots after doing so.
Those are fundamental changes in my view. You consider them tweaks and that’s fine, I can agree to disagree… The changes are all constructed from within Nick’s existing strengths/weaknesses, so I see where you’re coming from, but the bottom line is that Nick plays much differently now than he did before Flip.
Anyway, Mike posted the link I was looking for. Its below.
Young, Blatche, and McGee - Yes.
Thornton? What’s your reasoning there? Al has been in the league a few years now and has pretty much hit his peak already. Where do you see improvement this year? He’s not having a particularly good year. He was very aggressive the first 10 games of the season but I think that has to do more with Al trying to play for a long term contract. That was also before Howard returned and before Rashard got here, so while very thin at the 3 position, he was really our only option.
by PhenomenalSwag on Jan 6, 2011 10:13 PM EST up reply actions
All fair sentiments
I’m just saying that Al is better than he was before Flip was his coach. That much you gotta admit. But on the other hand, there was nowhere else to go but up, because he absolutely stunk in LA, so I certainly see your point.
Flip Didn't Rebuild Nick's Game
Flip may have helped Nick with his defense, however, he’s always been able to score. Flip should have been playing Nick more since the beginning of the season. The incident with Arenas playing ill to get Nick in the game highlighted what the player knew and the coach didn’t. I agree that Booker and Hilton should get more PT.
Not really true though
As we mentioned over the summer, Flip helped change the way Nick scored.
http://www.bulletsforever.com/2010/8/31/1658423/nick-youngs-game-changed-last-year
He’s reverted a little bit since being a starter, but he’s doing a lot more shooting off the catch instead of freelancing, which is all he used to do.
by Mike Prada on Jan 7, 2011 8:43 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
More Like Hamilton
I like to see Wizards run more screens, picks and double picks for Nick to get him open for 16 to 18 foot jumpers.
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