Every underachieving head coach has that moment, that once press conference where he says "Screw it" and just tees off on his team. Flip Saunders' moment came tonight.
The three-minute press conference was essentially one long epic rant against his own team. Normally guarded and long-winded, this time Saunders was brisk and to the point. He cared not for being diplomatic or for maintaining the type of public calm that usually defines him.
Honestly, just watch it. This is the CSN video, via Wizards Extreme.
Uhh ... yeah.
Perhaps the worst part of this is how Flip said he had the team play zone because they weren't capable of playing man-to-man. He essentially said he could score on every single player on the team one-on-one, and he's 52. I asked several players about Saunders' statement (I mean the 'we can't play man' part, not the 'I can score on everyone' part).
Brendan Haywood: "I think it was a very good observation."
Gilbert Arenas: "He's correct."
Caron Butler, who was very subdued after the game: "I haven't thought about it yet. I have to think about it on the way home and let it digest, but if he feels that way, you got to go with the coach."
Randy Foye: "It is a concern [that we can't play man-to-man]. We've been losing these past three games to teams that I think we should beat."
I got the sense that the players were all bewildered when I mentioned that to them. And why not? How do you respond to something like that, even if it's true?
This ship be sinkin'.