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**DetBNyce** · 11-10-2005, 10:34 AM

Quote:

As the praise for the Detroit Pistons has gone from that of a leaky faucet to a steady stream of adulation, players are again starting to hear that their success is due in large part to their head coach.

It was that way when Rick Carlisle helped the Pistons win a pair of Central Division titles in his two seasons in Detroit. It was that way under Larry Brown, who helped the Pistons win the NBA title in 2004 and get back to the Finals last season.

Now, new coach Flip Saunders is getting credit for the Pistons' play.

Quote:

..."People talk about the chemistry, people talk about how they like each other. The one thing that I think is really overlooked is they're very intelligent," Saunders said. "That's what sets them apart, that's what makes them so good. They know how to play off each other and are very intelligent."

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I happen to think it's a little bit of both. So much of the talk of Billups going back to his "old ways". 35 assists versus 5 turnovers so far.

**Brian** · 11-10-2005, 10:41 AM

I think for the most part it is a pretty smart group except for *cough* sheed game 5 last year *cough*. I think what makes them so good is the unselfishness.

**cpawfan** · 11-10-2005, 10:45 AM

I always thought Brown received far too much credit for essentially taking over an already well coached group and then getting a gift from Danny Aingle in not only helping Dumars land Rasheed, but also kicking Mike James into the deal.

Copper · 11-10-2005, 03:31 PM

I think LB helped the team, not as much as you would think by reading most media statements. I think it is a glowing sign of Dumars genius though. He got Carlisle to get them to a point and teach them what he knew , then brought in LB for some credibility and fine tuning, now the players are very schooled in the intricasies of the game with a stress on defense, and now he brings in Flip who will bring their offense up to a higher level. All the while retaining the nucleus and building a core of solid hardworking players.

**ChrisWoj** · 11-10-2005, 04:24 PM

Copper pretty much is looking at it the same way I do.

Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle built up and taught the players what to do on the court, and now that they've had this knowledge drummed into them for some time they're pretty well set.

With Flip Saunders coming in and implementing more of a running offense the players still have the base knowledge they gained under Larry Brown. Thanks to Larry's coaching they know what a good shot is, they know when to move the ball and when to take the shot. Basically, what Flip is doing is giving them the freedom to make that decision more so than Larry did. He's letting them take that shot a little earlier, telling them to move it up the floor a little quicker.

Basically, they learned true defense under Carlisle. Larry emphasized that defense and taught them how to know a good shot from a bad one. And now Flip is letting them do their own thing on defense and telling them to use their own intuition on just when to take that shot.

-Chris.