Pistons fire coach Flip Saunders after exiting playoffs

Pistons fire coach Flip Saunders after exiting playoffs The Detroit Pistons have fired coach Flip Saunders following their exit from the NBA playoff finals. The Pistons lost the series to the Boston Celtics after Game 6, which marked the third time Detroit is losing the Eastern finals during the three years Flip Saunders was coaching the NBA team. Under Saunders the Pistons were 176-70 in the regular season and 30-21 in the postseason, but the failure to reach the NBA Finals led to the release of coach Flip Saunders. "Decisions like this are difficult to make, especially with the success we have had throughout the last three regular seasons. However, at this time, I feel it is necessary to make a change," president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said on the Pistons' website.

Flip Saunders came to Detroit to replace Larry Brown, after Saunders was fired from the Minnesota Timberwolves after the 04-05 season. He was with Minnesota from 1995 until 2005 and led the team to one appearance at the NBA Finals and eight straight playoffs. Before the start of the conference finals, Detroit was one of the underdogs with the odds makers at the online sportsbook BodogSports. Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorite to win the 2008 NBA Finals with -180, while their opponent Boston is underdog at +160 with the bookmaker.

Published on 06/03/2008