Saunders consulting C's in playoffs

Saunders consulting C's in playoffs

CSNE

WALTHAM — The Boston Celtics will have an additional guest with them for their playoff series against Atlanta - Flip Saunders.

The former Washington Wizards coach, who also coached Kevin Garnett for a number of years in Minnesota, will be traveling with the team when they face the Atlanta Hawks in their first-round playoff series that will begin on Sunday in Atlanta.

While the move may seem a bit unusual, here are a couple things to keep in mind.
Rivers has had an open door policy for fired coaches to come around his team during the season. Often they come to practices, but with the condensed schedule there have been few opportunities for that this season.

Saunders and Rivers are also good friends who have bounced ideas off one another for quite some time. Having Saunders around won't usurp any power from the current coaching staff.

More than anything, Saunders will be a consultant to the coaching staff, providing insight that could prove extremely beneficial in what may be a tougher playoff series than most might anticipate.

And despite his struggles in Washington that ultimately led to him being fired, Saunders is still considered one of the better offensive minds in the NBA. His best work has come with veteran-rich teams; a team like the Celtics.

112288

Hi,
Thanks for the news.
I wonder if it's some kind of on-job-interview?
In any case Flip's presence should be useful

AK

I think it is a smart move by the Celtics to have a veteran coaching staff. With Tibbs and Frank gone we were short on experience.

Good move. Perhaps Saunders becomes an assistant next year. KG and him got along well and I am sure he can be a big help with molding the big's especially the new guys and rookies.

112288

Not sure Flips presence will have any meaningful effect. This veteran controlled team already knows how to win...it is only a question of health.

Dboss

It is an interesting move. Will he be on the bench? The row behind the bench? Somebody to bounce ideas off of between games?

I like Saunders as a coach. He obviously has a good relationship with KG, though it's not like KG needs much coaching at this point.

Interesting indeed.

Outside