Many questioned the Pistons hiring of Flip Saunders as head coach.  Most felt that Saunders was too nice of a guy and would get bullied by the team, but that never happened.  Saunders led the Pistons to a 64-18 record in his first season in Detroit.  In his 11-year career as an NBA head coach, Saunders has compiled a 475-344 record.

With the Pistons, Saunders had a 10-8 playoff record last season as the Pistons lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.  In nine playoff appearances Saunders has a record of 27-38.