Flip Saunders: Judgment Time

Pistons coach Flip Saunders once had a picture of a dinosaur in his office. Underneath the antiquated figure read the caption "Adapt or Die."

"Either you accept and work within the environment surrounding you," he said, "or you're destined for extinction. It's true of players. It's true of coaches. I've certainly learned that it's true if you're coaching in this environment."

Saunders accepts that he'll never be at a safe distance from the coaching hot seat in Detroit. He understands the price paid for maintaining a level of excellence that raises expectations and skews perspective.

There's only one standard that matters -- winning championships. Don't like it? Don't think it's necessarily fair?

There's the door. Use it. Bye.

There is no silver lining of a franchise-record sixth straight Eastern Conference finals appearance if the Pistons fall shy of their fourth NBA championship.

The criticism that the players "flip the switch" gnaws at them.

Saunders has his "Flip Switch."

Is he a good coach? Is he a bad coach?

The opinion changes in an instant.