Pat Riley
Pat Riley
Patrick James "Pat" Rileyis an American professional basketball executive, and a former coach and player in the National Basketball Association. He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995 and head coach in two separate tenures. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams, four with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Heat...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth20 March 1945
CityRome, NY
CountryUnited States of America
There's gotta be some dignity in the game.
There's not many who have a better or more talented (trio).
I spent four days in New York with my family, with my mother, and during the process of being there also I was able to do some things. I was getting ready while I was up there.
I sort of had a tendency to forget about him because he was hurt for so long.
I should have played him in New Jersey. I regret that. He could have helped on (Vince) Carter.
I've been wanting him for a long time. Now that I've got him, I can't take him off the court.
The worst thing that can happen is that this thing goes to seven games and maybe we'll have him absolutely healthy. But we're planning on trying to go up to Chicago and closing this thing out.
The worst thing that can happen is that if you let your mind go for seven days. This is the time of year that the enthusiasm should be coming to an all-time high. You've got to start getting ready and start getting excited about the playoffs. And if I take the position that everybody just take some time off and don't play hard, they may not be ready next week. It's a fine line.
They are a perimeter team that shoots the ball well, that if you're not covering and taking away their air space then someone's going to get you somewhere.
I've seen a lot of plays like that. I coached Magic Johnson.
I've spoken to James about it. He understands. He just wants to win and he'll do whatever it takes.
The upside is there could be absolute power dominance inside. But the downside is somebody could say, 'OK, you're going to go big, I'm going to go with five guards -- one shooting center and four guards.' And then who's going to beat who first?
They shoot the ball extremely well. All of a sudden you're staying home, and now they're going to the basket. So they present a lot of problems.
This is about an experienced, savvy, talented team which I believe we have taking advantage of the opportunities out there. But one thing they cannot neglect is just how hard (Chicago) is going to play and the kind of effort they're going to have to make to stay with them.