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
We were a minute and a half away from the Finals -- big deal, ... It's about winning a championship.
I thought we played some of the best basketball that we've played for two and a half quarters. Then we got really sloppy with turnovers. We lost the energy that we had but we closed it out.
Half of the guys were asking, 'What is this about? This is just about a hoop game, right?' I said, 'No, no it's not. You'll find out. It's a lot more than that. I would recommend the NBA show it to all of its young players. These Texas Western guys paved the way, and a lot of these guys don't even know it.
He had 19 at the half and I ran one play for him. He just gets it.
The second half was like night and day from the first. We were so far out of sync at both ends of the court. To be quite frank, when we were down 21-5, we were blessed.
We just had a hard time guarding the ball on the dribble.
We just had a great first quarter. I mean, it was just incredible. I don't think I've ever seen this team play like that.
We weren't sharp. They came out with more energy and their offense was much more crisp.
We feel very fortunate that we were able to acquire the services of a multifaceted player in Derek Anderson , whom we had interest in this summer before he signed with Houston. We feel that he will be able to play three positions for us, giving us added versatility.
We controlled the game for the most part except for the end of the second quarter. Alonzo had a huge impact on the game defensively. He gave us a defensive lift when we needed it.
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.
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.