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
I was very conscious of (players') minutes and in the end I was very conscious of health. Today is not a good barometer to judge us.
He's as complete a big man as there is in the league. He's 6-11, he runs, can shoot the ball, he drives on isolations, posts up. He's really a fantastic player.
That was the first time I've seen Gary play like Gary in a long time.
He has a little irritation on his knee. I don't think it is anything more than that.
Strange things happen when you think things are at their worst. I thought Gary (Payton) did a great job of running the offense and making some big plays in the fourth quarter. James Posey had timely shots and two big offensive tip-outs. We had other players step up when we had to.
Teams are going to start getting nastier, more competitive and they want it, and they're going to get ready for playoffs. And when they happens you just have to walk away from it and you have to play at a higher level.
He's got to do it. I was very disappointed... Those are the things that he has to dominate if he's going to be fronted and backed and we can't get him the ball all the time. He has to use his size and keep his head under the rim.
If we're going to make any kind of move, this is the time to do it.
He had a problem with it the first year he was here. He sweats a lot and, like most players, doesn't drink enough liquids.
Late in the fourth quarter, everyone hit a critical shot. Tony Parker hit one, Bowen hit a couple and Brent Barry had the one which pretty much was the nail in the coffin.
I think we're a long ways away and I think they'd be the first ones to admit it. Right now, it's spotty.
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.
I haven't seen players do that in a long, long time.
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.