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
As (the game) got worse, we started getting stronger and stronger and Antoine made big plays for us, big shots for us. That's what he's capable of doing. He's very explosive.
But the players are so instinctive, they always put a hand on these guys.
I can't remember ever dealing with something like that over a long period of time. There are always disputes. You have them. But when you carry it that far, anything can go on. But that happens in this league. A lot of it stays in the locker room. We try to keep it in the locker room if we can.
He broke the game open on that (steal). He stole it, made the cut without going out of bounds and was free for the dunk. That's amazing athleticism.
Offense I don't think is going to be a problem for us. It's sustained defensive intensity.
That was a game situation. He's supposed to be on the court, but I had a hard time taking anybody off the court at that time, because we were down and then we went ahead by eight. As a coach, you're going to ride that lineup as long as you can.
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.
But it's up to Shaquille, too. I mean, it's up to him. And this is where the old coach came out of Stu. He started using some coaching terminology. He said, 'Well, you've got to get him to make a V-cut every now and then. If he makes a V-cut, then they impede his progress, they'll call it.
I think probably a month ago or two months ago we wouldn't even come close to winning a game like this. We were very frustrated in the beginning with some very good defensive tactics on their part. They were just committed to fouling Shaquille (O'Neal) every single time.
Shaq had an off night. In the beginning of the game he had a couple of turnovers (because of) strips, but obviously he could play a lot better than he did today.
He's a great player. He's one of the top five guys in the league.
I give all the credit to Brian Hill for keeping that team together.
I really have some concerns going into the playoffs about it. I voiced it and he listened. So we'll see what happens.
I also believe Odom would complement Eddie Jones and Brian Grant, our two veteran leaders. As I have said before, we are committed to winning and will do whatever it takes to give our fans talented players and a great team.