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.
We're going to go at it (Wednesday) without trying anything new. I think if we ever get to that point where we play them down the road we'll probably have a few other things that they haven't seen.
When we are in the penalty, you have to go to him as much as you can. We kept trying to call his number.
We know he's a big-time tumbler. He goes hard to the basket. He hits the floor a lot. If he could play he'd be out there.
There are universal truths of defensive basketball. If a guy is open, guard him. Don't leave him standing in the corner or out on the three-point line.
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.
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.
If I had a bunch of young, real healthy-had-a-lot-left-in-the-tank racehorses, they'd be three, four hours a day and just loving it. But this is not that kind of team. The team's got a lot of miles on it, but they've still got a lot of talent and you've got to train them a little differently.
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.
It's difficult, but you deal with it. Family is part of your life. And so, I did what I had to do in New York. ... The last four days was about a family crisis. Now it's about Chicago, moving on and trying to get this job done here.
I'd like to secure what we've had all season, which is the No. 2 spot. We've got to gather ourselves.
He wants to play, he wants to be out there. We're not being overly cautious, he's got a problem and we just want to treat it. We want to get it right.
I don't know if Shaq called him; it could have been the other way around. Double-check who called who and then I think the whole thing might change around a little bit. But that's friendship more than anything else. I can assure you Shaquille wouldn't have went public with it.
He'd go a week and he'd be OK, and then he'd get hurt again. So I just hope he's healthy now and I can use him in that role.