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
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.
For four years it was really something. We went through our down years and rebuilt, and New York is going through its now.
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?
If it's two to four weeks, then I'll be happy. He'll work very diligently to get it healthy. He'll stay in condition. Just as long as he's ready to play when it counts the most.
Any time he gets in foul trouble and sits down, that sets him back and sets us back. You have to try to keep him on the floor for normal minutes. But when he gets that third and fourth foul, we get out of rhythm.
I hated to break up the energy level we had going early in the fourth quarter.
This is to see whether the two years, all the drill work and all the hard work have manifested itself into something positive for him. It should be something he should be eager to do.
I think they have great respect for New Jersey. They are a very effective team right now and they're developing a lot of confidence.
It's just good to get this win and get ready for Indiana and the next six or seven games that are coming our way.
Frustration is part of this game. You have to press on. That's it. You can't let that get to you. Welcome to the NBA playoffs.