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 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.
As soon as we began to struggle offensively, we stopped playing defense. We have to stay the course defensively because we're going to have droughts.
I thought we did a great job at the end of finally closing down and forcing some misses. The Bulls are a drive-and-kick, pick-and-roll type of team. They can stay with you if they get open shots.
It's in our hands. I'm not looking at numbers. I'm not looking at who they're playing. It's in our hands. And so we have to win games. They might win out. So we have to just stay one step ahead of the posse.
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.
They're flying. They're sixth in the league in scoring. That wasn't the way they were last year. And they don't let you stay close anymore. You used to be able to stay close to them occasionally but sometimes now they get out there and run. They're a different team this year, but their defense hasn't suffered.
It's that kind of attitude when we talk about getting better. How do we get better? We get better in the mind. We have a veteran team, they know how to do it. We stay disciplined with our defense and our principles and we make this kind of covenant with each other that we're going to defend.
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.
I think I read a headline today, 'Great players versus a great team', and I hope we do have great players on the way to becoming a great team. I think a win like this today begins to develop a sense of confidence.
His conditioning is the thing. Coming right in to the playoffs and expecting him to play well is unrealistic.
He's a great player, there's no doubt about that.