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 think they have great respect for New Jersey. They are a very effective team right now and they're developing a lot of confidence.
There's a real heaviness to our team and I feel it. I'm trying to lighten it up. Because there are so many distractions and so many things going on, it's heavy and it wears on guys. We don't want this. We want to win. We are winning, but we're not winning at the rate people want us to win.
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.
I give all the credit to Brian Hill for keeping that team together.
This is an entirely different basketball team than I've ever coached. The personalities are different. There's a lot of great things. There's a lot of things that have to be purged. It's just a whole different view. There's a lot of good parts, so it's going to take some time to figure it all out.
They were a step ahead of us because of their effort and their energy and their absolute desperation to make the playoffs. When you get a team with that frame of mind, they are going to be a step ahead of you.
It's time for this team to be what I think they can be... what they're capable of being. There's no reason why we can't take it to another level at this stage of the season. You have to take responsibility for who you think you are.
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 was the kind of game I predicted. I told the team this morning that this is how we would have to play to win.
It was an absolute eye-opener. I've seen a lot of great quarters. I don't think I've ever seen one exactly like that where a team hits nine 3s (actually eight). We didn't play well, we didn't play with great desire and we got our heads handed to us for the second game in a row.
He's very methodical. He took in the film today and saw what teams (do). He knows what they do. He's so good that he can get through defenses and creases and cracks. He slowed it down a little tonight. He really took a look at the defense.
It was a barn burner, two teams that just shot the ball well. Both teams were very aggressive.
It's time for this team to be what I think they can be, what they think they can be what they're capable of being. There is no reason why we can't, if we focus defensively, share the ball and run and attack, that we can't take it to another level at this stage of the season.
The team itself was hung over from last night, and very disappointed by it.