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.
It wasn't about that other trivial stuff. This was a story about the Texas Western players, what they had to overcome. I was there, and there were a whole lot of things I didn't know when I saw the movie. The first time I ever saw them play was at the Final Four. There was no ESPN or anything like that in those days. You know that they're going to put some theatrical stuff in there. But I think it should be mandatory for kids today to watch it.
He's got to be out there on the floor, consistently. Every time he's not, it takes him out of his rhythm. He's got to be more diligent - and we've got to be more diligent - as to the kind of fouls he takes.
That was the first time I've seen Gary play like Gary in a long time.
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.
If we're going to make any kind of move, this is the time to do it.
The worst thing that can happen is that if you let your mind go for seven days. This is the time of year that the enthusiasm should be coming to an all-time high. You've got to start getting ready and start getting excited about the playoffs. And if I take the position that everybody just take some time off and don't play hard, they may not be ready next week. It's a fine line.
I thought it was the first time Shaquille, in a couple of weeks, really has been running to the rim. We have to get back to that game.
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.
If Tim Duncan's foot is bothering him in the playoffs, you never know what could happen. The Lakers are a good team. They could make a run in the West.