Pat Riley is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating people in the NBA. His career spans so many years. The amount of stories he must have. It’s crazy. New York, Los Angeles, Miami. He’s been everywhere.
These days he’s busy being the Don Corleone of the Miami Heat. He single-handedly formed the “big 3”, which I would consider a success. 4 straight NBA Finals appearances is nothing to sneeze at. But these days the Miami Heat are in a fight for the playoffs. There have been a lot of obstacles for the Heat this season. Chris Bosh’s health concerns came out of nowhere. Dwyane Wade is up and down with health. But the trade for Goran Dragic and the emergence of Hassan Whiteside have been two great silver linings, and in my opinion are the only reasons that the Heat are still in the race for the playoffs.
As a Heat fan, I will always be comfortable with the future of the Heat because I know Pat Riley is at the helm. In an exclusive interview with Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report, Riley talks about the struggle that the Heat have been through this year among other things.
“Just disappointed. Disappointed for Erik [Spoelstra] and for Micky [Arison] and for our fans. Really disappointed.”
Suffering numerous injuries and ailments. Falling far below .500. Scrambling for an eighth seed.
“Obviously, the hit we took with LeBron [James] leaving just crushed us,” Riley said. “Everybody. It just did. But I thought getting Josh [McRoberts] and getting [Luol Deng], especially those two players, to go with Chris [Bosh] and Dwyane [Wade] and Mario [Chalmers], that we could [compete]. And then, make the plan for 2016, even though I wasn’t gonna wait if I could get a guy like Goran [Dragic].
“Our plan was always to move to great as quick as we could, past good. And I think that was more disappointing than anything, once we made that deal, to see what happened to Chris, which was devastating to me just from a personal standpoint. For his health. But also for the team, it was another hit.”
Voice rising. Lips curling.
Not shaken. Still stirred.
“That’s why it would be so great for this team, we’re in this race here, if somehow we could get into the playoffs and make something of it,” Riley said. “But I do think we have enough, in that in any series with anybody in the East, with what’s going on in the East, that you never know. And I love that.“
The Miami Heat have got work to do. In the short term and the long term. For the short term I’d be happy if they contested in the first round. I’m completely confident on the long term, because Pat Riley is a genius. And in Riley we trust.
