The Miami Heat are terrible, which naturally leads to speculation that Pat Riley is planning to jump ship on them again, the same way he did years back when they were struggling (before they got Shaq, and Riley threw Stan Van Gundy overboard so he could have the glory of coaching the team to a title himself). Riley, for his part, has said that he plans to honor the remaining three years of his head coaching contract. That announcement came when it still looked like there was hope for Miami's 2007-08 season - now all that hope is gone, and Riley is not quite so definitive in his statements.
"Don't ask me that question," Riley said Wednesday in response to a reporter's query about his future. "There are too many hypotheticals in a season like this. You don't want to turn the knife too early on things. Just let things work its way out."
So I guess that means Pat still hasn't made up his mind. Clearly, Pat is holding out a glimmer of hope that Miami can put together a hot streak and maybe squeak into the playoffs and do some damage. Of course, the theory last year was that the Heat were a team built for the playoffs, and it didn't matter that they only barely got in. And then what happened? They promptly got swept in four by the Bulls in the first round.
I honestly don't know why Pat Riley is still coaching this team. He has to realize that Shaq is old, that Dwyane Wade is brittle, and that the remaining pieces are just junk and spare parts that will never amount to squat. Riley has the titles, he has the prestige...so why does he need the aggravation? He should just hang it up now and return to his front office job. And of course his first move should be to hire Stan Van Gundy as coach. I mean, that's a no-brainer.
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Miami Heat
Tags: dwyane wade, miami heat, pat riley, shaquille o'neal
Comments (2)
Dan,Van Gundy is n... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Bill Jempty | January 11, 2008 8:57 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Dan,
Van Gundy is now coaching the Orlando Magic.
Bill
1. Posted by Bill Jempty | January 11, 2008 8:57 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 11, 2008 20:57
2. Posted by Dan Zinski | January 11, 2008 9:39 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Bill,
It was a joke. Ever hear of one of those?
Dan
2. Posted by Dan Zinski | January 11, 2008 9:39 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 11, 2008 21:39