Heat's Riley steps aside (for now)

     No, wiseguy, Pat Riley is not resigning to spend more time with Stan Van Gundy's family. Rather, the Heat coach announced today he is going on medical leave for awhile to tend to his ailing hip and right knee. Whether those injuries were aggravated by his dancing at the championship ceremony (left) is open to conjecture.

     Love the timing of this news, by the way, coming on the day when SoFla media sporties and fans are preoccupied with Nick Saban bolting. You might even suspect the Heat timed this so it would get as little notice as possible and discourage any speculation that Pat might quietly be segueing into retirement.

     For now, I don't know that a team mired at 13-17 right now loses much with veteran Ron Rothstein filling in. And Riles says he will return later this season. (Any doubt in anyone's mind?)

     In any case the Riley news continues a chaotic spell for the defending champs -- one in which Shaquille O'Neal (still out), Dwyane Wade and Jason Williams have together missed 40 games. You know you're in trouble when the coach joins the injury list.

     Bottom line: What's your view of the Heat more than a third of the way through the season? Will Miami right itself and still make a decent run at a HeatPeat or do you see a season-long letdown?

Comments

[Allie]

With this team, we won't know anything until the playoffs start.

So, let Riley take his time and get rested the same way Shaq does. If the players can cruise through the regular season, why can't Riley?

As long as Riley, Wade, and Shaq are all back together and ready to go by playoff time, we have the same chance to win it all as we did last season, so does anything that happens now, this early in the season, even count? It sure as hell didnt last season.

[Gonzo White]

Interesting. The heat have a great team and championship hopes and Rileys comes running in to take over.

The heat loses many players to injury and are playing like chumps and Riley says uh oh, time to bail out.

[Charly]

Lets hope we can keep enough guys healthy to get into the playoffs. Once in the postseason, anything can happen and other teams would be intimidated at facing the champs.

I am skeptical about Riley's move. We all know he is a sneaky guy, and I just wonder if this might be the first move towards permanent retirement. He has acomplished everything in this league and would be content with his old position as Heat president. Of course, our 13-17 record does not help either.

[seamus]

If Ron Rothstein is coach the Heat, will he bring back Rony Seikaly, Kevin Edwards, Grant Long, Jon Sundvold, and Rory Sparrow?

[Robster]

Riley is genius in how he slid this under the radar of the Saban Sucks noise.

Riles is gonna fade into retirement now...unless he gets the itch again at 63? After Ron Rothstein gets them to the brink of another championship??

I don't think so. Riley's history.

[dean]

this grease bag's timing is amazing. he always picks the worst time to walk away and the most selfish time to return. hasn't he ever heard of percocet?

returning to the heat bench with a healthy wade and shaq ready to go, there will be only one question;

is it the white stallion's ass or riley's hair that we smell?

ron rothstein should tell riley to shove it.

[Jiggaman]

I agree with Robster, this is Riley's excuse to fade away with a bit more grace than he did 2 years ago, he sees what most of the league already knows the team cant play D for more than 5 minutes a game, Shaq's done and the team doesnt have the cap space to make any big moves and the inevitable departure of Wade in a few years if he doesnt ask for a trade sooner, I hate the fact that Pat will take credit when the team is winning but so quickly run away when they're losing when he put them in that position in the 1st place.

[David]

IT AMAZES ME THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY BELIEVE DWYANE WADE IS GOING ANYWHERE EVER (AT LEAST NOT FOR ANOTHER 8 TO 10 YEARS). HE IS THE MIAMI HEAT PERIOD! HE WILL NOT BE TRADED! ARE YOU KIDDING! THE GUY IS BELOVED HERE MORE THAN ANYONE NOT NAMED SHULA, OR MARINO. PLEASE STOP MAKING FOOLS OF YOURSELVES WITH SUCH DRIBBLE.

IDIOTS!

[Eric Manalansan]

What Playoffs? Miami is not going to make it. Try going beyond 500 first.

[Steph]

Anyone noticing it's a bad day to be a Miami fan? No Coker, No Girardi, No Riley, No Saban. Maybe it's a good day.

[Tony]

Pat Riley can do no wrong. He delivered the big one!! As a HEAT fan for years I'm grateful to him and our team. GO HEAT!!!

[Chuy]

Inasmuch as I believe Pat Riley is a fine coach with excellent abilities, he might have to retire from coaching. How much more stress can this man handle? Shaq, customarily, is out this time of year, Wade's wrist hurts, Walker and Posey are fat slobs, J.Will has a bad knee, the opponents are wiping their asses with the Heat's faces at American Airlines Arena. I mean, what the frick? I mean, we can't even beat or even avoid getting blown out by the low-class knicks. Shaq arrogantly promised a repeat at the championship ceremony. I dunno. It seems like things are crumbling like a cookie right in Riles' face. Greg, how come Shaq hates Stan?

[marcus]

as for those suspicious of riley's timing regarding the team's injuries: why would riley walk away when shaq is about to come back, with wade?

you try lugging through a six game road trip with a serious hip injury and a knee problem. phil jackson apparently was limping through a recent five game stretch l.a. had on the road -- and he has a new hip.

there's been some talk (rumors, which likely are b.s.) that riley has begun to lose the team, so maybe this is the best timing. the team gets a breather from the intensity, and riley gets time to decompress, reflect and loosen the reigns when he returns, like he did last season. this team won a ring together, they know it can be done. that's a bond most teams don't have.

the heat proved last season that the regular season means little if they are all healthy, motivated and playing on all cylanders in late april, may and june.

remember, this is the same roster that won it all last year, plus a star in training dorell wright now getting valuable playing time/experience that he can use for confidence when he gets p.t. in the playoffs.

right now is this season's low point. let's see how we look when everybody -- shaq, wade, riley -- is back at full strength and motivated to repeat after the nba pundits write them off.

don't jump off the bandwagon now. the true heat fans will be the ones who stick with the team when it's down. which is right now.

[Jacob]

The Miami Heat are done. They had a lucky championship run last year but it's over. It will be a miracle if they even make the playoffs. They aren't even the best NBA team in Florida. I would say that they have a small chance at getting the 7th or 8th seed.

[mo daddy]

riles is one of the greatest coaches. he has said he'll be back. the heat will repeat. shaq and wade are gonna come back, play for a low seed, then when the playoffs start are gonna face a very scared first round opponent.

[ginrai]

The Heat will have everyone healthy in time. They'll will win enough games to make it as a 7 or 8 seed. The Heat will contend for the playoffs again this year. Count on it trollies. You too dean ,and Robster Red Lobster!

[JR]

Robster, Jiggaman, and Jacob:

I give you all props! You know your basketball.

For all of the other posters - get your heads out of your ARSES! Miami Heat team is OLD, UNMOTIVATED, DIMINISHED SKILL LEVEL, and they have an OVER THE HILL former superstar turned ARROGANT PROGNOSTIGATOR who has no game! Pat Riley pulls a "Bush League" act last year by pushing out Stan, then does another "Bush League" act by bailing on the team, city, and fans and giving the outrageous statement that his knee and hippy hurts! How convenient for him to take a leave of absense now! He had all of last offseason to have taken care of that knee and hip! But NO, he conveniently wants to take care of that NOW! Believe me, he knows the HEAT suck and he doesn't want to go down with the ship! He doesn't want his legacy to be that he coached the worst team in league history as a defending world champion!

[Charly]

JR:
Maybe all you said about Riley is right. There is no way to know, but his timing is suspiciously convenient.
However, I don’t think the Heat are done. The East is so bad that all Miami needs is a couple of decent runs during the season and we are in the playoffs. We are bound to get hot when Wade and Shaq are back. Once in the postseason, Wade should elevate his level of play and I think the only team that can beat us in the East is Detroit. We might not get to the finals, and certainly can’t compete with any of the Wests’s best. However, next year, we will be a much stronger team with D-Wright and Kapono developing to help out D-wade.

[Dan]

The heat is the next defending champs to not go to the playoffs in a professional league just like the steelers and white sox.
Champs curse?

[JR]

Dan,

You said that "other teams will be intimidated" by the defending world champs in the playoffs? Other teams right now are laughing so hard at the Heat that they will be in hysteria if they are so lucky to face the Heat in the playoffs. Yes, the East is so weak that the Heat should make the playoffs, but the miracle from last year will not repeat itself! D-Wade can't carry this team again! The Bulls, Pistons, Cavaliers, Magic, and Wizards have too much talent and passion to let a 3rd tier team like the Heat to upset them! The Heat got their miracle championship last year. Enjoy it and now endure years and years of ineptitude!

[JR]

Sorry Dan, I meant Charly!

[Charly]

Wade is the best player in the league right now, period. I predict the Heat will get much better from late january to may and get into the post-season with the 8th or 7th spot. In the playoffs nobody will want want to face : (i) the defenidng champs (ii) with momentum and shaq back, and (iii) with the best player in the league.

[God]

Riley stepping aside is a signal to this team that the burden falls on the players for now. Consider it a temporary motivational tactic. His health, and the overall team health, should be the only concern of true Heat fans. This is not about having a record of 13-18 on 1/4, it's about preparing for a run into the playoffs.

The fools that were screaming last year at this time are the ones screaming now. Yes, that means you. The story will unfold as it should, each key piece to the puzzle being added in the evolution of what is and what could be a NBA Champion once more.

[Peter]

Pat Riley saw Walker and Posey over weight yestarday. Please Pat be honest, you leave a deactivated team to Ron like so that he cannot win. You are coward. Posey and Walker have same shape from the star. When do you plan to return? When all player are OK.
At those time keep in your home.
You took long vacation, the team is paying for. To renew team was necessary, Miami Heat is the older team in NBA. Between the veterans only Alonzo Mourning is playing like his best times. This game is changing. If you don't know, watch NBAtv in your home how Dallas, Phoenix, Washington, Orlando, etc are playing. They keep playing very fast.
For that you need young legs. How Gary Payton or Jason Williams can guard others rivals, impossible.
I desire the best thing to all the fans of the Heat. This season for my is over.

[LOL]

Hey Peter, Thats what they said about Dallas, Phoenix, and the Spurs last season. Maybe you need to pay more attention to "regular season" basketball and "playoff" basketball, big difference. You little dummy.

Hey Everyone else. You are all right. Riley is a coward and has no clue, he never has he just gets lucky. All those Championship rings, 7 of them, they are all luck. He need to quit no before he fails. Obviously he has no idea what he is doing with this team and he never has he just got lucky. That's it, he got lucky and now he's running from a old lazy team full of cowards....LOL

Check back in a couple of months you idiots.

[Jacob]

Every team in the league wants to play the Heat right now because they suck. In the playoffs, I'm sure that the Pistons and Bulls will love to have the chance to play the Heat. The East isn't as great as the West but the Pistons, Wizards, Cavs, and Bulls all have a chance of coming out of the East. The Heat won't even finish with a winning record. Shaq is way past his prime and his knees are shot. Wade is just one player and he ain't Michael Jordan no matter how hard David Stern wants him to be.

[CHECK BACK]

Wade is just one player....MVP of the playoffs last season. Shaq is way past his prime.....like he was last season. The Heat won't have a winning record....until everyone is healthy.

Everyone wanted to play the this season....because they are NBA CHAMPIONS.

Injuries will keep every team down at some point. The only true judge is when they are healthy. Then you will look like the idiot you are.

You don't win Championships in December and January, unless it's football.

[drez]

Guess what guys.

The media has always been wrong about Miami.

Its true that they are playing crappy. It is all understandable right now. even though the face of the team has changed over the last 4 years, all those years were marked by incredible second halves of season where everything just fell into place.

this season will be no different. Sure they may not even get home court in the playoffs if things continue to progress as they are now, but guarantee this, they will make the playoffs, and barring any disasterous freak injury to wade (knock on wood,) They will make it to the finals. And as long as Riley is around during playoff time, i will never count the team out.

[Jacob]

I'm not an idiot. I'm just stating the facts. The Heat are not a good team. They are mediocre at best. Wade is playing like he's tired and hurt. Shaq is out of shape and past his prime. You can't win with a bunch of arrogant veterans. Wade is having a great season but he's just one player. This upcoming 6 game road trip will prove that the Heat suck. I bet they don't even go 3-3 on the road trip.

[gabby]

The problem with this team is that there wasn't a change in the off season. Riles was too happy with the championship and too gracious to bring back guys like walker and payton. What are they doing here? Are they running a gag contest? They are washed up, grumpy, ungrateful selfish players. Heat needed fresh legs and hungry hearts. Now, it'll be impossible to move walker.

[gabby]

Now, it'll be impossible to move walker, but at least, this break will give Riles to take a breather and realize what he has to do and ship out walker and some other guys and get few new bodies in. There is nothing to lose. I would clean the house. Keep Shaq, Wade, Dorrell, Kapono, Haslem, Mourning. EVeryone else is expendable and some has definitely got to go. If Riles made any mistake, it's getting guys like payton and walker. Second mistake is that he kept them after last year. He gave them a chance to defend. Not a good move, Riles. You are going to eat that for a long time. It's not too late, just eat walker's contract and let him go.

[Jacob]

Riley was an idiot for not doing anything in this offseason. He should have dealt Walker to some other team and tried to get some young talent. The Heat definately need younger players. Riley should be held responsible for playing Wade too much. Wade is obviously playing like he's hurt and tired. No repeat for these Heat. I can't believe Dan Le Batard said on PTI that they Heat will win more than 41 games.

[Jason]

It is a bit early to give up on this season. The Heat are 2.5 games out of a playoff spot (and 5 behind division leaders Washington & Orlando) with 51 games remaining.

[Tampa John]

Guys as Jason just said there are 51 games left!!!

Shaq and Wade will be back soon, after a few games of them getting back in the flow they will go on a huge run, we aren't just going to make the playoffs, we are going to rally and win the division with a strong second half of the season. We'll probably finish with the #2 seed.

No team in the league can withstand the loss of their two best players. Miami's will be back soon. Then we'll say how "bad" we are and how "stupid" Pat Riley is.

All of you clowns predicting doom and gloom and no playoffs are probably the same people who didn't believe last year either. We had doubters even in game 6 of the finals last year. I remeber bloggers predicting Dallas would sweep those last two games in Dallas. There also a ton of you predicting us to lose in the first round of the playoffs last year. The Heat will overcome. Go Heat!!

[Jacob]

The Heat as a team cannot wait until Shaq comes back to turn it on. If they are going to turn it on, they need to do well on this 6 game road trip. This year's Heat have turned out to be one of the worst defending champion teams in NBA history.

[Charly]

Anybody going to even bother watching tonights game against the Suns? It won't be pretty. I would rather have Rony Sikely and Co. out there than the squad we'll be putting on the floor.

We might not even win one game on this road trip, but I still think with Wade back we`ll manage to get into the playoffs. Go Heat!

[God]

Winning a Championship is about peaking at the right time. Now is not the right time.

The only thing that needs to be of concern, as I've said before, is health. Not in the next 6 games, but down the stretch. That is when they will develop just like they did last season.

Some of you may remember that Miami couldn't beat a playoff team until they beat Detroit on a Sunday in April. This team is built for a playoff series, not a regular season.

This team has the same talent and leadership as they did last season, with more experience. If Riley comes back for the last month they will again start beating teams when it matter, just as they did before.

[Jacob]

How are the Heat going to do anything in the playoffs when it's not even sure they will make the playoffs? The Heat need to turn it on right now. I just don't see the Heat doing anything in the playoffs. I will be shocked if they even make the playoffs. Besides, how do we even know what kind of shape Shaq will be in when he comes back? And will be the old dominant Shaq or the over hill passive Shaq?

[JR]

Dog,

You stated, "This team has the same talent and leadership as they did last season, with more experience."

Are you kidding me? The one things this Heat team didn't need from last year is the same talent, leadership, with more experience. Experience for this team means players making plans for checking into a Nursing Home!

[God]

Just remember this; The same ppl were saying the same things last year at this time. The team is to old and to injury prone.

My only point is that regardless of the "current" state of this team, the healthy players are growing and getting better without the stars, as the season progresses you will add in Shaq, then Wade, then get Riley back, at that point, if healthy and if they are in the playoff race, they are as good as they were last season, if not better. Don't think that the poor play currently isn't in some ways developing this team overall. You ever injure a leg? The other get's stronger?

It's all part of a plan. Get healthy and make a run. I'm not saying they will win another Championship, only that they have as good a chance as they did last year.

[Jacob]

This team is done. Stop kidding yourselves and just prepare to see the Heat in the lottery. Shaq will not turn it on as usual when he comes back. Wade is playing hurt and Riley is a quitter. This team is the most dysfunctional team right now in the NBA. Who cares about last year? This is now and the Heat are getting old and tired.

[the shadow knows]

CALLING STAN VAN GUNDY, TELEPHONE CALL FOR MR. STAN VAN GUNDY!! PLEASE PICK UP THE RED SERVICE PHONE ON WHICHEVER CARNIVAL SHIP YOU ARE ABOARD AND GET TO THE MAINLAND BEFORE LEGIONAIRE?CRUISESHIP DISEASE GETS TO YOU AND THE FAMILY.