Snack is wearing out his welcome in Miami.
Riley takes the gloves off
Coach gets tough with his aging, rebelious teamNovember 19, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- Last week, an old friend of Pat Riley's was joking about an over/under for how long Riley would coach the Miami Heat.
"Gone by Christmas," the longtime colleague said with a laugh.
It seemed mostly in fun, but there's little joking in Miami. Last week Riley, who has an artificial hip, said he could play better than his team (players love this). Then Riley talked of a massive shakeup that sounded like he'd bench Shaquille O'Neal.
"People who don't think they should ever be benched might have to come off the bench for a while just to turn this whole thing around," Riley told Miami reporters.
Perhaps Riley meant Ricky Davis, too, though he's been benched before. Wondered one old Riley confidant: "He had him before. How could he not know?"
Courtside scouts following the Heat have been saying they see Davis waving off Riley and telling other players he isn't going to run that stuff.
"I don't see a team that really feels like they have anything at stake here," Riley said. "They come in, they play, they get beat, they go home. They go out into the night. I'll take responsibility for it because I put it together. I'm not shirking any responsibility."
The larger shock has been the way Riley is treating O'Neal, whose play has been limited. Riley benched O'Neal less than a minute into Saturday's game with the Nets—a rare gesture, especially for Riley, who has long protected O'Neal. He apparently didn't like how O'Neal played a new pick-and-roll defense.This came after Dwyane Wade, back from surgery and rounding into form, talked openly of O'Neal needing to be more motivated.
They laughed about it out in L.A., as that's what Kobe Bryant used to say, making O'Neal so upset, though Bryant did so anonymously.
O'Neal took the criticism from Wade in good spirits, though he was more cryptic after the Saturday benching, an astonishing embarrassment to a future Hall of Fame player. O'Neal told local media, "I'm doing it my way from now on."
O'Neal said he has knee and quadriceps problems. Riley responded he didn't see any reason for O'Neal to rest.
"Cortisone treatment, I think, is part of a player's season," Riley said. "Anytime he feels a little aggravation there, he will probably get a shot."
It seems Riley could be on the verge of losing the team, though it could be a test of wills as Riley finally may have decided to stop catering to his aging team. He is known for long, hard practices and a power game, more ferocity over finesse. He hasn't been able to coach this creaky team that way.
Intimates say Wade has been none too happy with the direction of the team, and the belief is Riley is trying desperately to assuage Wade's concerns, with Wade in the first season of his short extension. He can leave as a free agent after the 2009-10 season.
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