Thread: Pat Riley to coach the Heat...

Originally Posted by min0 lee

.....it will happen, just watch.

LeBron James, fellow Miami Heat players 'frustrated' with coach Erik Spoelstra amid losing: report

The blame game has already started in Miami and surprise, surprise, Erik Spoelstra has emerged as the clear target.

There is a report that Miami Heat players are "frustrated" with their coach and question whether he is the right man for the star-studded team. Something tells me Juwan Howard and Eddie House aren't the players doing the questioning.

If I were a betting man I'd wager that someone from LeBron James' beleaguered entourage is stirring the pot. It's probably the same people who wanted Mike Brown blamed for LeBron's no-show performance in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.

Rule No. 1 among superstars in the NBA is never accept responsibility for underachieving, especially when there is a young coach without a championship pedigree on the bench. Make that poor sucker the scapegoat and dare Pat Riley to coach the free agents he signed last summer.

The Heat's slow start - they're 9-8, the Knicks are 9-9 - is surprising but not exactly shocking. Once you get past the big three of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat are not very deep, particularly along the front line. Factor in the injuries to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem and what you have is team struggling to find its way, even with three All-Stars.

Spoelstra is the least of Miami's problems. I see two issues with the Heat. One, the supporting cast is weak but that can be fixed over time. The bigger issue is that LeBron and Wade haven't figured out how to play together and may never peacefully co-exist.

Tracy McGrady nailed it when he said that LeBron and Wade are "terrible" when they're on the court together. The two Alpha males are used to dominating the ball. They don't play well off each other and it seems like Wade is the one struggling to make an adjustment to James.

According to person close to the Heat guard, Wade was "stunned" when LeBron decided to leave Cleveland and sign with Miami. Sure, Wade helped recruit LeBron, but as one NBA player put it: "He never actually thought he was going to do it."

Wade was applying the same logic most of us were using when it came to LeBron's free agent plans; he'll either re-sign with Cleveland or go to a team devoid of a superstar.

It never made much sense for James to take his talents to South Beach when the Heat already have a playmaker in Wade. The Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce complimented each and thus Boston got off to a quick start which ended in a championship three years ago.

Allen is the spot-up jump shooter who can play off the ball. Garnett is the superstar role player who will defend, rebound and score when asked to while Pierce is the Celtics go-to-guy. The emergence of point guard Rajon Rondo solidified that group.

The Heat are nowhere near the team that Boston was and is and who's to say they ever get there? Riley coached superstar talent in Los Angeles but in Magic Johnson he had the ideal playmaker. The Lakers all followed Magic's lead. How can the rest of the Miami Heat players excel when the two best players, Wade and LeBron, can't figure it out? Time is the Miami's ally right now. They've played just 17 games and Miller is expected back sometime in December.

But it all comes down to whether LeBron and Wade can play together and want to play together. Plain and simple. Wade reportedly doesn't want Riley to coach the team. Why do you think he'd say that? Could it be that Wade agrees with McGrady and knows that the problem isn't Spoelstra?

It should be quite a scene on Thursday in Cleveland when LeBron makes his much anticipated return. He'd never admit but you wonder if LeBron regrets "The Decision."

I think Wade does.



Read more: LeBron James, fellow Miami Heat players 'frustrated' with coach Erik Spoelstra amid losing: report

That was a pretty good article, Min0.

But with all respect to LJ and Wade, they sure ain't MJ and Worthy!

It would be interesting if this came true, though. He's already brought Miami a championship once.

Lebron James approves!!!!!!!!!!

When the players lose respect for the coach, its all downhill from there. The team has lost faith on the Filipino hybrid.

I hope they implode.
I really think Lebron is an ass....Kobe was enemy #1 for me for a while, now it's Lebron.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

I hope they implode.
I really think Lebron is an ass....Kobe was enemy #1 for me for a while, now it's Lebron.

Woj sums up this current situation nicely.

Lebron is just a shithead.

King James wants Spoelstra to bow to him - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

See in a situation like this , a proven coach has to step in to mold this players with huge egos. Its obvious James is influencing wade somehow, its time for Mr. Riley to step in and spank big baby james, make him rebound more often, play inside more, etc. Enough of this circus , we need the right man for the job. Hell if you can bring Stan/Jeff Van Gundy in here and coach this guys im all for it, I just don't think spolestra is ready to coach this particular team, regardless of his accomplishments last year.

pat wants another ring to his legacy, I won't surprised if he put Lebron up to this secretly as a way not to lose face like he did with Van Gundy.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

pat wants another ring to his legacy, I won't surprised if he put Lebron up to this secretly as a way not to lose face like he did with Van Gundy.

"conspiracy theorist"

Originally Posted by HialeahChico305

"conspiracy theorist"

Yes, Riley is one shrewd Mofo who is still very competitive.... he would love to have more rings than his old nemesis Red Auerbach and Phil Jackson.

Once Miller and Haslem are back, the League is in trouble.

Originally Posted by HialeahChico305

That's a cool picture.

I want to see the Heat destroy the league, simply because everyone hates them.

What about your Celtics?

Well, they have a 10 game winning streak now.....

Originally Posted by min0 lee

What about your Celtics?

Are you asking me? I'm a casual NBA fan and don't have a favorite team. Honestly if I had to pick a favorite team, I couldn't. I enjoy following the sport though.

Originally Posted by HialeahChico305

I think Bird did this when he was even deeper behind the backboard but, then again, maybe not.

I'm not sure what this league is doing anymore. It doesn't feel right. The trades in Miami, the leagues money, ticket costs being outrageous, The league association news.... maybe it's just knowledge we don't need to know but I guess thanks to the internet, twitter, etc. everything is just so exposed now.

As for Riley... I'm still upset that he couldn't get the Knicks a championship back in the 90's so I could care less if he coached or not!

Originally Posted by david

I think Bird did this when he was even deeper behind the backboard but, then again, maybe not.

Oh yes, level of difficulty was raised higher, and it was playoffs I believe. Back in the days though, rules were different. No basket for Bird.

Bird was the man.

Originally Posted by HialeahChico305

Oh yes, level of difficulty was raised higher, and it was playoffs I believe. Back in the days though, rules were different. No basket for Bird.

Yep, Bird's was better than Lebron's!