Verdict on Riley and his acquisitions?

[Mavs<Spurs]

What's the verdict on Pat Riley and the big shake up moves that he made last off season?

I will admit that I thought that he made major mistakes. At that time, I thought:

Why change a team that was 2 injuries and 2 minutes away from the Finals? With a healthy Wade and Shaq, I must believe that Miami would have won that series last year against the Pistons.

Why get rid of your best 3 point shooters which help space the floor for Shaq and Wade? Why get rid of your 3rd leading scorer?

Why add JWill (shooting/defense/turnover issues), Antoine Walker (ballhog, shoots 3 too frequently at too low a percentage and does not play defense) ? Won't team chemistry be hurt by these moves?

However, now I understand what he was thinking more:

He wanted to add another couple of threats on offense: Jwill to help run the floor to give easy transition baskets against that tough Detroit defense and Antoine Walker to be another playmaker and another offensive scorer that would be able to score if Detroit were to double Wade and Shaq and ignore everybody else.

He also thought that Posey and Payton would be helps on defense. Payton would avoid turnovers and help slow down Chauncey late in the game. Posey adds a threat from distance and a good defensive player as well if you need some stops.


I wondered why he would get rid of Stan Van Gundy and take over the helm himself? I know he was a great coach, but could Riley coach in 2006? Also, is it Stan's fault that Shaq was injured 20 games? Was is Stan's fault that he lost game 7 by 2 minutes due to 2 bad injuries on his star player?



I am now considering whether Pat Riley might have been right after all. IMO, he seems to have improved their defense, based off of this series with Detroit anyway (e.g. look at Shaq coming out on pick and roll...).


What's your opinion?

[ducks]

I think had shaq played this well last year they would have beat the pistons last year

[J.T.]

Note that almost the entire Miami team had some kind of injury in the ECF last year. If they were healthy they probably would've beat Detroit. IMO, Wade's rib injury was what held Miami back from going to the Finals.

[Marklar MM]

Note that almost the entire Miami team had some kind of injury in the ECF last year. If they were healthy they probably would've beat Detroit. IMO, Wade's rib injury was what held Miami back from going to the Finals.

:) What about those Detroit injuries no one ever talks about?

[Burn531]

IMO getting rid of Eddie Jones was a mistake. Why Riley wanted Fatoine Walker I have no idea. Jason Williams was a good pick up, a lot better than Damon Jones that's for sure. His moves are paying off right now but what will he do in the off season?

[DDS4]

I admit I was wrong before the season started. I said no way in hell this team would mesh this season...I thought JWill was a regular season point guard, GP was over-the-hill, Walker dominates the ball too much, and Posey has fallen in love with the 3-point line.

I like Haslem because he's a hustle guy. Other than that, the Heat aren't too scary.

However, Wade and Shaq are playing out of their minds so much that the other players really haven't made a difference.

Even though they'll probably head to the NBA Finals, the Spurs match up pretty well with them.

[Darrin]

This team has scared me since training camp. I've seen a much worse supporting cast around Kobe and Shaq and win an NBA Championship. It was apparent to me that the Heat were adding shooters around the big two, but also playmakers. I thought they made a mistake by not having Walker more involved in the regular season, but the Heat's mix in the supporting cast has been great in the playoffs. They genuinely go 8-9 deep - not just big names.

[Mavs<Spurs]

This team has scared me since training camp. I've seen a much worse supporting cast around Kobe and Shaq and win an NBA Championship. It was apparent to me that the Heat were adding shooters around the big two, but also playmakers. I thought they made a mistake by not having Walker more involved in the regular season, but the Heat's mix in the supporting cast has been great in the playoffs. They genuinely go 8-9 deep - not just big names.


Well, Darrin, I have to admit that I think I was wrong. For me, the biggest issue is Antoine Walker. Is he going to shoot the ball while triple teamed from half court with 20 seconds left on the shot clock or will he drive to the basket and score or create opportunities for others. I know he can do this. I was not sure if would do it. Somehow, Riley and Shaq have gotten him to finally be the player he always had the potential to be. Too bad he didn't learn this earlier in his career. Maybe I am a little less stupid today than I was yesterday like your saying goes.