Heat Issues Boiling Over

Riley Ateş Püskürdü

2007-08 NBA sezonuna 4 galibiyet 13 yenilgi ile başlayan Miami Heat'de koç Pat Riley demeçlerini sertleştirmeye başladı. South Florida Sun Sentinel'a konuşan Miami Heat coachu "Takım leş kokuyor" dedi.

Haberde Miami Heat koçu Pat Riley'ın takımı motive etmek için sert açıklamayı yaptığı belirtildi. Pat Riley sert tavrı ile Miami Heat'i daha iyi bir galibiyet seviyesine yükseltmeyi planlıyor.

NBA tarihinin en iyi 10 koçundan birisi olan Pat Riley, NBA'de kendilerinden kötü galibiyet oranına sahip 2 takımın bulunduğunu açıkladı. Pat Riley takımın liderleri Shaquille O'Neal ve Dwyane Wade'in takımı harekete geçirmek için kendi oyunlarına seviye atlatmaları gerektiğini açıkladı.

Wednesday's venting by coach Pat Riley merely was the public side of simmering tension amid the Heat's season-opening struggles.

Privately, Riley has found himself having to deal with everything from a practice-court spat with center Shaquille O'Neal to questions in his locker room about his preparation methods.

Last week, before the Heat began this six-game western swing that included Thursday's late game against the Trail Blazers, Riley got into a spat with O'Neal and attempted to banish the center from practice.

Only when backup center Alonzo Mourning intervened was the tension defused.

"I don't discuss those things, but those things happen," Riley said. "We don't like losing. The franchise doesn't like losing. We get mad when we lose. And he does, I do, we all do.

"We don't take it well, so some things happen occasionally."

Offered the opportunity to clarify the friction that led him to defy Riley, O'Neal pleaded ignorance.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said in a Rose Garden corridor.

He then turned to teammate Mark Blount, smiled, and asked, "You remember that, Mark?"

Blount grinned back, "Nah, I don't remember anything."

While limited, such moments previously have transpired behind closed doors between Riley and O'Neal during their four seasons together.

"That's nothing that's abnormal," Riley said of such feistiness. "Not with me it isn't."

Mourning, who has been most vocal about the team's struggles, said such a display is the residue of losing.

"People don't like to lose, especially the guys that I'm around," he said. "And if you start losing, then obviously some unwanted feelings come out."

Such feelings began to emerge even before the Riley-O'Neal confrontation.

Several players privately questioned Riley putting his team through a rigorous game-day workout before what turned into a 91-76 blowout loss Nov. 13 at Charlotte, a defeat followed the next night by a home loss to Seattle in Dwyane Wade's season debut.

Riley said those complaints didn't even justify being addressed.

"That's just a typical players' response to losing," he said. "We had a great practice in Charlotte. The last thing that players should want to do is say that they're working too hard as an excuse. That's a real cop-out."

Riley, in fact, said he has been mindful of not overworking his team during such a mentally draining time.

"They're not even working now," he said. "They're hardly even working."

Mourning said off-court differences cannot get in the way of what stands as a major reclamation project in the standings.

"Regardless of what happens in a situation away from the court, in that 94-by-50 [court] is where you've got to find some kind of resolve," he said. "I don't care what we do outside the court. You can argue, scream, but when you get inside of 94-by-50 [court], you've got to get it done."

Riley had his moments with Mourning, Tim Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn during the best of Heat times in the late '90s.

The difference, then, Mourning said, was the players chose to make everything but victory inconsequential.

"I'm not pointing the finger at guys and saying they don't care," Mourning said. "But if you care enough about it, you'll do something about it. You'll step your play up, you'll start working a little harder, and when a game gets close, you'll get a little more focused and you'll get a little more determined."

BLAKE HAD INTEREST
Blazers guard and Hollywood native Steve Blake confirmed he was interested in signing with the Heat last summer, but said he never was offered a contract. "They were more pursuing Mo Williams at the time and waiting for his decision," he said. "I couldn't wait for someone else to make a decision." ...

Guard Daequan Cook spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the Portland home of former Ohio State teammate Greg Oden, who said he is not surprised Cook has had an instant NBA impact. "Every since I've known him, he's the most confident guy ever," Oden said. "He's an offensive genius." ...

Forward Ricky Davis bypassed the offer from TNT to wear a wireless microphone during Thursday night's telecast. "I decided to wait until we win a few games before something like that," he said.

By Ira Winderman | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

kaynak : NBA