The Miami Heat are struggling on the court and to make matters worse they will be without their leader and head coach Pat Riley for an extended period of time.
Even though Riley wants to return to the coaching sidelines later this season, I wonder if it is really worth his trouble. His team might be playing poorly at the current time, but once D-Wade and Shaq return from injuries Miami will be back in the playoff mix. Still, with several quality teams in the Eastern Conference it will be difficult for the Heat to return to the NBA Finals.
Pat Riley might not want to hear this, but I think that it would be in his best interest to not rush back and let interim head coach Ron Rothstein finish out the duration of the season.
Heat coach needs hip, knee surgery
By Ira Winderman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted January 4 2007
MIAMI -- A Heat championship defense gone sour claimed its leader Wednesday.
Coach Pat Riley announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with hip and knee problems.
In saying that he was temporarily handing the coaching reins to assistant Ron Rothstein, Riley also said forwards Antoine Walker and James Posey would be deactivated immediately due to their failure to meet the team's conditioning standards.
With center Shaquille O'Neal and guard Dwyane Wade already sidelined by previous ailments, it left the Heat a shell of its championship self Wednesday night in a 110-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at AmericanAirlines Arena.
"I'm just tired of the pain and the medication," Riley said of his immediate leave. "It's going to be indefinite. I'll be very connected with the team.''
Riley, who also holds the title of team president, insisted he has not coached his last game.
"My plans are to return," he said. "This is a leave of absence and my plan is to return. When that is, I can't tell you.''
Riley said the knee problem had been an ongoing concern. However, a source familiar with the situation said Riley last week kicked a locker-room door in disgust over the poor play that dropped his team to the 13-17 record it took into Wednesday night's game. Center Alonzo Mourning confirmed the outburst came during last Friday's home loss to the Nets.
"What I do in the locker room really has always been my business," Riley said at the hastily called news conference at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I've broken a lot of objects in my time.''
The knee surgery will be conducted Friday under the supervision of team physician Harlan Selesnick. The hip replacement will likely take place shortly thereafter in South Florida, although Riley did mention seeing a specialist in Los Angeles.
"I've got a lot of floating chips in there," he said of the knee. "It's been bothering me lately. I don't want to keep taking injections just to coach.''
Riley, 61, was evasive when asked if he would have held off on the hip replacement had it not been for the knee incident.
"The knee is not going to be a big deal, but I've got to get that done," he said. "The hip is going to be a little bit more of a problem."
Surgeons said Riley's knee procedure would be minor, but the hip replacement would mean a few days in the hospital and three to eight weeks off his feet until he can get back to the activities of daily life.
"People in their early 60s do very well. A lot of them are driving within two weeks, barely using a cane by three weeks," Fort Lauderdale orthopedic surgeon Michael Reilly said. "He's the perfect candidate. He's fit, he's thin and he's younger."
Other doctors were more cautious, saying even healthy patients, such as Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who had a hip replaced in early October, need several months to return to normal function.
"He was out a month and still limping around" when the Lakers played at Miami on Christmas day, said surgeon Fernando Moya-Huff, of the South Florida Institute of Sports Medicine at Weston. "Riley has always kept himself in good shape. He's not obese. He has all the ingredients for a great recovery."
Riley insisted his team's struggles were not a factor in the timing of his decision.
"It's what it is," he said. "We are what we are right now. We're an injured team obviously. We're not the same team without Shaq and without Dwyane. I haven't been happy with how we're playing. I haven't been happy with how I'm coaching. I'm not happy about the situation. I don't think anybody is.
"I hope that when everybody gets healthy, including myself, it will rectify itself."
While Rothstein, the inaugural Heat coach who rejoined the team Sept. 23, 2004, as an assistant, was named acting coach, Riley said assistant Erik Spoelstra would be heavily involved in the guidance of the team, perhaps offering a hint to his eventual successor.
Riley previously stepped down as coach Oct. 24, 2003, handing the reins to assistant Stan Van Gundy. He then resumed coaching Dec. 12, 2006, after Van Gundy resigned citing family reasons.
Rothstein filled in twice for Riley last season, when Riley attended to the death of his mother. Riley then returned to guide the team to the NBA title.
"The overall game plan and the purpose of what we're trying to do doesn't change a whole lot," Rothstein said. "Pat said to me, `You have to do what you think is right.'"
Van Gundy was not contacted during Wednesday's handoff and apparently does not have interest in returning. He remains under contract to the team this season as a consultant to Riley, but was not mentioned at Wednesday's media session.
Riley has been noncommittal about coaching beyond this season and reiterated that position.
"I'm not going to make any decision on that," he said.
O'Neal expects to finish the season with Riley at his side.
"All we know now is he has health issues and we wish him a speedy recovery," he said. "Very soon, everybody will be back. That'll be the day we're looking forward to."
Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@sun-sentinel.com. Staff Writer Bob LaMendola contributed to this report.
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