Riley press conference tomorrow

[DWadeno3]

All we really need is more depth, let it be via the draft, free agency or trades. Our offensive system may not be the best, but Riley is right, at the end of the day it's about making shots and grabbing rebounds. Dallas had so much depth, no matter who they put in, somebody would be able to contribute. We, on the other hand, had to ride the likes of Juwan Howard and Mike Bibby because we didn't really have much of a choice and thus could only pray they'd contribute. We would not have had these droughts if it wasn't for our role players' inability to knock down open shots, grab big rebounds or get some stops while they're in the game. The only consistent force not named Wade, James or Bosh was Chalmers.

EDIT: To the ones looking to watch the presser, it can be found right here: http://www.nba.com/video/heat/

[tsherkin]

I don't really understand the mindset behind the need to retool this team in dramatic fashion that some here display.

They won 58 games despite a slow start, going 49-16 after starting 9-8. Once they clicked, that put them on a .754 winning percentage, or on pace for a regular season of ~ 62 wins. Then they went 12-3 through the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, never losing more than one game.

This is not a team that needs a rebuild, it just needs a few wrinkles added, a couple of tweaks. This is a team that needs some better coaching (which can be accomplished by Spo improving or upgrading the assistant coach team in order to better support Spoelstra)... mainly by not being an asshat and playing Lebron 14-17 minutes consecutively to open games, because that's just stupid.

Beyond that, they lost the Dallas series on the basis of FT shooting (WOW did that ever hurt them), defense (ironically enough, since that was a major hallmark of their success) and careless turnovers.

Bench production could have been a lot better, certainly, and upgrading the team's shooters (or employing them more effectively so that they're in-rhythm throughout the game) would be useful, but there's another thing...

Bosh sucked for most of the Finals series, and when he finally got hot in game 6, the team didn't go to him nearly enough.

THESE are the reasons the team lost. They don't need any kind of major changes to the roster, they just need tactical changes and a crapload of FT practice. Riley's right to leave things largely untouched, and the organization in general has a ton of cache behind the so-called "arrogance" they are displaying.

This isn't a team that scraped its way into the Finals. They assembled practically overnight, had a lot of chemistry hurdles to overcome and got SPANKED in the coaching department in a Finals series against an underrated defensive team with a super-clutch star player and timely contributions from the Mavs roleplayers. It happens. Dallas' window is practically closed already, but Miami's extends for basically another half decade or more. They'll ultimately be fine.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Enjoy a team that will remain a contender for YEARS.

[twix2500]

Why do you think Riley means 30 and older when he says veterans. We basically want players who are ready now and have experience, that could be any where about 3 years and more of being in the league. Ariza was a veteran going to LA, he was not a project player. He is interested in players that he can trust will be productive it doesnt matter if he is young or old. It will be interesting the mix of players Riley has plan to add, no doubt that Dalembert is one of them.

[Chosen01]

I don't really understand the mindset behind the need to retool this team in dramatic fashion that some here display.

They won 58 games despite a slow start, going 49-16 after starting 9-8. Once they clicked, that put them on a .754 winning percentage, or on pace for a regular season of ~ 62 wins. Then they went 12-3 through the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, never losing more than one game.

This is not a team that needs a rebuild, it just needs a few wrinkles added, a couple of tweaks. This is a team that needs some better coaching (which can be accomplished by Spo improving or upgrading the assistant coach team in order to better support Spoelstra)... mainly by not being an asshat and playing Lebron 14-17 minutes consecutively to open games, because that's just stupid.

Beyond that, they lost the Dallas series on the basis of FT shooting (WOW did that ever hurt them), defense (ironically enough, since that was a major hallmark of their success) and careless turnovers.

Bench production could have been a lot better, certainly, and upgrading the team's shooters (or employing them more effectively so that they're in-rhythm throughout the game) would be useful, but there's another thing...

Bosh sucked for most of the Finals series, and when he finally got hot in game 6, the team didn't go to him nearly enough.

THESE are the reasons the team lost. They don't need any kind of major changes to the roster, they just need tactical changes and a crapload of FT practice. Riley's right to leave things largely untouched, and the organization in general has a ton of cache behind the so-called "arrogance" they are displaying.

This isn't a team that scraped its way into the Finals. They assembled practically overnight, had a lot of chemistry hurdles to overcome and got SPANKED in the coaching department in a Finals series against an underrated defensive team with a super-clutch star player and timely contributions from the Mavs roleplayers. It happens. Dallas' window is practically closed already, but Miami's extends for basically another half decade or more. They'll ultimately be fine.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Enjoy a team that will remain a contender for YEARS.

Great post. Still want Spo gone though.

[tsherkin]

Yeah, I'd want Spo gone too, I'm just saying that apart from that, the roster itself is pretty much minor maintenance away and they almost did it ANYWAY.

[CablexDeadpool]

Why do you think Riley means 30 and older when he says veterans. We basically want players who are ready now and have experience, that could be any where about 3 years and more of being in the league. Ariza was a veteran going to LA, he was not a project player. He is interested in players that he can trust will be productive it doesnt matter if he is young or old. It will be interesting the mix of players Riley has plan to add, no doubt that Dalembert is one of them.

The 05 team was full of old ass over the hill players.

This team was full of old ass over the hill players injured players, Mike Bibby, Mike Miller, Big Z, Dampier, Juwan Howard, Mags


Trevor Ariza was a project player, he was a one and doner and been bounced around the league. And he still very much is a project player, only reason he sticks on teams cause he runs fast, jumps high and plays defense.

I mean he was traded to the Lakers for damn Brian Cook and Maurice Evans.

The Knicks traded him away for damn Penny Hardaway.

[BadMofoPimp]

LOL, Riley's big press conference being about support for Erik Spoelstra.

[dflash3]

Well it looks like nothing is really going to change for another season, but it is always nice to hear the Godfather speak.

[Hoops23]

Why do you think Riley means 30 and older when he says veterans. We basically want players who are ready now and have experience, that could be any where about 3 years and more of being in the league. Ariza was a veteran going to LA, he was not a project player. He is interested in players that he can trust will be productive it doesnt matter if he is young or old. It will be interesting the mix of players Riley has plan to add, no doubt that Dalembert is one of them.

I dont think Rileys is about the age. It doesn't matter if their young as Lebron or Bosh, as long as they're smart and experience. Heat made the trade for Zo and Mashburn in the past.