It seems like in the past few years, we've heard a few coaches and GMs get accused of "tanking." Oftentimes, these assertions seem to be off-base. The Celtics were accused of it last year despite the fact that Paul Pierce seemed determined to play through injuries even when the C's were at the bottom of the league. Then there was the question of whether Doc Rivers would actually put his job on the line by intentionally losing. It never added up to me. Yet, I can't help but to wonder why Pat Riley hasn't been accused of it yet.
For starters, Riley is one of the few coaches in the league who also acts as GM. Unless you believe that Riley is planning on firing himself from both posts, that makes it somewhat unlikely that he has to worry about job security issues if he were to start tanking. Also, unlike Isiah Thomas, who's done a dismal job in every single capacity with the Knicks, Riley was the GM responsible for orchestrating the Shaq deal with the Lakers, and subsequently, parlaying that into a championship. Then there's the fact that Riley is a Hall-of-Fame coach who has won championships with the Lakers and the Heat. How do you fire a guy with those credentials? Does anyone sincerely believe that Riley would get sacked if the Heat finished last in the league this year?
The Heat are a league worst 9-44 right now. Obviously, they had the injury bug early through the season and dug themselves a hole. Plus, there's a lot of dead weight on this team. Even considering those issues, though, does anyone really believe this team is that bad? Simply having Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion should make them better than the Timberwolves and is there any way this team could be worse than the Grizzlies?
To add fuel to the fire, they're playing in the Eastern Conference! The bottom of the EC is about as terrible as it gets. The Washington Wizards right now are in line for the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and they're 3 games BELOW .500 at 26-29! Are you seriously telling me that a Pat Riley coached team could not win more than 9 games against this bunch?
Then, there was the whole Shaq trade. Don't get me wrong ... that was a great move on the Heat's part and it showed us just how shrewd Riley could be. At the same time, though, it also signaled an intent on the Riley's part to give up on the Shaq experiment and begin rebuilding.
Sure, the Heat would be bad this year regardless after all the injuries to Shaq and D-Wade, but at some point, it seems a bit excessive. Once the Heat acquired roughly 30 losses and looked as if they had no chance to make the playoffs, even in the horrendous East, did Riley decide it was time to play for a draft pick?
It's difficult to draw any conclusions at this point, but if a Pat Riley-coached team with Marion and D-Wade manages to stay at the bottom throughout the season, would that not make anyone else a little bit su####ious? This Heat team is disoriented right now, but surely they can't be this bad!
Of course they are tanking, good observation. Last night D-Wade was 11-18 from the field until the final 3 minutes, and then he turned it over like 4 times and missed his last 5 or 6 shots, including overtime. I have watched him play since he was in high school and I feel like Riley is encouraging him to tank it in a close game. I don't mind personally, as I would love to see Beasley or Rose in a Heat uni next year. I think the Shaq trade was not a contributor to tanking, keeping him would have been because it was obvious he was not going to waste his health on a losing season. That BS about the PHX training staff discovering some miracle treatment for his hip, I never bought it, if he is this healthy to play for the Suns this fast, there is definitely something fishy. That move was to bring hope for the future, and bring a win-win situation to Miami. If Marion opts out the cap relief is enormous, and if he stays we have a very good player, and a top pick coming up. Riley knows what he is doing, and I agree with you pointing it out, but the answer to why nobody points it out is simple, Riles is a future HOFer and people respect him, and GM's around the league know that there is all sorts of underhanded stuff going on, tanking is hardly the worst.
In my post yesterday (read apparently only by me) I mentioned Riley and his tough go with the Heat. Riles created his mess by keeping the old gang together too long, and he has to be smart and realize (like he did with the Shaq trade) to start rebuilding. But I suspect he'll kick himself upstairs after the season and let someone else do the dirty work; then, when it's going good again, he'll return to the bench. Underhanded, yes. But he did this a few years ago after Wade was drafted, so don't put it past him.
I wouldn't put it pass the old man to tank a few. We already know he is a backstabbing glory hog by the way he treated Stan Van Gundy. Pat Reilley is all about himself. He needs to get a couple of cases of hair dye and move around. Give someone else a chance to achieve there NBA dream as coach of an NBA team. It's not fair to DWade or Marion or the fans for that matter. Let it go Pat, do something else like shuffleboard, checkers, fishing or better yet, let one of the old girls at the community center knit a blanket for you all to lay under when it's a freezing 75 in Miami. Quit dude, while you still have some dignity...
There are two ways for a coach to tank: he can ask excellent players to play poorly, or play poor players.
If anyone can believe that Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion would consent to intentionally losing games, much less watching their stats being lowered and their all star votes evaporating, they need to stop pushing the Q-Tips when they feel pressure. There is no WAY those competitors would do that.
As for not playing their excellent players, Riley isn't doing that either. Dwayne Wade is averaging 38.4 minutes per game this season and Shawn Marion is averaging 43. Both are playing with effort that risks injury every night. Likewise Udonis Haslem is playing 37 minutes a night.
The problem is Riley is a joke as a GM. I mean here is a guy who "improved" his team with Smush Parker and Penny Hardaway!
Acquiring Shaq was a fluke. Shaq demanded out of L.A, and the Lakers weren't about to trade him to Dallas or any Western contender, so Miami got lucky. Riley's next bit of luck came when he found a team that would take that inflated contract away from him.
Besides, WHY would Riley tank? Everyone is saying this years draft class is weak. IF Riley were tanking, there wouldn't be much hope for him in the coming draft class anyway.
H.J. Huney is a graduate accounting student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Topics of interest include the NBA, college football, college basketball, NASCAR, and sports media.
