Resilience is Riley's game
A few question in the wake of Pat Riley's announcement that he will take a leave of absence to undergo knee and hip surgeries ...
Riley is going to turn this setback to his advantage, right?
Yes. Wherever Riley's recovering, whether it's in a hospital room or home, he's eventually going to use the time to step back and look at the big picture of the team. I know from playing for him, he's a guy who wants to do things now. Sometimes, when you're too close to things, you miss the overall story. But now he might be less concerned about the right now, and in his president and GM role, he can look at the big picture.
This is his time to evaluate his talent and work on trades. That's much harder to do when you're coaching the team.
Was picking Ron Rothstein as the interim coach a sign he won't be stepping down permanently?
Looks that way. Rothstein was the Heat's first coach and longtime figure in the organization and the NBA. But if we thought Riley was going to retire, I think he'd give the job to the younger Erik Spoelstra, who it seems he's grooming as an eventual successor.
How will the players respond to a new coach?
Pat Riley IS the Miami Heat. The buck stops with Riley. However Rothstein coaches, they're still answering quietly to Pat Riley -- I don't think the players won't respond.
What one thing makes Riley so successful?
He's prepared and organized. And he likes to run a system built for a prime-time center.
Is prime time over for Shaq?
I've had two knee surgeries, so I know how tough it is to first recover, then get in shape to play basketball. An older guy in excess of 300 pounds, it's tough to get up and down the court. Counting on him to be the Shaq of old is fool's gold. He's not the dominant player he was. Riley realizes the window of opportunity is closing with this team.
Can't we just let Shaq play on a Segway?
Too slow. There would still be guys running past him.
When you played for Riley from 1997-2000, were you impressed by his ability to think fast on his feet? Because he's got to think fast to get Miami back on a winning path.
In a playoff game against the Knicks, he drew up a play we'd never run before. It was an inbounds play for us heading into Alonzo Mourning. Riley knew the double would come, but the screener would be able to pop up open -- he knew what other coaches tendencies were. We had never practiced it, but the play worked -- except the the shot didn't fall.
That kind of X and O excellence hasn't changed. But he's 61. In future seasons, how about using Riley just as a closer -- let someone wear himself out for 60 games, then Riles can take over. Worked last year, right? Crazy?
Too crazy. And a little bit expensive.
ESPN analyst Jamal Mashburn's four-year playoff record was 18-19 under Pat Riley.
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• Dimes past: December 27 | 28 | 29 | 30-31 | Jan. 1 | Jan. 3
In terms of sheer "Where the %$!* did that come from?" effect, Golden State's Matt Barnes is 2006-07's answer to Boris Diaw. Entering the season, Barnes was your typical end-of-the-roster NBA journeyman, having played for four teams in three seasons after never suiting up for Cleveland, the team that originally drafted him in 2002. He never scored more than 4.5 points per game or shot better than 25.0 percent on 3-pointers, and the Warriors signed him only as an afterthought the day before training camp started.
Flash forward to Wednesday night's career-high 36 points, which included seven 3-pointers, in a loss to the Grizzlies. That effort came on the heels of Tuesday night's 29 points, 11 rebounds and five steals in a win over the Hornets.
According to Michael E. Jackson of ESPN Research, Barnes has eight 20-point games since Thanksgiving Day (21 games). Prior to that he had none in 158 career games.
• Complete John Hollinger story 
David (Cleveland): I know the Cavs haven't been playing great. But how can you have them behind every team in their division?
Committee's counter: For one week, it made perfect sense. Didn't like the effort we saw from the Cavs all month, honestly . . . especially when you compare it to how sharp they look every time they see San Antonio. Cleveland was a lackadaisical 8-6 in December, playing a pretty favorable schedule. By the time that the calendar year closed, Chicago and Milwaukee were hotter, Indiana was in the Cavs' vicinity record-wise playing a road-heavy schedule and Detroit led the Central until losing Chauncey Billups. Yet I suspect that the Cavs, after sweeping the Spurs, will be back in the top 10 next week. Where we, like you, expected them to be.
