Miami Heat Schedule Is The Focus, Not Catching The Pacers Says Pat Riley
The Miami Heat schedule still has 26 games left on it ahead of their matchup with the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night. President Pat Riley told the press during the Miami Heat “Family Festival” on Sunday that he wants his team thinking about those games, not the playoffs. Trailing the Indiana Pacers by two and a half games, many fans and analysts have turned their attention to Miami playing for home court advantage.
The Miami Heat schedule takes priority for Pat Riley because, “Right now, you’ve just got to keep in mind: We’ve got a long way to go. Everybody thinks it’s right around the corner. No, a lot of stuff can happen.” Although Riley felt the need to caution fans and the media about getting too forward thinking about the Heat’s playoff seeding, he applauded his team for keeping their focus on the court. He especially credited coach Erik Spoelstra for keeping Miami focused on defense and rebounding.
As free agents to sign are running out after the deadline to waive players in time for playoff eligibility passed on Saturday, Riley also talked about the missed opportunity to sign Caron Butler. Butler signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder this weekend, spurning the Miami Heat who were interested. Riley feels that the Heat are deep enough as it is and that Butler would not have gotten the situation he wanted in Miami.
“We love Caron. We reached out to him. But he was very definitive with what he wanted and I don’t think it’s something we could have promised.”
Last week, the Miami Heat signed Deandre Liggins to a ten day contract in their only roster move after trading Roger Mason Jr. at the trade deadline. Many thought Riley and the Heat were freeing up space to make a run at either Butler or Danny Granger. But Riley sounded quite content with the current make up of his team.
“And we’re pretty deep. When you’ve got James Jones and Udonis Haslem and Rashard Lewis in those positions, they’re waiting, and Mike [Beasley] and Greg [Oden] are getting minutes from [roster spots] nine and 10.”
As the Miami Heat schedule enters the last quarter of the season, many question whether the team can hold up. As one of the oldest rosters in the NBA and injury concerns for Dwyane Wade, they are one significant loss away from trouble. Recent injuries to Lebron James have not slowed the team down, but do reveal that he is not invincible.
Pat Riley is right to temper expectations for the playoff push. The Miami Heat schedule still has a lot of basketball left on it, specifically two more games against the first place Indiana Pacers.
