Six weeks ago, just under a month into his second tour as Heat coach, Pat Riley said it would likely take six more weeks to get his team playing his style. Now, as the Heat heads into the All-Star break, Riley was asked to reflect on how far his team has come since he replaced Stan Van Gundy on Dec. 12. Q. Are you where you want to be, expected to be? A. "It's getting there. The big guy [center Shaquille O'Neal] is coming. I could really see him struggling back then, coming off his ankle injury and having to get everything back together. The injuries have been a problem with Jason [Williams]. But I think, for the most part, you've gotten real plus work out of Gary [Payton] and with Antoine [Walker]. Of all the players, Antoine's had the biggest mental adjustment to make, based on what he could still do if he was a number-one option guy." Q. What types of changes are you still looking to implement? A. "Well, I do believe that there's a certain personality on this team defensively, and it may not be mine. It might not be the personality I want. My philosophy might not be suited for these guys. We've discussed it. As a coach and a player, we have to come together. You don't want to shove anything down their throat." Q. You also mentioned early in this comeback that things might have played out differently if you had this team from the start of training camp. What would have been different? A. "That's been the biggest problem. I'm a very sequential, continuity, order type. Everything I've always done from an offensive standpoint has a sequential, continuous, A-B-C through whatever. Stan's mind works a little bit different in how he organized his offense. He set it up very well for his philosophy. That's been the biggest thing for me, to take what they're good at, what he set them up with, and add even more things that I want to add to it. From an offensive standpoint, I think it would have been a lot easier had I had a training camp from it, and defensively, it would have started from the get-go." Q. It seems you're at your best when O'Neal and Dwyane Wade are dominating the offense. Others would say you're therefore not utilizing the players you added. Your thoughts? A. "That is very important, that those two guys are the featured offensive weapons, and that is why we brought the other people in, as they can play off of them. But we do have to find more consistent offensive attempts and opportunities for Jason Williams and Antoine Walker. I do believe Gary and [James] Posey will get theirs on the fly. Antoine is a guy that I have to work toward getting involved." Q. With that type of work ongoing, and with so much change already since the summer, does that make you less inclined to pursue another personnel move? A. "The only way anything would happen was if there was a full-fledged starter, where it was somebody that simply was going to come in and start. What we have, the top eight, I like. Unless somebody came into the starting five that was a surefire starter, I doubt very much if we would make a lateral move." Q. But does this team have enough team speed and athleticism? A. "If we played a style of play and you ingrained it into our guys to play at that speed, they would look more athletic. We're a power team. We're a power team with how we use Shaq and with how we use Dwyane. We're not going to run a lot of inconsequential movement. I do disagree, that I think we're one of the best running teams in the league if Jason's healthy and Shaquille's running to the rim. Our strength is our power, and one thing I don't want to do is run by it." Q. One change since your arrival regards conditioning, how Dwyane has dropped about 10 pounds, how Shaquille has gotten in better shape. Had that, for whatever reason, gotten overlooked? A. "This team is different from a hard-working standpoint, because I can't work them like I've worked other [younger] teams. They will break. But the conditioning part of it is a discipline." Q. So why wasn't it there? A. "I think it was there with Stan. It was Shaquille's injury and Wade came in at 217 pounds, and now he's playing at 208. I think it's just the wear and tear of the season, too, that they've got themselves in shape. And there's the peer pressure, fines, all those things. I don't ask them to do much but be professional athletes." Q. From where you are now, has this whetted your coaching appetite to make this return be for more than one season, perhaps leaving it open-ended? A. "Here's where I am with that: The most important thing for me now is balance, to have a balanced life with my wife and my children and my friends and my health. And if I can't get that, I won't coach." Q. So are you coming back next season? A. "I'm trying to find a balance. Maybe I'll find a balance where I won't be so obsessive about it. For me, every year has been like a dog year, nine years in one. It's hard. I don't know. Right now, I'm not giving that any thought. I want to get this team to where I think I can get it right now." =============================================================================== 有人想要翻譯嗎^^ -- 因為喜歡籃球 不知不覺中 喜歡上了籃球的顏色 橘子的相簿 http://www.wretch.cc/album/zenwu --

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