Shuaihu Zhong

Miami HEAT President Pat Riley spoke to the assorted media a week after the team’s loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Here are some of the highlights from his 45-minute press conference.

I thought we had an absolutely great year. It was a tremendous story that was developing. In a lot of stories the endings aren’t very good. But I thought we had a year that we could really be proud of. Doing what we did throughout the course of the season, overcoming a lot of adversity, and getting to the last 16 seconds of the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals is quite a feat. I was proud of the team. Proud of the coaches. I thought they did an incredible job. And I was sorry that it ended the way that it did.

ON POTENTIALLY RUNNING THE ROSTER BACK FOR NEXT SEASON

Even if we ran it back, we would have a very good team. You have to be very proactive in looking at how you’re going to improve. This is a great story that started in 2019. In 27 years if we’ve had a start to a number of great stories, this is one of them when we signed Jimmy Butler and then started to build the team from there.

You’re caught in betwixt and in between right now with these young players that are rising. We think about [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown, where they were three or four years ago in their playoff runs. Once your younger players can elevate to the point that you know you can win with them, along with Jimmy and the other veteran guys, you can always think about running it back and be successful. But is that going to be what’s going to lead to a championship? That’s all you think about.

ON THE IDEA OF ADDING A SECOND STAR SCORER

I think we all realize that you can always use more. Especially when you’ve gone through the season and then you’ve gotten the result. Then you really begin to analyze the result and why it wasn’t as good as maybe you thought it should be.

We’re always going to try and improve that team. I think that’s what it’s about. It’s about continually growing. It’s about taking your hits, dealing with them and going home. Taking your wins and going home. It’s 106 games that we played. And we did a lot of great things. I don’t want to take away from what this team has done and these individuals.

Do we need another? If there’s one out there, throw him to me. You can always use more, but it’s got to be a good fit. But not at the cost of doing something that could be prohibitive. We will look, we will explore. We always do this. It’s part of the business that we chose. Whatever the result brings after the season, you might say we might need another this or another that based on how the league is playing. That goes into the equation.

Whether it’s a hamstring or a groin or a calf, guys are sitting out, missing time. It was untimely for us to have some of those at a time when you wanted everybody healthy. As far as the age of the roster, I think our roster is almost perfect from a real veteran age standpoint where players can play and can contribute. You have the middle group of guys that are starting to rise up, and then we got some young guys.

You have to be a little bit concerned about the injuries. When you have injuries that derail your opportunity. We had that in the bubble. It was a direct hit to Bam. That wasn’t an injury of attrition, it was a direct hit to his arm and his shoulder. And then Goran got hurt. That hurt us. These soft tissue injuries hurt us, too. We still had a chance, you just sort of rise above it. That’s one of the great stories of this year. We did find out a lot of about other players, when they were put in position of having to play 25-35 minutes. It opens up your eyes to what the possibilities can be for them a year or two from there.

There’s this blend of when does it become perfect, and you never know when it’s going to become perfect until you win the championship and you say, that worked out at that time perfectly. I’ve been through this a number of times. I like the team that we have. I like the core. Let’s see where we can go internally, and let’s see where we can go if something presents itself if that’s a viable option.

His numbers speak for him and his game. Averaging 20 a game and really shooting the ball well. Developing a game that at times during the regular season was unstoppable. He can find and create his own shots in a lot of situations.

I don’t think he’s really here yet [reaches his hand above his head], as a full-time complete player. And I say that about a player who average 20 and shot 37-38 percent from three, can score in bunches, can score at the rim, can score on floaters, can score on pullups, can score on threes, gets out on the break. And he’s 22. The next step for him, and I think we’re seeing this in the league, if you want to win a championship, you want to be a starter, you really have to become a two-way player today. You have to improve in certain areas of your game. We all know that at one time or another, teams will always put a target on Tyler’s back, Duncan’s back, Max’s back or somebody else that they think they can beat one-on-one on a switch.  I saw improvement on defense this year. He’s got great feet, quick feet. He just needs to get stronger again. Another 10 pounds of muscle mass. He needs to get stronger rom a leverage standpoint.

As far as being a starter, come to training camp and win it. Sometimes it’s that easy.  If he wants to be a starter, we’ll see in October. That’s something that you earn. There’s no doubt he has the qualities to be that.

He’s a specialist. You can’t win in this league without having them. You have to have some specialists.

But I saw improvement in his game now where he’s going downhill. He’s got to turn the corner on handoffs and on pick-and-rolls and things of that nature because of being forced off the line.  The next part of his development is going to the basket and finishing and making plays and being very aggressive that way. And we saw that this year.

Again, defensively, as a young player, he’s got to get better. We hang our hat on that. I’m not going to say that we lost a game because we had some horrendous three-point shooting games, or someone missed a three or whatever it is. If you don’t guard all three areas of the court, if you don’t guard the three-point line, if you don’t guard two-point shots, if you don’t guard at the elbow, if you don’t guard at the rim, if you don’t guard in transition. If you don’t defend by rebounding, by taking charges and getting loose balls and winning that war every night, then you’re always going to blame it on shooting. To me, yes Duncan can improve. That message has been delivered to him. But that’s where we as a team have to win. We have to win defensively.

P.J. is like a cornerstone. He was like when [Udonis Haslem] was in his prime, even though UD wasn’t a primary scorner, he did things throughout the course of a game that were significant.

Tuck is the kind of player that doesn’t have to do a lot from a scoring standpoint, but he makes so many great plays for you. Toughness, rebounding, defense, no-nonsense guy. I’d love to have Tuck back next year, he’s part of our core. We’ll see what happens. There’s not enough like him in the league. Well there are, there’s a lot of guys like him in the league, but he’s special.

The bottom line with me, and for me, as far as hoping you can get the most out of a player, is that you have to be in world class shape. You just have to be. That is something, as you get older, there is a point of diminishing returns.

He definitely is going to have to address that. It will be addressed. To get to what the perfect overall conditioning is for him to be successful. He plays the game in a manner where he needs his strength and his size. He’s not Tyler Herro, he’s not that lean kind of guy. He can be in better shape. I do think the pain of losing . . . might change his mind a little bit.

He’s been asked to do a lot of things as a young player and he has grown into being very efficient at doing those things. It’s almost that learning curve of being a facilitating big, either at the elbow, on handoffs, on pick-and-rolls. He’s always getting somebody open. Duncan should pay him half his check, Tyler should pay him half his check, Max should pay him half his check. You don’t realize what he does to get people open. A lot of that has to do with how other teams are playing him, dropping way back, and we can get that shot. Maybe we look for that a little bit too much.

This could be a year, and Spo and I will sit down a talk about it, about how can Bam be developed in a way to improve his consistent shot ability every night. Getting 15 shots every night, quality shots that he can get, he can create, whether it’s in the post or at the elbow. He can be very prolific at times, but it can’t always be on effort, on running, on getting offensive rebounds, on lob dunks, on little floaters. I do think there’s a part of him that can grow. That depends on a bit on your overall offensive philosophy and how much you want to change that. I think there’s another level at his age now that we need more consistency in his ability to get good shots, create good shots, and scoring.

I definitely feel an obligation to finish this build. If we’re three years into this build, then I don’t want to do another three years of just building this team. I think we’re in that window of internal improvement, we have a great, great player in Jimmy Butler. We know that. We have a lot of experienced veterans. We put together a team that got to the Eastern Conference Finals.

It was a bitter loss. The dragon hasn’t left my body yet from that loss. I was stunned, I was frustrated, I was angry, I was all of those things over the last week and I’m beginning to move on past all of that. I haven’t given [retirement] any thought at all. I’m 77 years old and right now I can do more push-ups than you can do right now.

It changes with young players who all of a sudden, they think they hit it. The work ethic, from Gabe, Caleb, Max, all of our young guys that basically have played and helped us. They still have to come to training camp. His time on the court, whether it’s a rotational player, a spot player or a starter, it has to equate to winning. It’s always about winning. You can play young players until you’re blue in the face, but do you want to play them in the medieval late quarters of a playoff game. And they haven’t been there before.

I think Gabe is one of those guys. I think he has that in him. He has something about him as a competitor, as does Max, that I think eventually they can get there. Max found out that he’s not a 40 percent shooter against the Celtics or Philadelphia, because they’re not going to give you that look. But he has a very unique game and a very unique shot.

Spo and I talk a lot about the stress now that defenses are putting on three-point shooters and how they’re running you down and staying with you on the line, making you go backdoor and making you work harder. You have to develop yourself as a complete player. You have to be able to go downhill. Max has to be able to go downhill and finish now. You have to be able to go downhill and make a pull-up jumper and make layups. His game has to change a little bit, and he knows this. I think they have the ability to do this. You have to create more offensive opportunities than be a sticker.

pat-riley-we-had-an-absolutely-great-year

Pat Riley: "We Had An Absolutely Great Year"

TV:ESPN, Postgame Coverage on Bally Sports Sun

Item of the Game: Court Culture White Hot New Arrivals

Injury Updates: Tyler Herro, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Groin; Strain) - Kyle Lowry, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Hamstring Strain) - P.J. Tucker, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Knee; Irritation) - Max Strus, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Right Hamstring) - Gabe Vincent, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Hamstring; Strain); Boston: Marcus Smart, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Right Ankle; Sprain) - Sam Hauser, Out, Injury/Illness (Right Shoulder; Instability Episode) - Robert Williams, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Knee Soreness)

gameday-rundown-heat-vs-celtics-game-7

Gameday Rundown: HEAT vs. Celtics Game 7

Item of the Game: Miami HEAT Mashup White Hat - $20

gameday-rundown-heat-vs-celtics-game-6

Gameday Rundown: HEAT vs. Celtics Game 6

gameday-rundown-heat-vs-celtics-game-5

Gameday Rundown: HEAT vs. Celtics Game 5

Your Miami HEAT announced today that it will host a White Hot HEAT Road Rally presented by Bacardi at the FTX Arena for Game 6 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. The White Hot HEAT Road Rally is the official watch party for HEAT playoff road games.

HEAT fans are encouraged to join the HEAT Dancers, Burnie, the Hoop Troop, PA Announcer, Michael B., in-Arena hosts Brittany and Dale, and DJ M DOT to watch the national telecast of the HEAT taking on the Celtics in Boston. Game 6 will take place on Friday, May 27, at 8:30 p.m. Doors to the FTX Arena will open at 7:30 p.m.

HEAT fans wishing to attend the White Hot HEAT Road Rally will be required to purchase General Admission tickets for $5.00 apiece. All seats are general admission and available on a first come, first served basis. Tickets are on sale now exclusively on HEAT.com/tickets/single-game-tickets and Ticketmaster.com. There is an eight ticket maximum per person. Tickets for the Road Rally will not be available at the FTX Arena Box Office.

The White Hot HEAT Road Rally will be mobile-only entry. HEAT fans may access their Road Rally tickets via the Miami HEAT App, Ticketmaster.com and/or the Ticketmaster App on a smartphone in order gain entry to FTX Arena. For more information, please visit HEAT.com/app.

Parking will be available in the FTX Arena’s P2 parking garage for $5.00 per car and will be available on a first come, first served basis. Select concession stands as well as select locations of The Miami HEAT Store will be open for business.

All ticketed fans in attendance will receive a headband courtesy of HairClub.

In addition, the game will not be broadcast on the MiamiMediaMesh in front of the Arena.

heat-to-host-white-hot-heat-road-rally-presented-by-bacardi

HEAT TO HOST WHITE HOT HEAT ROAD RALLY PRESENTED BY BACARDI

Bam Adebayo has been named to the 2021-22 NBA All-Defensive Second Team, leading the Second Team with 152 points, missing the First Team by just one point. This marks as Adebayo’s third All-Defensive Team selection. Additionally, it is also the 17th time a member of the HEAT has been named to an All-Defensive Team.

Adebayo, who finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season, averaged 19.1 points, a team-leading 10.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.43 steals while shooting 55.7 percent from the field. He led the squad in rebounds a team-high 43 times, in blocks a team-high 22 times and in steals on 16 occasions. Adebayo recorded at least one steal in a career-high 14 consecutive games from January 17 through February 12 and his 1.43 steals per game average was second among all centers as he helped anchor a defense that allowed just 105.6 points per game, the fourth-lowest in the NBA. Miami held teams to 108.4 points per 100 possessions, and with Adebayo on the court, that number dropped to 104.9 points, which would be the top defense in the league. Adebayo helped the HEAT’s defense hold teams to under 100 points 24 times this regular season, posting a 23-1 record over that span. The multi-dimensional defender held guards to just 39.2 percent from the field, including 35.4 percent from three-point range, as well as forwards to 24.4 percent and centers to 15.8 percent from downtown. Adebayo scored a season-high 36 points while also blocking three shots vs. San Antonio on February 26 to become the first HEAT player with at least 35 points and three blocks since LeBron James accomplished the feat on March 18, 2014 at Cleveland. He capped the season leading the HEAT in blocks (44), offensive rebounds (137), defensive rebounds (427) and total rebounds (564) while finishing second in steals (80).

bam-adebayo-named-to-nba-all-defensive-second-team

BAM ADEBAYO NAMED TO NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM

Item of the Game: Miami HEAT Logo White Tee - $15

Injury Updates: Kyle Lowry, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Hamstring Strain) - P.J. Tucker, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Knee; Irritation) - Max Strus, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Right Hamstring) - Gabe Vincent, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Hamstring; Strain); Boston:  Sam Hauser, Out, Injury/Illness (Right Shoulder; Instability Episode)

gameday-rundown-heat-vs-celtics-game-3

Gameday Rundown: HEAT vs. Celtics Game 3

Item of the Game: White Hot Headwear – New Arrivals

Injury Updates: Kyle Lowry, Out, Injury/Illness (Hamstring Strain) - Max Strus, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Right Hamstring) - Gabe Vincent, Questionable, Injury/Illness (Left Hamstring; Strain); Boston: Marcus Smart, Probably, Injury/Illness (Right Mid-Foot; Sprain) - Sam Hauser, Out, Injury/Illness (Right Shoulder; Instability Episode) - Al Horford, Doubtful, Health and Safety Protocols