Look at Woj's latest which was ostensibly a "Will Riley Coach" piece that turned into another 6 paragraph beat down of TWoA.
I don't care if it's time to move on. I love seeing the guy take a beating
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... heat111110
And don’t think for a moment that LeBron James’(notes) tempered praise of his own coach hasn’t gone unnoticed in the league. Once he praised the Hall of Fame status of Jerry Sloan, insisted that Sloan knew exactly what the Heat would run at the end of the overtime loss on Tuesday, the passive-aggressive act that Mike Brown knew all too well with the Cleveland Cavaliers returned.
The true judgment of Spoelstra won’t come until the postseason. Whatever issues these Heat have in the regular season, they’ll still have a lot of long winning streaks and blowout victories. They’ll still push past 60 victories. Spoelstra and Wade have a bond, history and a common goal beyond winning titles: Keeping Riley upstairs, keeping themselves in power.
Should Pat Riley return to coaching the Heat?Yes No View Results
When things don’t go well for the Heat, there’s one guarantee: James will never take responsibility. Here’s a man who quit in the middle of Game 5 to the Celtics a season ago, stopped playing in a conference semifinal and still wanted Brown and his supporting cast blamed like in the past. Here’s a man who needed Nike to make some kind of half-baked commercial apology that only came within the context of pushing his shoes. James knows only how to be about James, and he’ll sacrifice anyone to protect himself.
Ultimately, Spoelstra is an easy target for everyone. He’s a fine coach and he’s thrust into a tougher job than people want to admit. Without size, without much depth, he must win a title now. What’s more, the flaws that come with James as a leader – especially the focus that comes and goes – takes its toll on a team.
Perhaps James likes the idea of Riley’s cachet and privately hopes he’s his coach someday. Only he knows right now. Ultimately, James will dominate the organization. That’s coming with him, and they all know it. Unless the Heat play better, blame will come, and come in unprecedented ways. No regular season has ever been under so much examination, even with all the pompom coverage the Heat get in the media.
“LeBron doesn’t know Riley as a coach,” one league executive said. “LeBron has been coddled most of his life, and I just don’t see him embracing Pat’s style as a coach.”
