I‘m defending Pat Riley
Several in the media have been critical of Pat Riley’s post-championship speech on Thursday. He said nothing disparaging in my view; he was stating what he believed the future of the Heat franchise. I claim no allegiance to the Heat as for Riley that’s a different story. Success has always been part of Riley’s DNA and I believe one of his life desires is for teams he’s associated with to accomplish lofty goals. If we look back to the past Riley was architect of Laker Showtime, successful coach of the Knicks. Later as coach he would lead the Heat to an NBA Championship before moving into the front office. Riley’s done it all, championship player, and assistant coach, head coach and team president. Reading between the lines I think he wasn’t just addressing Heat players as much as “bandwagon” fans.

You know who you are, you became a Heat fan only after LeBron James and Chris Bosh arrived. I’ve read several critical remarks after the team was a loser against the Spurs; many are searching for another NBA team to replace the Heat. A number of fan criticism is aimed at Heat owner Mickey Arison and the apparent lack of spending to acquire players. Riley is stating clearly “trust me to re-tool” this team, I will do the best I can for the Heat to remain competitive. His “re-build re-tool” speech is a classic, is it abrasive, it might be depending on your perspective. As a Laker fan whose team missed the playoffs shame on the bandwagon Heat fans, this team’s won two of the last four NBA Championships.

Wait before deciding
Surgery for Joel Embiid was successful according to the latest report. He’s expected to be sidelined 4-6 months, it wouldn‘t hurt if he sat out the season. The injury although serious will delay his NBA career but it’s not always career ending. This from the Kansas City Star; *Former NBA centers Bill Walton and Yao Ming both suffered the same injury and faced shortened NBA careers; other players, such as former Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Michael Jordan fractured the navicular bone and went on to long, injury-free careers.” As for which NBA team drafts him that won’t be decided until Thursday. In conclusion I’m constantly amazed at the number of basketball fans with medical knowledge. They have the ability to access a patient’s condition without vesting them. A reader implied; “he’s another Greg Oden,” why not wait and determine when he returns to the court to decide if he’s a bust. *Kansas City Star

Walter Tavares
Last month we introduced you to Walter Tavares from the Cape Verde Islands. Tavares headed here to workout for a number of NBA teams. The 7-3 265 pound Tavares is extremely raw, although he’s 22 he first picked up a basketball in 2010. At this point there is no guarantee he will be drafted because he’s strictly a project at the point, he might be worth a team signing and sending him to the D-League. He could wind up like several Euro players, a number have been drafted but remained in Europe continuing to develop their game. NOTE: According to late news reports Tavares has re-signed with Gran Canaria, he will remain in the 2014 draft. An NBA team choosing him would be required to buy out his Gran Canaria contract.

Bits n Pieces
It’s been my belief humans don’t adapt easily to change. Most change I believe I adapt even if it’s reluctantly. A change I don’t like is the elimination of center play in the NBA. For the first time there were no centers starting in the 2014 All-Star game. Teams now play small ball, 7-footers are now power forwards, a decade or so ago they played center. They have become jump shooters unwilling to shoot even a jump hook.

“I need the money” was the comment made by Steve Nash. We all realize NBA and athletes in general earn loads of money. Large sums of money earned entails large sums of money spent by the athlete. Personally I have no issue with the money until you reach a point of decreased returns. My Lakers are there, they are paying Nash far more than the value they are receiving.

For the fifth straight year Kansas City will see the Miami Heat, they will face the Warriors on October 17 in a pre-season game at the Sprint Center. I guess four consecutive sale outs are the basis for their continued presence here; an appearance by LeBron James doesn’t hurt either.

Surprise I come to his defense. This is a brief account of a discussion on local sports talk radio, the subject matter; “Bill Self was not good at developing NBA talent.” The host indicated two NBA writers claimed information from NBA scouts made this assessment of Self. My initial response might be it’s not Self’s responsibility or any other coach to develop talent for the NBA.

One had submitted his retirement papers earlier the other needs too follow the lead. We knew prior to the start of the championship series Shane Battier was retiring. Battier will be working for ESPN’s college basketball coverage. Ray Allen announced he is considering retirement; I hate to say this Ray your best days are behind you. .413 from the floor for a “shooter” ain’t gonna cut it.