The Miami Heat’s season is officially over. They failed to win a single game in their first-round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers and were outscored by 122 points in the four-game sweep — the largest point differential in any series in NBA playoffs history.
With Jimmy Butler long gone, the Heat’s chances of advancing in the postseason looked slim at best, despite some strong outings in the play-in tournament.
Butler is the latest addition to a long list of stars who were involved in a power struggle with Pat Riley.
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Along with the team’s recent failures to land another star via a trade, Stephen A. Smith thinks that it’s time for Miami to move on from Riley.
“I don’t have any doubt that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to basketball in terms of what the team needs, the coach it has, etcetera,” Smith said on Tuesday, via ‘First Take.’ “The reason I’m bringing up that there has to be a change in Miami is because you have to get people to want to come to Miami, and he’s not that guy anymore.”
Riley has one of the brightest basketball minds in NBA history, and he has a proven track record of success. However, the only constant in this world is change.
Gary Payton says Pat Riley might finally change his ways
The Miami Heat doesn’t have a clear-cut star. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo are good players, but they might not be franchise-caliber players.
Former Heat star Gary Payton predicted that Riley would abandon his old blueprint to bring some star power to South Beach.
“Right now this era is a lot different man. They controlling things in this little era, right?” Payton said on Monday, via ‘Nightcap.’ “So what’s going to happen is that Pat gonna try to get right, but he got to get that player that’s going to be really to do whatever.”
Riley is known for his no-nonsense approach and micromanagement style. It worked like a charm back in the day, but modern stars don’t necessarily appreciate that.
He also reportedly tried to mess with LeBron James’ cookies during a team flight, and infamously called out Jimmy Butler in public during last year’s playoffs.
Riley built Heat Culture, but it’s always been about winning, so he might reconsider his ways.
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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez
