Pat Riley Quotes on Time (24 Quotes)

That's two games in a row that we showed, at a time when we need to show it, a real lockdown mentality defensively. It's not surprising to me if they're committed on doing it. They've done it off and on. Not consistent. It's when the mood strikes them.

Riley said he hopes to sign Shaquille O'Neal for up to five years. From my experience with big men, we did not start the dynasty in Los Angeles until Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 32 years old, ... From the time Kareem was 32 to the time he was 42, the team won five championships.

Phil has always been one of the great complainers of all time. I think he does it from a coaching standpoint. He definitely wants to get a mindset out there if in fact he ever plays the Mavericks in the playoffs.

The bigger the moment, both of them stepped up even bigger. Sometimes, it's absolutely beyond description. I haven't seen players do that in a long, long time.

We have been able to secure one of the most dominant men to ever play the game of basketball as a member of the Heat, ... At the same time, we have gained the flexibility to achieve our ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship.

He just got beat down there, didn't he Phil is one of the great complainers of all time.

I'm really tired of talking about it. I hate to do it, but there's a huge double standard here. He turns in, it's a foul on him. And they're pushing and shoving on him all the time.

This is an entirely different basketball team than I've ever coached. The personalities are different. There's a lot of great things. There's a lot of things that have to be purged. It's just a whole different view. There's a lot of good parts, so it's going to take some time to figure it all out.

If we're going to make any kind of move, this is the time to do it.

I didn't even know he was going to play. He hasn't been able to condition because he hasn't been playing basketball. We've got to get him court time.

That's one of the better games and more complete games we've played in a long time.

I think probably a month ago or two months ago we wouldn't even come close to winning a game like this. We were very frustrated in the beginning with some very good defensive tactics on their part. They were just committed to fouling Shaquille (O'Neal) every single time.

This is the time of year the enthusiasm should be coming to an all-time high.

I can't remember ever dealing with something like that over a long period of time. There are always disputes. You have them. But when you carry it that far, anything can go on. But that happens in this league. A lot of it stays in the locker room. We try to keep it in the locker room if we can.

I know Chicago's got a lot riding on this game, but I've always taken the position that at the end of the season, it's not our responsibility to take care of other peoples' destiny. I've got to get my team ready for the playoffs. I've got to rest certain guys, I've got to get other guys time and at the same time, still make it a game.

That was the first time I've seen Gary play like Gary in a long time.

He's got to do it. I was very disappointed... Those are the things that he has to dominate if he's going to be fronted and backed and we can't get him the ball all the time. He has to use his size and keep his head under the rim.

That was a game situation. He's supposed to be on the court, but I had a hard time taking anybody off the court at that time, because we were down and then we went ahead by eight. As a coach, you're going to ride that lineup as long as you can.

I've been wanting him for a long time. Now that I've got him, I can't take him off the court.

They played an absolutely great game. They did what they had to do defensively. It didn't help us that Shaquille got in foul trouble. Any time he gets in foul trouble and has to sit down, it sets us and him back.

The worst thing that can happen is that if you let your mind go for seven days. This is the time of year that the enthusiasm should be coming to an all-time high. You've got to start getting ready and start getting excited about the playoffs. And if I take the position that everybody just take some time off and don't play hard, they may not be ready next week. It's a fine line.

That's one of the better, more complete games that we've played in a long time. It's the first time that Shaq, in a couple of weeks, has been running to the rim and we got him early in transition and that's what it was. We have to get back to that game.

Last year we understood and found out exactly how lethal injuries at the wrong time can be, so I think we protected ourselves a little bit there. As a matter of fact, I think we protected ourselves big-time in that capacity if we lose a perimeter guy.

People got a view of absolute greatness. It's absolutely beyond description. I haven't seen players do that in a long time.