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Stick With What Works Riley

I’m starting to get sick of the flip-flopping Pat Riley is doing with his lineup, when clearly the best option to start at guard right now is the hot shooting Chris Quinn. There has been no consistency this season when it comes to ball control and scoring. It blows my mind (granted I’m not the hall of fame coach) that once we get in a nice groove with a rotation, Riley insists that he inserts Jason Williams back in the starting lineup. It looks like J-Will will hold onto his starting job for now despite the strong play of Chris Quinn according to this mornings Miami Herald. Riley did issue a challenge to his team after the loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday…

Pat Riley drew an imaginary line in the middle of the floor before Friday’s practice.

Then, he left the players with two choices.

”Coach said there’s a fine line with this team right now,” guard Dwyane Wade said. “We can either take a step to the right and be a great team. Or, we can step to the left and be one of the worst teams in the league.”

It’s pretty clear to me that Jason Williams is starting as a showcase for a trade in the near future. The question the rest of the season really isn’t if J-Will will be traded but when he will. Ira Winderman explains that STARTING point guards net you more on the trade market than bench players. You can see the future of this team unfolding in front of us as the slow, pound it into Shaq game clearly isn’t the right formula for winning. If we had clear outside threats at the 3 point line (Kapono, Posey, Eddie Jones), this style of play would still seem sexy.

From what I am seeing with the small explosion of youth we are running out onto the court every night, the game needs to be sped up and that we could really benefit from a Phoenix or Golden State style of basketball. Of course with a small dab of defense thrown in for good measure.

The guys just look out of sync right now and I feel it stems mainly from Shaquille O’Neal’s demand for the ball down low. Shaq has looked clumsy and slow under the net and seems to be stunting the play of the guys around him.

FYI: Jason Kapono drained 29 in last nights game for Toronto. Just sayin.

Your thoughts?