Pat Riley takes leave...

[Three Jack]

I guess it was too much for poor Pat..no D-Wade, No Shaq...now, no Pat! I really dislike this guy....


Updated: Jan. 3, 2007, 1:40 PM ET
Sources: Heat coach Riley to take leaveESPN.com news services


Miami Heat coach Pat Riley will take a leave of absence, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday, citing unnamed league sources.

According to the newspaper, Riley informed the team of the decision on Wednesday morning and an interim replacement was not immediately named.

The Heat are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday before embarking on a six-game Western road trip.


The Heat, who have been without center Shaquille O'Neal, are off to a 13-17 start and currently out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

[TheRook]

Doesn't shock me at all....

Get out while the going is good....Riley is just that kind of coach now with nothing left to prove i'm sure he's thinking.

[rxpert]

he'll let stan van gundy coach a depleted team again, then come back when they're full strength & be the savior. Th only thing he's ever done is written out a starting line up that had magic, worth, kareem, ewing, shaq, wade. when the going gets tough...he leaves!

[Blackbeard]

At least get the story right b4 you slam a guy:

Pat Riley announced on Wednesday he will need to take an indefinite leave of absence for health reasons.

Riley, who also serves as team president, is scheduled to undergo right knee surgery on Friday and will also need to undergo hip surgery at a later date.

"I don't know how long indefinitely will be. It depends on the rehabilitation period," Riley said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. "I have a lot of floating chips in the knee and I don't want to keep taking injections just to bend my knee. I want to get it taken care of as soon as possible. Then I have to prepare myself for the hip thing (surgery)."

Assistant Ron Rothstein will take over as coach of the defending NBA champions in Riley's absence.

[checkers]

Antoine Walker and James Posey were deactivated for Wednesday's game because they didn't meet a team conditioning goal.