Riley Takes Leave

Riley Takes Leave

By Marty Gitlin Contributing Writer

If the season ended today, the defending champions wouldn’t even qualify for the playoffs.

And matters are worsening daily for the Miami Heat.

Not only are superstars Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal sidelined with injuries, but key pieces Antoine Walker and James Posey were both deactivated Wednesday for body fat readings that exceed team parameters.

Team president and coach Pat Riley won’t even be around for a while to right the ship. He’s taking an indefinite leave of absence due to chronic knee and hip problems and has handed the reins to assistant Ron Rothstein. Riley will undergo surgery on the knee Friday.

“We have a championship team that is sideways right now, so this is going to be a great challenge,” Riley told the Associated Press. “Keep your notebooks open. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Rothstein coached the expansion Heat from 1988 to 1991 before taking over the Detroit Pistons, but he hasn’t worked as an NBA head coach for 14 years.

The depleted Heat fell to 13-18 with a lopsided 110-95 home loss Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Clippers. With Wade, O’Neal, Walker and Posey out, the Heat's most potent offensive player is Jason Kapono, who led the team with 19 points.

Wade should return shortly from a sprained wrist and O’Neal is expected back by the end of the upcoming six-game road trip.

144 POINTS! THE GRIZZLIES? Many critics believed the philosophy of recently fired Memphis coach Mike Fratello simply didn’t fit his talent.

They believed the Grizzlies boasted too much athleticism for Fratello’s grind-it-out style. Early indications are that they were right.

The Grizzlies have won two of three since the firing, including a stunningly explosive 144-135 defeat of visiting Golden State on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies were averaging 94.5 points a game with Fratello as coach and are averaging 121 points a game since.

The most notable beneficiary has been forward Mike Miller, who is averaging 30.7 points a game since Fratello was fired. He has been scorching hot, hitting 32 of 47 (68 percent) from the field in those three games.

DRIBBLES: Seldom-used guards were swapped Wednesday when New Jersey sent Jeff McInnis to Charlotte for Bernard Robinson. McInnis should receive significant playing time with starting point guard Brevin Knight sidelined. … The Pistons will be without high-scoring guard Chauncey Billups tonight in Oklahoma City, but they will be playing a far more decimated team in the Hornets. The Hornets' injuries are one reason lists them as 7-point home underdogs against Detroit. … The defensive presence of Dikembe Mutombo in the middle is helping Houston overcome the loss of all-star center Yao Ming. Mutombo took just four shots, but scored eight points and added 12 rebounds in a 103-96 defeat of Seattle on Wednesday night. The Rockets are 4-1 since Yao was lost with a broken bone in his right leg.

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