Pat Riley is known for one thing in the NBA most of all: success. The former coach and player, and current Miami Heat executive, got to his nine championships in a variety of ways, and some of them are certainly unconventional. As he grew older and wiser and weirder, all the more so.
Maybe LeBron James should take note. Known for trying to mold his Cleveland Cavaliers into a culture more like that of the Miami Heat he won two titles with, James is visibly frustrated with his team these days. Perhaps, while in South Beach, James saw something like what Shaquille O’Neal saw when winning a championship with Riley and the Heat in 2006.
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What similarly strange tactic could LeBron use to motivate his sagging teammates as they trail the Golden State Warriors 0-2 in the Finals? Walk across hot coals? Climb the Golden Gate Bridge without a harness? Or better yet: What would Riley do here?
It’ll take something unforeseen to bring the Cavs back into this series, in any event. Here’s to hoping LeBron and Co. resort to unusual methods in the face of such long odds, and make the Finals entertaining, if not competitive.
