ASK IRA: Did Erik Spoelstra, Pat Riley give us good cop, bad cop with their dual Heat media sessions?
Q: The tension around this team has been evident, and while I wouldn’t quite describe the season as joyless basketball, the personality team disorder has been on display for anyone with eyes. It’s going to be a very interesting offseason, so pass the popcorn.– Brian, Fort Lauderdale.
A: As a colleague mentioned as he compared the media sessions of Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley, it almost was a case of good cop, bad cop, where Spoelstra had mostly platitudes and Riley was more critical. And that makes sense. Riley can always retreat to his office, pull the shades, and work the phones. Spoelstra is around the players more often, required to build bridges. So while the Heat often insist on a single voice, this was a moment when the contrast was needed. Spoelstra set an agenda during his media session; Riley lowered the hammer during his. Spoelstra offered how this still could work; Riley made it clear it had better work. The common theme is that both are in charge in their own ways, with more power at the moment than any player in the locker room (which hasn’t always been the case during the Jimmy Butler era).
Q: Why let Jimmy Butler’s agent have a voice at the table? If Jimmy didn’t like what Pat Riley had to say, then let him say it. – Seth.
A: First, that was not my takeaway from Jimmy Butler’s agent offering his counter to the concerns about the time Jimmy Butler has missed during his Heat tenure. It only seemed fair that the other side of the equation also be presented. And the reality is that Jimmy, except for a league-mandated two-question interview during the national telecast of the second play-in game, has opted not to make himself available to the media since the night he injured his knee, including again bypassing the season-ending optional media exit interviews last week at Kaseya Center. Believe me, that, by far, would have been the preference, Jimmy’s perspective in his own words. Instead, we apparently will have to wait for TMZ to track him down. Or, in coming weeks, we’ll probably get Jimmy’s rebuttal from a coffee plantation somewhere in Brazil or Colombia, or at a newly rebuilt Mocha Joe.
Q: Why do I get so pumped whenever Pat Riley holds his post season conference? Is he the ultimate salesperson? Is this team as good as he thinks it is? – Rodney.
A: Actually, my take was the team wasn’t as good as he thought it should have been. It was as if it was a referendum on availability being the best ability.