The Hoops Whisperer

When Pat Riley retired briefly from coaching, he went into the lecture circuit as a motivational speaker, for $50K per. He was that good. Today, this exceptional talent will be put to the test.

For the past four games, his superstar player, LeBron James, has the lost look of a 10-year old who is afraid that the ball would come his way. Riley would need to dig deep in his bag of tricks to fire up his visibly cold superstar for game 6 of this year’s NBA Finals or it would be a long summer for the Miami Heat.

In 2006, Riley was right when he replaced, then coached Stan Van Gundy, the guy who was getting in the way of the Heats’ first championships. After losing the first two games in the 2006 NBA Finals with the same Dallas Mavericks they are facing now, this hoops whisperer said something to his team that suddenly turned the donkey into a racehorse. The Miami Heat of 2006 won the next four games earning its first and only NBA crown.

Today, we will know if he still has the ability to motivate the greatest basketball talent in the planet. I would love to hear what Riley would say to a catatonic James. Riley has his work cut out for him. If he fails, this could be the biggest meltdown since Chernobyl.

If the psychobabble won’t work, maybe Pat could try a “Code Red”. If you remember the flick, A Few Good Men, it’s what Marine Col. Nathan R. Jessup (played menacingly by Oscar winner and Laker fan, Jack Nicholson) ordered his Marines for PFC William Santiago, a Marine who compared unfavorably to his fellow marines. Maybe LeBron needs a basketball’s version of a Code Red.

But why do a lot of people dislike James? I guess the main reason is that he ran away from a fight we all thought he could win. To make matters worse, he hid behind the skirt of someone who was obviously below his ability. We knew that he was capable of winning the fight but the moment he backed off, we all wanted to see him pay for it and we wanted him to fail spectacularly. We wanted to see him humiliated, especially America. You see, America loves to see its heroes fall from grace. I don’t have to tell you about O.J. Simpson, Barry Bonds, Gary Hart and Mike Tyson.

LeBron’s legacy is at stake here, and the reputations of Riley, Coach Eric Spoelstra, and the way the “Big Three” amalgamated in Miami during the preseason, well, the list goes on. LeBron will probably win more than one ring in his career but in the here and now, James isn’t playing like the King that he is called, but a shrink-King. The NBA though, is enjoying this unprecedented popularity of its very unpopular face.

Pat Riley, order the code, now! – THE FREEMAN