Pat Riley will miss Friday's game against Orlando to scout the Big 12 tournament. His likely replacement would be assistant Ron Rothstein.
Riley's plan to miss a game to scout is a reduced plan. He originally planned to miss a few games but that's been downsized. Still, it's a plan that's being met with a large measure of criticism among media. That was the case again Wednesday. "I'm not taking a hiatus," Riley said. "I'm multi-tasking."
Riley related the story of a reporter asking him recently whether it would be better to focus on one job -- coaching or scouting -- as opposed to trying to do both. Riley joked he knew which job he should perform.
"It sure as hell isn't coaching," he said with a smile. "I haven't done that good all year. So why don't I get out and do the other job I'm pretty good at?"
Riley said he wouldn't go any farther West than Kansas City, site of the Big 12 Tournament, because he doesn't want to miss Heat games. He said he'd be on the phone with Rothstein to check on things.
Rothstein, the first coach in franchise history, took over for the 22-game stint last season when Riley had hip and knee surgeries, and simply needed to take a break from his disappointing squad. Rothstein led the Heat to a 13-9 record.
To some, it's a surprise that assistant coach Erik Spoelstra, the young heir apparent to Riley, isn't taking over. Last season, Riley called Spoelstra one of the brightest assistant coaches in the league and all but anointed him the team's next coach.
On another front, Dwyane Wade underwent his OssaTron procedure Tuesday. He'll be sidelined for 30 days before he can begin basketball-related activities. Wade wasn't on the bench for Wednesday's game against New York.
KNICKS 91, HEAT 88: Two air-balls defined the late-game offense in another blunder-filled finish for Miami, which worked hard to cut a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to four before falling apart.
Small wonder the Heat is a league-worst 11-52.
Guard Jason Williams' three-point attempt with 1.7 seconds left and Miami trailing, 91-88, fell far short of hitting anything. It might not even have been the shot the Heat wanted, but it had no timeouts when it inbounded the ball with 6.8 seconds left.
Center Mark Blount shot an air-ball on a three-point try with 34 seconds remaining and the Heat trailing, 84-81.
"We had that one possession where we probably should have taken a timeout," coach Pat Riley said.
New York's Nate Robinson hit a pair of free throws with 26.9 seconds left to put the Knicks ahead, 86-81.
On the inbounds play, Ricky Davis appeared to be tripped by teammate Mark Blount and fell to the floor just before Jason Williams passed the ball, and consequently it sailed out of bounds untouched with no foul called.
Davis went to the free throw line with 9.5 seconds left and hit both to cut Miami's deficit to 90-88. New York's Jamal Crawford hit one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to set up Williams' game-ending attempt.
Miami has lost three consecutive close games -- 97-94 at Atlanta, 99-98 against the Los Angeles Clippers and 91-88 against New York.
"They've been heard-earned losses," Riley said.
It was the 11th three-point loss the Heat has compiled this season.
"It's a nightmare," Riley said.
