New York Knicks guard John Starks thinks fans at Madison Square Garden should give Pat Riley a standing ovation for taking a losing team and getting four seasons of more than 50 wins.
"He came here and brought a winning attitude," said Starks, a CBA product Riley made a key part of his offense. "He deserves a lot of credit."More likely, though, there will be boos aplenty tonight when the ex-New York coach brings his new team into town because of the manner in which Riley got out of town.
"I think the reception will be mixed," New York's Derek Harper said. "I think some people are going to appreciate what he was able to accomplish here and others are going to voice their (negative) opinions."
Whatever the reaction may be, a lot of history has been created between the Knicks and the Heat in a short time.
It was just last June that Riley faxed a resignation letter to the Knicks as he headed for a European vacation, blaming his departure on a front office that wouldn't give him enough control of the team and triggering an angry denial from team president Dave Checketts.
Things got even uglier when the Heat's pursuit of Riley resulted in the Knicks bringing a tampering charge, and news surfaced that the coach talked to Miami officials well before he quit the Knicks with a year to go on his contract. Heat owner Micky Arison got his man only after forking over $1 million and a first-round draft pick to New York.
Riley, who got a 10-year, $30 million deal that includes a minor ownership stake in Miami, claims he's been unfairly portrayed by the media, and doesn't predict a warm welcome when he walks over to sit on the visitors' bench.
"I think New York's going to be just ugly," he said last week. "When I came back (to Los Angeles), people were appreciative. But it didn't end that way here, publicly, so I don't know what to expect. I'm not going to go in there with my head down."
With the job he's done with the Heat, he doesn't have to.
His acquisition of Alonzo Mourning helped Miami get off to an 11-3 start before a rash of injuries caused the Heat to lost six of their last seven. As it is, Riley will be facing his former team without Mourning, forward Billy Owens and guard Sasha Danilovic.
But the Knicks know better than to count on an easy victory against a team they have beaten in 25 of their 32 meetings.