Stephen A. Smith doesn’t hold back on Pat Riley’s situation with the Heat: “You have to get people to want to come to Miami”

On Monday evening the Miami Heat came uncomfortably close to breaking the NBA Playoff record for heaviest postseason loss.

The Heat were brushed aside by the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling to a humiliating 138-83 loss in front of their home support. That loss completed a 4-0 series sweep and prompted yet more questions about the direction of the Heat franchise.

Those questions were a major topic of conversation on ESPN’s First Take on Monday morning, with the panel casting an eye over a flatlining Miami team. Stephen A. Smith was among those casting an opinion and he was insistent that change is needed, pointing the finger at Heat president Pat Riley.

Smith said: “Change has to start, at Riley. It’s time. You have never heard anyone say that about the great Pat Riley, who I revere. I’ve got a lot of love for this man and I appreciate what he has done for the game of basketball."

“I don’t have any doubt that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to basketball, in terms of what the team needs, the coach it has, etcetera. The reason I’m bringing up that there has to be a change in Miami is because you have to get people to want to come to Miami. And he’s not that guy anymore."

Riley is a three-time NBA Coach of the Year, winning the award with three different teams. He has been the Heat’s full-time team president since 2008 but is Smith believes that now is the time for a change.

“He’s not gone, but he cant get the right people to Miami,” Smith said of Riley. “What I’m trying to say is that Erik Spoelstra should be president of basketball operations at the Heat."

Spoelstra is another long-time Miami fixture. He was Riley’s assistant for 11 years before taking over as head coach in 2008. After 17 years in his current role, is now the time for him to replace Riley once again?

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