Miami Heat emperor Pat Riley turns 73 in March. He once told those in his inner circle he planned to leave basketball, make a clean break, when the LeBron Jones epoch ran its course. He was lying to himself. Riley still talks retirement all the time. Nobody believes him.
He wants to fashion another championship run, one last hurrah, but how can he make it happen? How can he possibly get the ending right from here?
His Heat won a third straight game Friday night to go four games over .500, and this, for fans, defines feeling good in the post-Big 3 era.