Pat Riley leave of absence

[BayouBrave86]

Breaking news supposedly, man this could be the year we finally take the Southeast..hell maybe even the Eastern Conference..

[mojobo]

Their season looks to be slipping away from them.

[skinfan2k]

miami is built for the playoffs, as long as there are in the playoffs there fine

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I like this news from the Heat...

Walker, Posey don't meet conditioning goals, must sit

MIAMI -- Heat forwards Antoine Walker and James Posey were deactivated for the team's game Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers because they didn't meet a team conditioning goal.

Heat coach Pat Riley, who also announced Wednesday that he was taking a medical leave of absence, said Walker and Posey may be back as soon as Friday in Phoenix -- but could face suspension by Jan. 15 if the undisclosed goal is not met.

"There's been an ongoing conditioning goal that our team has had to make since the summer. ... January was the deadline, they haven't made it, and they knew this was going to happen if they didn't make it," Riley said. "By the way, both of them are in the best condition of their lives. They're very close. But a deadline is a deadline."

Walker declined comment before Wednesday's game.

Posey said his deactivation stemmed from a rule the Heat has about body fat. He said his body fat is 9 percent, but Riley wanted it to be 8 percent.

"He wants the weight to be down and he has his standards, I guess, for the bigs and the perimeters or whatever," Posey said. "It's the weight and for the perimeters [it's] 8 percent body fat. ... I'm at 9 percent body fat. And, that's not eight."

With center Shaquille O'Neal (knee surgery), forward Wayne Simien (recovering from salmonella poisoning) and guard Dwyane Wade (sprained wrist) all expected to miss Wednesday's game with injuries, the absence of Walker and Posey means the Heat will dress only 10 players against the Clippers.

Posey is averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds this season, while Walker is averaging 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds on 40 percent shooting.

I really do think that last year was their one year to make a run. Outside of D-Wade they are just old. And even he seems like he's always getting hurt and missing time.

[Spaceman Spiff]

**** pat riley!

[mojobo]

miami is built for the playoffs, as long as there are in the playoffs there fine
They do have a lot of threats when healthy but they are definantly not the team to beat. As of right now I would much rather see them in the playoffs than Detroit, Celveland, Chicago, and possibly even Milwaukee with the way they play against us.

[hands11]

They do have a lot of threats when healthy but they are definantly not the team to beat. As of right now I would much rather see them in the playoffs than Detroit, Celveland, Chicago, and possibly even Milwaukee with the way they play against us.

We talked about this last season and during the offseason, Miami is getting old and on the way down while teams like us, Cleveland, Chicago, yes Charlotte, and Milwalkee are on the way up. Detroit is getting old also.

Of those teams, I question what will happen with Cleveland, since Hughes never stays healthy, Marshall (33) and Ilgauskas (31) are getting old.

Im not sure what to make of Orlando.