Watch CBS News

Rice: Riley is a Genius; Dragic a 'Tremendous Talent'

To tank or not to tank? That's the question many Miami Heat fans have been pondering as the basketball gods continue to plant barricades in front of Erik Spoelstra's crew amid the rockiest of seasons. After all, Miami's keeps their first-round pick this season if it falls within the Top 10.

For Heat legend Glen Rice, though, the decision is simple -- make the playoffs.

"I think it's more important to make the playoffs," Rice said on 560 WQAM's Marc Hochman Show with Zach Krantz. "I mean, come on, we've got a genius working for us -- Pat Riley, he always figures things out. So if we for some reason don't make it, we'll be okay because he's at the helm and he's gonna take care of everything. I think for the morale of the team and the confidence of the players that are on the team now, making the playoffs and having an opportunity to take that next step with the team we have now is very important."

An interesting side nugget is Riley was the one who triggered Rice's trade from the Heat to the Hornets in exchange for Alonzo Mourning back in 1995. Rice was a legitimate star at the time, having averaged 22.3 points and 4.6 rebounds the previous season, with a sensational shooting split 46-41-86 (FG-3FG-FT %). It was one of Riley's first major moves after joining the Heat.

[Follow WQAM on Twitter | Facebook]

Meanwhile, one of Pat's notable acquisitions this season was trading for Goran Dragic, the NBA's most efficient guard at the rim (68%) and the only guard in the league to rank in the Top 25 in field-goal percentage with his 50-percent shooting overall (18th).

"I love it," Rice said of Dragic's style. "When you talk about the point guard position, yeah that's a position we have been sort of lacking with the exception of LeBron running point-forward. He's a tremendous talent. I mean I watched him play in some of the games and I'm like 'how did he even get to the basket and was able to lay that up?' And we get a bonus because that guy can really shoot the basketball.

"It does give Dwyane Wade an opportunity to sit back and kind of be on cruise control at times and not have him slicing through the lane and getting hit and knocked down, which is what we don't want."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.