Sam Smith

MIAMI - Could it be that Pat Riley was right and the rest of us — more importantly, me — were wrong? Pat Riley with his more than 20 years coaching in the NBA, almost 1,200 wins and now 167 in the playoffs with his Miami Heat advancing to the NBA Finals Thursday? And me with my more than 20 years watching?

I wasn't alone. Most of us said it: You were two minutes from the NBA Finals last season, a Game 7 loser to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, and that was maybe only because Dwyane Wade had to sit out the Game 6 loss with a hip injury suffered in Game 5 and Shaquille O'Neal was just rounding into form after injuries earlier in the playoffs. Why change?

But Riley had apparently seen too much.

He injected himself into the coaching chair, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, when he seemed to undermine Stan Van Gundy after the series loss by suggesting he needed to take a more active role. Van Gundy became a lame duck after that. And while I believe Riley really didn't want to coach, especially when he got into the job and found O'Neal pacing himself until May, it was probably inevitable because O'Neal needed to play for Riley.

One could always sense the unpleasant undercurrent there. Shaq wanted to be coached by someone who had championship rings, preferably more than he did. It's why he demanded Chuck Daly or Phil Jackson in L.A., and probably would have eventually demanded Riley had Van Gundy not stepped aside with O'Neal just returning from an early season ankle injury.

But what was the deal with all the has-beens and never was guys?

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Sure, Riley wasn't thrilled with Damon Jones' shots and Eddie Jones' lack of them in last year's conference finals. He worried about the longevity of O'Neal and the beating Wade continued to take, and again Wade wasn't feeling very good for a Game 6 with the flu this time, though he did work the ball around between trips to the IV tube for several lob dunks to O'Neal which got the Heat going in a game they dominated virtually from the start in their 95-78 victory.

"When we needed a basket, we threw it to him," said Wade, who had a game-high 10 assists in the conference clincher, most to O'Neal, who had 28 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. "He just told me to pace myself. He said the guys were ready."

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And they were.

Jason Williams, who was averaging six points against the Pistons, made 10 of 12 shots, getting the Heat off with six of their first 10 points and a lead they never would give up and ended with 21 points.

"I thought Jason Williams was the determining factor," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders.