The Miami Herald (Barry Jackson) reports: As he passes the coaching reins to Erik Spoelstra, Pat Riley plans to change his approach from when Stan Van Gundy was the coach. Reflecting in a quiet moment, Riley said, ”I distanced myself, I thought, a little too much [from Van Gundy], not in a meddling way. I really showed too much respect, too much distance and wanted to stay absolutely out of the picture because it was his show.” Although Riley wants to give Spoelstra a lot of space, “I think there has to be more contact between me and the head coach on a regular basis, meet once every month or every two weeks.” And Riley said he must ”have a more positive relationship” with his new coach: “I don’t think I ever gave Stan enough kudos because I never needed a pat on the back. When you’re in that position, you never expect one. That’s probably where I’ll come in more than I did the last time.”
