Milwaukee Bucks forward Anthony Mason said he never could have envisioned the Heat starting the season so poorly.

``No way would they be 2-14 if I was there,'' Mason said in a phone interview. ``They know they should have brought [Mason] back. When people do good, you reward them.''

After a highly productive regular season but a dreadful playoff series against Charlotte, Mason returns to AmericanAirlines Arena on Tuesday without any warm feelings. He's still steamed coach Pat Riley never offered him a contract.

``The city treated me well, the fans treated me great, but Riley and the owner didn't show me respect,'' Mason said.

``I have no respect for them. Riley wasn't man enough to speak to me [Nov. 8 in Milwaukee] or during the summer. If he had just explained to me what he wanted to do, there would have been no hard feelings. I deserved that much.

``I helped get him to the Finals in New York. I held his team above water last year when Alonzo Mourning was out. He used to be loyal. Not now.''

Mason, who signed a four-year, $20.9 million deal with the Bucks, agreed with Tim Hardaway's contention that Riley is inflexible and unlikely to win another championship.

``Reality has slapped him in the face,'' he said. ``The game has changed, and he's not willing to change. When New York and Miami got knocked out in the first round, you had to change your approach. You can't continue to put all the stuff on one person's plate. First, it was Patrick Ewing, and then Alonzo Mourning.

``You have to use the talents of the other players. I know Riley doesn't like isolation basketball, but he's got Eddie Jones and Eddie House. A lot of teams are playing loose, but his teams are very predictable. He probably won't win another title because he's not capable of changing. A lot of players don't want to be there.''

Mason also agreed with Hardaway's contention that Riley was too negative.

``He's a great motivator, but at times he went about it the wrong way. If you are playing bad, you expect to hear it. But when you are playing good, you don't want to be talked bad about.''