After Early Struggles, Miami Proves It's Tough To Beat The
HEAT
The Miami Heat came into the NBA for the 1988-89 season
as part of a two-phase league expansion that also included the
Orlando Magic, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Charlotte
Hornets. After spending its first few years in the cellar, the
franchise began to make progress thanks to a series of shrewd draft
selections. Although the Heat failed to achieve a winning season
during their first five campaigns, the team stayed close to the
break-even point and made it into the playoffs faster than any of
its expansion peers.
The campaign to install an NBA franchise in Miami began in the
mid-1980s. The two main movers were Zev Buffman, a producer of
stage extravaganzas, and Billy Cunningham, an NBA Hall of Famer and
successful head coach. In 1987 the NBA voted to expand by four
teams. Charlotte and Miami were admitted for the 1988-89 season
after paying an entry fee of $32.5 million apiece, and Orlando and
Minnesota came aboard the following year.
Miami's front-office strength lay in the basketball savvy of
part-owner Cunningham. After a distinguished college career at the
University of North Carolina, he had been a first-round draft pick
of the Philadelphia 76ers. He played 11 years with the Sixers and
with the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association,
was named to the 1966 NBA All-Rookie Team, made four All-NBA
squads, and in 1972-73 was named Most Valuable Player in the ABA.
In 1977 Cunningham became head coach of the 76ers. During his
career he compiled a 454-196 record for a .698 winning percentage.
He guided the team to three NBA Finals and an NBA championship in
1982-83.
The expansion draft wasn't very productive for Miami, but the
Heat did nab Billy Thompson and Jon Sundvold, both of whom gave the
young team some stability. Miami fared better in the 1988 NBA
Draft. With the ninth selection the Heat chose Rony Seikaly, a 6-11
center from Syracuse University. Miami used another first-round
selection (20th overall) to acquire shooting guard Kevin Edwards of
DePaul. In the second round the Heat picked Grant Long, a powerful
6-9, 230-pound forward from Eastern Michigan University who later
developed into one of the team's most effective players.
Expansion teams are rarely competitive, and the inaugural Miami
squad, coached by former Detroit Pistons assistant Ron Rothstein,
was no exception. The Heat finished 15-67, which was not entirely
unexpected, but the team took first-year losing to new extremes in
the early part of the season.
The Heat lost their first NBA game, 111-91, to the Los
Angeles Clippers on November 5 before a Miami Arena sellout crowd
of 15,008. The starting lineup was Rory Sparrow, Edwards, Seikaly,
Pat Cummings, and Thompson. A minute into the game, Sparrow hit a
jump shot to record the first points in Heat history.
There was nothing unusual about that opening loss-it happens all
the time to new teams. But then the club kept losing. It lost at
home and away; it lost close games (96-94, to the Sacramento Kings)
and blowouts (138-91, to the Los Angeles Lakers). On December 10
the Chicago Bulls hammered the Heat, 111-88, and put Miami in the
all-time record book for the most defeats ever at the start of a
season, with 16. The previous mark had been shared by three teams:
the Denver Nuggets in 1949 (that franchise folded after one
season); the Cleveland Cavaliers, in their expansion season of
1970; and Philadelphia in 1972, on its way to the worst won-lost
mark in NBA history (9-73).
After 17 consecutive defeats, the team's first victory came on
December 14 as Miami squeaked by the Clippers, 89-88. The Heat
struggled through another 10-game losing skid into mid-January.
Overall, January was a rough month, with the Heat chilling to 1-13.
February and March brought progress, as the team improved to 9-20
for the two months and delivered some decent performances. On
February 20 Kevin Edwards posted the Heat's highest individual
scoring effort of the season when he poured in 34 points against
the New Jersey Nets.
Miami had its most productive outing of the year on March 10
with a 131-130 double-overtime victory against Denver. In late
March the team put together a modest three-game winning streak, its
longest of the campaign, but immediately relapsed into a 2-12 skein
to end the schedule. An individual highlight came on April 18 when
guard Rory Sparrow posted the first triple-double in Heat history
by scoring 24 points, dishing out 10 assists, and pulling down 10
rebounds in a game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Miami managed only 97.8 points per game, led by Edwards with
13.8 points per contest. Opponents poured in 109.0 points per game.
The team MVP was dependable all-around performer Grant Long, who
played in all 82 games and averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Edwards was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
1989-91: A Productive Draft, But An Unproductive Season
The 1989 NBA Draft brought 6-8, 220-pound forward Glen
Rice, the fourth overall pick. Rice had left the University of
Michigan as the Big Ten Conference's all-time leading scorer and
had led the Wolverines to the NCAA Championship that spring. The
Heat also selected Sherman Douglas, a 6-1 guard from Syracuse
University, in the second round.
Miami moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division for the
1989-90 season. The team improved its record slightly, advancing
three games in the win column to 18-64. That total, one game better
than New Jersey's, enabled the Heat to escape the Atlantic Division
cellar. Once again the year included some prolonged losing skids: 9
games in November and December, 13 games in December and January,
and another 9 games in March and April as the season waned. The
Heat never won more than two games in a row.
The team, however, did manage to turn in occasional highlights.
On February 2 the franchise enjoyed its largest margin of victory
with a 126-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. In a February 13
game against Chicago, Rony Seikaly scored 40 points, becoming the
first player to reach the 40-point mark in Heat history.
Seikaly was named the NBA's Most Improved Player at season's
end. After spending his rookie year adjusting to the league, he
began giving some lessons of his own in 1989-90, and he improved
his output in nearly every statistical category. He scored 16.6
points per game (up from 10.9 the previous year) and pulled down
10.4 rebounds per contest (up from 7.0 ) to rank sixth in the NBA.
Sherman Douglas was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after
averaging 14.3 points and 7.6 assists.
The 1990-91 Heat continued to show modest improvement but still
finished in last place in the Atlantic Division at 24-58. Miami got
off to a decent start, with a 5-9 record in November, but the team
opened December with a 10-game slide and never righted itself.
Douglas led Miami with 18.5 points and 8.5 assists per game and
provided solid floor leadership throughout the year. Glen Rice
began to reveal his scoring skills, ringing up 17.4 points per
game, while Seikaly continued his labors in the paint, averaging
16.4 points and 11.1 rebounds.
After the season Ron Rothstein resigned as coach and
was replaced by Kevin Loughery, who brought 29 years of NBA
experience as a player, coach, scout, and broadcaster. Loughery had
begun his career in 1962, when he was drafted by the Detroit
Pistons. Traded to Baltimore, he spent eight years with the Bullets
before finishing his playing career in Philadelphia. He averaged
15.3 points in 11 years as an NBA player.
Loughery's coaching career began in 1972-73, when he took over
as player-coach of the 76ers for the final 31 games of the season.
The following year Loughery moved to the American Basketball
Association, where he coached Julius Erving and the New York Nets
to a 168-84 record and two championships in his three seasons in
the ABA. When the Nets joined the NBA, Loughery stayed with them
for five more seasons. Between 1981 and 1988 he put in stints at
the helm of the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls, and the
Washington Bullets before retiring to the broadcasters' bench.
1991-92: Miami Makes Playoffs, But Can The HEAT Beat
Michael?
In the 1991 NBA Draft the Heat selected Steve Smith, a
multifaceted guard from Michigan State. The young, talented squad
matured into a competitive unit in 1991-92, improving its record by
14 games to 38-44. Miami finished in fourth place in the Atlantic
Division and made the playoffs for the first time ever.
The Heat got off to an 8-7 start, the best in its four-year
history. In January, Miami engineered the only major trade of its
early years when the team sent Sherman Douglas to the Boston
Celtics in exchange for Brian Shaw. Shaw, a 6-6 guard, was a
talented defender and capable outside shooter who had averaged 7.6
assists for the Celtics in 1990-91. Once in Miami, Shaw joined the
6-8 Smith to form one of the tallest backcourts in the league.
In the second half of the season Glen Rice emerged as the team's
top scoring threat. On April 11 Rice set a new Miami single-game
scoring record with 46 points against Orlando. He also had games of
36 and 34 points that week, and he was named the NBA Player of the
Month for April.
The Heat hovered just under .500 for most of the year. Miami's
home record was a solid 28-13, but the team was still struggling on
the road, with a 10-31 mark. Despite the Heat's losing record for
the season, Cleveland's defeat of Atlanta on the last day of the
campaign allowed Miami to snatch the eighth and final playoff spot
in the East. Miami was the first of the four late-1980s expansion
teams to reach the postseason.
The Heat's playoff experience, however, was short-lived. No
amount of enthusiasm or luck could help the club against the
Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, whose 67-15 record was the
league's best. Chicago steamrolled Miami in three straight games.
The quick exit did little to dampen the thrill of the successful
season, however, and the franchise looked to the future with
optimism.
Glen Rice paced the team in scoring in 1991-92, averaging 22.3
points to finish 10th in the NBA. Rony Seikaly added 16.4 points
and 11.8 rebounds per game. Injuries limited Steve Smith to 61
games, but he nonetheless earned a berth on the NBA All-Rookie
First Team. Smith contributed 12.0 points and a team-high 4.6
assists per game.
In 1992-93 the Heat dipped slightly to 36-46 and
finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division. The team got off
to a sluggish start, logging a 13-27 record through January.
Miami's early-season struggles were aggravated by the injury bug.
Steve Smith missed the first 34 games of the season after
arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He came back in January, but then
versatile third-year man Willie Burton injured his wrist. After
playing only 26 games, Burton was lost for the season.
When Smith returned the team got hot, posting consecutive
winning months in February and March (including a six-game winning
streak) before ebbing in April. Again, Miami managed to avoid the
prolonged losing streaks that can sink a struggling team's
season.
On February 3 Rice poured in 45 points against Atlanta, coming
within a single point of his own team record. Two weeks later Smith
compiled the second triple-double in club history when he recorded
21 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds against Denver. A few weeks
after that, Rony Seikaly yanked down 34 rebounds against
Washington, the first 30-board game in Heat history and the highest
total in the NBA that season. And on April 8 Brian Shaw set an NBA
record when he dialed long distance for 10 three-pointers against
the Milwaukee Bucks, breaking the previous mark of 9 shared by Dale
Ellis and Michael Adams.
Although the team was becoming more consistent, there were still
up and down stretches. In March, Miami won all seven of its home
games. But the year wound down on a negative note, with a five-game
losing streak in mid-April. Rice averaged 19.0 points to top seven
Heat players in double figures, and his 148 three-pointers ranked
fourth in the league. Despite its sub-.500 record, the team was
seen as an up-and-coming collection of young talent, with better
days ahead.
Better days did come along in 1993-94. The Heat posted
its best season ever, finishing 42-40 and sneaking into the
playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Miami put a
scare into the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in a first-round series.
The Heat won Game 1 (the first playoff win in franchise history)
and Game 3 before the Hawks rallied to win the final two contests
and take the series.
For the season, Glen Rice was the team's scoring leader with
21.1 points per game, 10th best in the league. Rony Seikaly pulled
down a team-high 10.3 rebounds per game, and the Heat led the
league in team free throw percentage at .785. In the offseason
talented young guard Steve Smith participated on Dream Team II, the
United States squad that won a gold medal at the 1994 World
Championship of Basketball.
The Miami Heat made significant roster changes early in
the 1994-95 season, trading away Rony Seikaly, Steve Smith, and
Grant Long and acquiring Billy Owens and Kevin Willis. There were
also changes in the club's management. On February 13 the Arison
family purchased all of Lewis Schaffel's and Billy Cunningham's
interest in the team, leaving Marilyn Arison, wife of founder Ted
Arison, with 88 percent of the Heat ownership. Micky Arison was
named the club's managing general partner. The next day the Heat
named Dave Wohl executive vice president of basketball operations
and replaced Coach Kevin Loughery with Alvin Gentry. Loughery
accepted a position in the Heat front office. The final result was
a 32-50 season, a drop of 10 games from 1993-94.
Willis and Glen Rice were among the league's highest-scoring
duos early in the campaign, but injuries hindered Willis, who
averaged 17.2 points and 10.9 rebounds in 67 games. His rebounding
average would have tied him for fifth in the NBA, but he didn't
have enough boards to qualify among the league leaders. Rice
stroked the ball all season, finishing ninth in the NBA in scoring
at 22.3 points per game. In a nationally televised game against the
Orlando Magic on April 15, he set a franchise record by scoring 56
points, the league's highest individual point total in a single
game all year. In the first season with the shortened three-point
arc, Rice placed 16th in the league in three-point percentage
(.410) and ranked among the NBA's top 10 in three-pointers made
(185). At midseason he won the NBA Long Distance Shootout at
All-Star Weekend.
Owens, who played mostly at off guard, averaged 7.2 rebounds to
lead all NBA guards. The club also received sound play from rookie
Khalid Reeves, who averaged 9.2 points and 4.3 assists. At season's
end Gentry was relieved of his coaching duties.
The 1995 offseason was a busy time for the Heat, who
made two major acquistions that changed the entire complexion of
the team. On September 2, the Heat hired Pat Riley as the team's
president and head coach. Riley, architect of the "Showtime" Lakers
of the 1980s and four 50-win New York Knicks teams in the early
90s, brought 13 years of coaching experience in which his teams had
never failed to make the playoffs.
On Nov. 3, on the eve of the regular season, Riley engineered a
blockbuster deal that sent Glen Rice, Matt Geiger and Khalid Reeves
to Charlotte in exchange for Pete Myers, LeRon Ellis and All-Star
Center Alonzo Mourning. Riley, who built the Lakers around Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar and the Knicks around Patrick Ewing, now had another
franchise center around which to build.
Riley wasn't through. On February 22, just before the trading
deadline, Riley made three more deals, acquiring Tim Hardaway,
Chris Gatling, Walt Williams, Tyrone Corbin and Tony Smith. By the
team the regluar season ended, only Keith Askins remained from the
previous year's team. Despite using 22 players over the course of
the season, Riley guided the Heat to a 42-40 record, equalling the
best in team history.
Leading the way was Mourning, who became the first Heat player
to score 50 points in a game (3/29/96) and finished the season as
the first Miami player to lead the league in scoring (23.2 ppg) and
rebounding (10.4 rpg). Hardaway, rekindled after a trade from the
Warriors, finished the season 8th in the NBA in assists .
Miami's reward for a winning season was a first-round matchup
with the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, who made quick work of the Heat in a
three-game sweep. Several players were free agents at the end of
the season, meaning that once again, the Heat franchise would take
on a whole new look in the offseason.
The 1996-97 Miami Heat were the NBA's biggest surprise,
and the league's most improved team. In charging to a
franchise-best 61-21 record, the Heat posted the third longest road
winning streak in NBA history (14 games), captured the Atlantic
Division title and improved the previous season's record by 19
games. The only thing that stood between the Heat and its first
appearance in the NBA Finals was the Chicago Bulls, who defeated
Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Coach Pat Riley orchestrated his 13th division title in 15
seasons with a pair of All-Stars and a cast of role players who
routinely stepped up when called upon. Tim Hardaway, the team's
emotional leader on the floor, emerged early in the season as a
candidate for Most Valuable Player (he would finish fourth in the
voting). The fiery point guard, who was almost not re-signed during
the offseason, led the team in scoring (20.3 ppg) and assists (8.6
apg) and was among the league's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio
(3.02-to-1). Alonzo Mourning's success inside complemented
Hardaway's shooting and playmaking. Mourning averaged 19.8 ppg and
9.9 rpg and was fourth in the NBA with 2.86 blocks per game.
The role players included Voshon Lenard, who emerged as one of
the NBA's top three-point shooters, versatile Dan Majerle, and
backup center Isaac Austin, who lost 80 pounds, filled in admirably
when Mourning was down with an injury, and was named the league's
Most Improved Player. Jamal Mashburn, acquired just prior to the
trading deadline, provided another scoring threat to ease the
offensive burden on Hardaway and Mourning, and P.J. Brown added
rebounding and toughness, which served the Heat well during playoff
matchups that went the limit against the Orlando Magic and New York
Knicks. Miami, which trailed 3-1 to New York in the Eastern
Conference Semifinals, won three straight games to earn a berth
against the Bulls. Chicago, winners of 69 games during the regular
season, ousted Miami for the second consecutive season.
As the Miami Heat franchise celebrated its 10-year
anniversary, Pat Riley's troops also faced the weight of high
expectations. With an established core of NBA veterans, a legendary
coach and a never-say-die philosophy, Miami posted 55 wins and win
its second straight Atlantic Division title.
The season began with center Alonzo Mourning on the injured list
following offseason knee surgery. Mourning missed the first 22
games of the season, but the Heat got off to a 15-7 start in his
absence. Once healthy, Mourning had another fine season for the
Heat, averaging 19.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 2.24 bpg, ninth in the NBA,
and also ranking third in the league in field goal percentage at
.551.
Once again, Isaac Austin shined in Mourning absence. The 6-11
Austin, whose dogged effort transformed him from an overweight
project to a key NBA reserve, was traded in midseason. Faced with
losing Austin to free agency, the Heat sent Austin, rookie Charles
Smith and the Heat's 1998 first-round pick to the Los Angeles
Clippers in exchange for swingman Brent Barry.
Despite dealing Austin and losing small forward Jamal Mashburn
for two months with a broken thumb, the Heat responded with its
best basketball, going 20-4 after the trade and getting improved
production from Mourning, forward P.J. Brown (9.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg
for the season) and guard Voshon Lenard, who averaged 12.6 ppg, and
ranked sixth in the NBA in three-point field goals made with
153.
Miami's emotional leader was once again guard Tim Hardaway, who
led the Heat in assists at 8.3 apg (6th in the NBA) and averaged
18.9 ppg, earning his fifth All-Star selection. He hit a
buzzer-beater to spoil Washington's home opener on November 1,
nailed a game-ending three-pointer on November 15 and hit what
proved to be the game-winner in an 82-81 over New York on April
12.
While Miami won that battle with New York, the Knicks would win
the war. The two Atlantic Division foes renewed their fierce
postseason rivalry in the first round of the 1998 NBA Playoffs.
Only one year after their controversial seven-game series, the
Knicks and Heat battled once again. Lenard was particularly
effective in the Heat's first two playoff games, scoring 25 and 28
points - but the Heat managed only a split at home. The teams also
split a pair of games at Madison Square Garden, but an altercation
late in Game 4 proved lethal for the Heat. Mourning was suspended
for the deciding game after a fight with New York's Larry Johnson.
Miami lost the deciding game by a score of 98-81.
Alonzo Mourning was already a star, but the Miami Heat
center got even better.
Mourning finished second in MVP balloting as he led the Heat to
a 33-17 record, best in the Eastern Conference. The
lockout-shortened season ended in disappointment, however, when
Miami lost to New York in the first round of the playoffs.
Miami was less than a second away from eliminating the
eighth-seeded Knicks. Allan Houston proved to be the hero of the
deciding game, as he hit a running one-hander with 0.8 seconds to
play to give New York a 78-77 victory.
Mourning, who averaged 20.1 points and a career-best 11.0
rebounds for the season, earned All-NBA First Team honors for the
first time in his seven-year career. Utah's Karl Malone was the
only player who fared better in MVP balloting.
Mourning led the league with 3.91 blocks per game and was named
Defensive Player of the Year after receiving 89 of 118 possible
votes. It was the most lopsided result in the 17-year history of
the award.
Point guard Tim Hardaway averaged 17.4 points and 7.3 assists
and secured a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. Forward P.J. Brown
was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.
Two Miami starters missed more than half the season. Guard
Voshon Lenard was on the sideline for 35 games with a stress
fracture in his left leg, and forward Jamal Mashburn was out for 26
games because of a thigh injury.
The Heat wrapped up their last full season in Miami Arena. The
team was scheduled to move into AmericanAirlines Arena early in the
1999-2000 season.
On January 1, 2000, the Miami HEAT moved into South Florida's premier waterfront showplace: the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Arena holds 20,500 basketball fans and is home to the Miami HEAT and the WNBA's Miami SOL.
Miami HEAT President and Head Coach Pat Riley closed out the regular season just one win shy of 1,000 career wins. Riley compiled a 999-433 record in 1,432 career games as an NBA coach.
Miami HEAT assistant coach Bob McAdoo, a three-time NBA scoring champion and two-time NBA champion with the Lakers, was elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on May 24, 1999. McAdoo was among six inductees in the Class of 2000. McAdoo, a 14-year NBA veteran, averaged 22.1 points, 9.4 assists and shot 50.3 percent (7,420-14,751) from the floor during his career.
For the second consecutive season, Alonzo Mourning was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He received 62 out of a possible 121 votes form a panel of sports writers and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Mourning edged out Shaquille O'Neal (21 votes), Dikembe Mutombo (11) and Eddie Jones(11). Mourning, who blocked a career-high 294 shots, became the sixth repeat winner in NBA history. Mourning was selected to the NBA All-Defensive team as well.
Mourning also finished third in Most Valuable Player voting in 2000. He was topped only by winner Shaquille O'Neal and runner-up Kevin Garnett.
When the HEAT and Jazz clinched divisional titles on Apr. 16, they became the 10th and 11th teams in history to win four or more consecutive NBA divisional championships.
Prior to this season, there had never been an occasion in the NBA where two teams had met postseason play in four consecutive seasons and had the series go to the maximum number of games in each of the four series. This season marked the fourth straight year the Knicks and HEAT had met in postseason play and the fourth straight year the series went to the maximum number of games.
After capturing Olympic glory at the 2000 Summer Games, Alonzo Mourning missed the first 69 games of the season after being diagnosed with the kidney disorder focal glomerulosclerosis. Mourning made his 2000-01 debut against Toronto on March 27 and appeared in Miami's final 13 games. In those 13 games, Mourning averaged 13.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and and a team-high 2.38 blocks per game.
Even in Mourning's abscence, the Miami HEAT continued its winning ways. The HEAT's 103-91 win over the Orlando Magic in the final game of the season marked Miami's 50th win of the 2000-2001 campaign. The 50 wins represented the fourth highest single-season total in franchise history. This was due in part to the array of weapons the team acquired over the summer of 2000. The additions of Anthony Mason, Brian Grant and Eddie Jones allowed the team to surpass expectations and make the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.
HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley earned his 1,000th career win on opening night vs. the Magic, becoming only the second coach in NBA history to earn 1,000 victories. Along the way, he has coached against every team in the league and has amassed 40 or more victories against 11 teams. By guiding the HEAT to a berth in 2001 Playoffs, Riley also kept his record of leading teams to the playoffs intact. Riley lead each of his 19 teams to the playoffs, which set an NBA record for most consecutive trips to the playoffs. The previous high for consecutive playoff appearances was 18 straight, set by Red Auerbach from 1949 through 1966 (one with Washington, one with Tri-Cities and 16 with Boston).
Tim Hardaway started all 367 games in which he played for the HEAT, which placed him fourth on the HEAT's all-time games started list. HEAT assistant coach Keith Askins is the HEAT's all-time leader in games played at 486 and games started with 461.
