1991–92 Miami Heat season

The 1991–92 Miami Heat season was the fourth season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association.

Season summary

Off-season The Heat received the fifth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Steve Smith out of Michigan State University. During the off-season, the team hired Kevin Loughery as their new head coach.

Regular season Under Loughery and with the addition of Smith, the Heat got off to a fast start by winning seven of their first ten games of the regular season. However, the team soon fell below .500 in winning percentage by losing eight of their next nine games, as Sherman Douglas only played just five games due to poor conditioning; the Heat soon traded Douglas to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Brian Shaw in January. With the addition of Shaw, the team continued to play below .500 as they held a 23–25 record at the All-Star break. However, despite playing under .500 for the remainder of the season, the Heat finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 38–44 record, winning a tie-breaker for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference over the Atlanta Hawks, and qualifying for their first ever NBA playoff appearance in franchise history.

Glen Rice averaged 22.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and led the Heat with 155 three-point field goals, while Rony Seikaly averaged 16.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Grant Long provided the team with 14.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. In addition, Smith contributed 12.0 points and 4.6 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while second-year forward Willie Burton provided with 11.2 points per game. Off the bench, Kevin Edwards averaged 10.1 points and 1.2 steals per game, while second-year guard Bimbo Coles contributed 10.1 points and 4.5 assists per game, second-year forward Alec Kessler provided with 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Keith Askins averaged 3.7 points per game.

The Heat also posted a very successful 28–13 home record at the Miami Arena during the regular season, but struggled on the road with a 10–31 record away from home.Miami Heat (1988-Present) Despite a stellar season, Rice was not selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. Rice finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Long finished tied in eighth place, and Loughery finished tied in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.

The Heat finished 15th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 613,583 at the Miami Arena during the regular season.

NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, the Heat faced off against the top–seeded, and defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, who won the Central Division title, and were led by the trio of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant. The Heat lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the Chicago Stadium, before losing Game 3 at home, 119–114 at the Miami Arena, in which Jordan scored 56 points; the Heat lost the series to the Bulls in a three-game sweep.

The Bulls would go on to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers in six games in the 1992 NBA Finals, winning their second consecutive NBA championship.

Notable highlights On December 17, 1991, the Heat suffered a 68-point road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 148–80 at the Coliseum at Richfield, as the Cavaliers had set an NBA record with the second largest margin of victory in a game.

Aftermath Following the season, Jon Sundvold was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 5 Steve Smith SG Michigan State 2 29 George Ackles C/PF UNLV

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot

z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Player statistics

Ragular season PlayerPF82 82 3,063 691 225 139 40 1,212 37.4 8.4 2.7 1.7 .5 14.8PG 81 28 1,976 189 366 73 13 816 24.4 2.3 4.5 .9 .2 10.1PG 81 1 1,840 211 170 99 20 819 22.7 2.6 2.1 1.2 .2 10.1SF 79 79 3,007 394 184 90 35 1,765 38.1 5.0 2.3 1.1 .4 22.3C 79 78 2,800 934 109 40 121 1,296 35.4 11.8 1.4 .5 1.5 16.4PF 77 4 1,197 314 34 17 32 410 15.5 4.1 .4 .2 .4 5.3SF 68 50 1,585 244 123 46 37 762 23.3 3.6 1.8 .7 .5 11.2SG 61 59 1,806 188 278 59 19 729 29.6 3.1 4.6 1.0 .3 12.0SF 59 4 843 142 38 40 15 219 14.3 2.4 .6 .7 .3 3.7†PG 46 23 987 135 161 45 12 320 21.5 2.9 3.5 1.0 .3 7.0C 43 0 367 74 7 5 28 108 8.5 1.7 .2 .1 .7 2.5†SF 21 0 216 19 27 12 1 92 10.3 .9 1.3 .6 .0 4.4C 9 0 35 11 6 1 0 18 3.9 1.2 .7 .1 .0 2.0†PG 5 2 98 6 19 4 0 37 19.6 1.2 3.8 .8 .0 7.4PG 3 0 8 0 2 0 0 3 2.7 .0 .7 .0 .0 1.0†SF 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 1.0 .5 .0 .0 .0 1.0

Playoffs PlayerPF3 3 120 15 8 5 0 37 40.0 5.0 2.7 1.7 .0 12.3SF3 3 119 10 5 2 0 57 39.7 3.3 1.7 .7 .0 19.0C3 3 117 30 4 1 5 62 39.0 10.0 1.3 .3 1.7 20.7SG3 3 100 6 15 4 1 48 33.3 2.0 5.0 1.3 .3 16.0PG3 3 85 13 12 2 0 36 28.3 4.3 4.0 .7 .0 12.0PG3 0 55 7 7 2 0 15 18.3 2.3 2.3 .7 .0 5.0SF3 0 48 9 3 1 0 13 16.0 3.0 1.0 .3 .0 4.3PG3 0 45 7 6 3 0 23 15.0 2.3 2.0 1.0 .0 7.7C3 0 15 1 0 1 3 3 5.0 .3 .0 .3 1.0 1.0PF 2 0 12 1 0 0 0 2 6.0 .5 .0 .0 .0 1.0SF 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 2.0PG 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Awards and records Steve Smith, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

1991–92 Miami Heat season

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