1995–96 Miami Heat season

The 1995–96 Miami Heat season was the eighth season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association.

Season summary

Off-season The Heat received the tenth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected power forward Kurt Thomas out of Texas Christian University. During the off-season, the team acquired Rex Chapman from the Washington Bullets, and hired Pat Riley as their new head coach and team president. On the first day of the regular season, which began on November 3, 1995, the Heat acquired All-Star center Alonzo Mourning from the Charlotte Hornets.

For the season, the Heat revealed new red alternate road uniforms, which featured a black and white trim, black and white striped side panels on the right side of their jerseys and shorts, and the team's primary logo on the left leg of their shorts; these uniforms would remain in use until 1999.

Regular season Under Riley and with the addition of Mourning, Chapman and Thomas, the Heat won 11 of their first 14 games of the regular season, but then lost 23 of their next 34 games, holding a 22–26 at the All-Star break. Riley continued to make changes as he made three more deals at the trading deadline. The team traded Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, and Chris Gatling, traded Billy Owens, and Kevin Gamble to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Walt Williams, and Tyrone Corbin, and then dealt rookie point guard Terrence Rencher to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Tony Smith. The team also signed free agents Jeff Malone, who was previously released by the Philadelphia 76ers, and rookie shooting guard Voshon Lenard, who previously played in the Continental Basketball Association.

With the addition of Hardaway, Gatling and Williams, the Heat played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the regular season, winning 10 of their 14 games in March, and then winning five of their final seven games. The team finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 42–40 record, which earned them the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, as they qualified for their third NBA playoff appearance.

Mourning averaged 23.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, while Hardaway averaged 17.2 points, 10.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game in 28 games after the trade, and Gatling played a sixth man role off the bench, as he provided the team with 15.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 24 games. In addition, Chapman contributed 14.0 points per game, and led the Heat with 125 three-point field goals, but only played 56 games due to an Achilles tendon injury, while rookie shooting guard Sasha Danilovic contributed 13.4 points per game, but only played just 19 games due to a wrist injury, Williams averaged 12.0 points per game in 28 games, Thomas provided with 9.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and Keith Askins contributed 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Mourning was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while Thomas was selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference Rookie team. Mourning also finished in 14th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Gatling finished tied in seventh place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

The Heat finished 25th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 606,088 at the Miami Arena during the regular season, which was the fifth-lowest in the league.

NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1996 NBA playoffs, the Heat faced off against the top–seeded, and Central Division champion Chicago Bulls, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard, and Most Valuable Player of the Year, Michael Jordan, All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, and rebound-specialist Dennis Rodman. The Heat lost the first two games to the Bulls on the road at the United Center, before losing Game 3 at home, 112–91 at the Miami Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.

The Bulls would defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in six games in the 1996 NBA Finals, winning their fourth NBA championship in six years.

Notable highlights One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on February 23, 1996, in a home game against the Bulls at the Miami Arena. Due to the recent mid-season trades, the Heat only had eight players available, but managed to defeat the Bulls by a score of 113–104; Chapman scored 39 points and made 9 out of 10 three-point field-goal attempts, while Mourning posted a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Lenard contributed 19 points off the bench. This was one of only ten losses that the Bulls suffered on their way to a then-record 72-win season.

Aftermath Following the season, Chapman signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns, while Williams signed with the Toronto Raptors, Gatling signed with the Dallas Mavericks, Corbin signed with the Atlanta Hawks, Smith signed with the Charlotte Hornets, and Malone retired.

Offseason

NBA draft

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 10 Kurt Thomas PF/C TCU 2 46 George Banks F UTEP

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Schedule Game Date Opponent Result Heat points Opponents Record Streak OT 1 November 4 Cleveland Win 85 71 1-0 Won 1 2 November 8 Houston Win 89 82 2-0 Won 2 3 November 10 New Jersey Win 106 80 3-0 Won 3 4 November 11 @ Orlando Loss 93 94 3-1 Lost 1 5 November 15 Indiana Loss 97 103 3-2 Lost 2 6 November 17 @ Atlanta Win 91 88 4-2 Won 1 7 November 18 Orlando Win 93 90 5-2 Won 2 8 November 22 Golden State Win 103 93 6-2 Won 3 9 November 24 @ Washington Loss 94 110 6-3 Lost 1 10 November 25 Vancouver Win 111 91 7-3 Won 1 11 November 28 Dallas Win 111 89 8-3 Won 2 12 November 30 @ Detroit Win 118 107 9-3 Won 3 13 December 1 Charlotte Win 108 101 10-3 Won 4 OT 14 December 3 @ Toronto Win 112 94 11-3 Won 5 15 December 4 @ Boston Loss 120 121 11-4 Lost 1 2OT 16 December 6 Boston Loss 101 105 11-5 Lost 2 17 December 9 @ Phoenix Win 94 92 12-5 Won 1 18 December 10 @ Sacramento Loss 90 110 12-6 Lost 1 19 December 12 @ Golden State Loss 80 105 12-7 Lost 2 20 December 14 @ LA Clippers Loss 84 89 12-8 Lost 3 21 December 16 Utah Loss 74 83 12-9 Lost 4 22 December 19 @ New York Loss 70 89 12-10 Lost 5 23 December 20 @ New Jersey Win 112 104 13-10 Won 1 OT 24 December 22 Detroit Loss 75 84 13-11 Lost 1 25 December 23 @ Charlotte Loss 75 87 13-12 Lost 2 26 December 26 New Jersey Win 96 93 14-12 Won 1 27 December 28 @ Indiana Loss 77 91 14-13 Lost 1 28 December 30 LA Clippers Win 105 96 15-13 Won 1 29 January 4 Seattle Loss 81 84 15-14 Lost 1 30 January 6 @ Denver Win 88 86 16-14 Won 1 31 January 8 @ Utah Loss 92 94 16-15 Lost 1 32 January 10 @ Portland Loss 89 90 16-16 Lost 2 33 January 12 @ Seattle Loss 81 113 16-17 Lost 3 34 January 13 @ Vancouver Loss 65 69 16-18 Lost 4 35 January 15 @ LA Lakers Loss 88 96 16-19 Lost 5 36 January 17 Washington Win 96 89 17-19 Won 1 37 January 19 Charlotte Loss 106 114 17-20 Lost 1 38 January 20 @ Atlanta Loss 78 98 17-21 Lost 2 39 January 22 San Antonio Win 96 89 18-21 Won 1 40 January 24 New York Loss 79 88 18-22 Lost 1 41 January 26 @ Chicago Loss 80 102 18-23 Lost 2 42 January 27 @ Cleveland Win 102 85 19-23 Won 1 43 January 29 @ New York Loss 85 94 19-24 Lost 1 44 January 30 Phoenix Loss 99 114 19-25 Lost 2 45 February 1 Philadelphia Win 124 104 20-25 Won 1 46 February 3 Boston Loss 99 100 20-26 Lost 1 47 February 5 Sacramento Win 103 92 21-26 Won 1 48 February 7 Atlanta Win 101 89 22-26 Won 2 49 February 13 Toronto Loss 87 98 22-27 Lost 1 50 February 15 Denver Win 97 91 23-27 Won 1 51 February 17 Orlando Loss 93 95 23-28 Lost 1 52 February 19 @ Cleveland Loss 70 73 23-29 Lost 2 53 February 21 @ Philadelphia Win 66 57 24-29 Won 1 54 February 23 Chicago Win 113 104 25-29 Won 2 55 February 25 Philadelphia Win 108 101 26-29 Won 3 56 February 27 @ New Jersey Win 93 90 27-29 Won 4 57 February 28 @ Orlando Loss 112 116 27-30 Lost 1 58 March 1 Portland Loss 88 102 27-31 Lost 2 59 March 3 @ Minnesota Loss 87 89 27-32 Lost 3 60 March 5 Minnesota Win 113 72 28-32 Won 1 61 March 8 Toronto Win 109 79 29-32 Won 2 62 March 10 Cleveland Win 88 81 30-32 Won 3 63 March 12 @ Dallas Win 125 118 31-32 Won 4 64 March 14 @ San Antonio Loss 100 120 31-33 Lost 1 65 March 16 @ Houston Win 121 97 32-33 Won 1 66 March 20 Detroit Win 102 93 33-33 Won 2 67 March 22 @ Milwaukee Win 122 106 34-33 Won 3 68 March 24 @ Boston Win 111 95 35-33 Won 4 69 March 27 LA Lakers Loss 95 106 35-34 Lost 1 70 March 29 Washington Win 112 93 36-34 Won 1 71 March 30 @ Detroit Win 95 85 37-34 Won 2 72 April 2 Chicago Loss 92 110 37-35 Lost 1 73 April 4 @ Chicago Loss 92 100 37-36 Lost 2 74 April 6 @ Indiana Loss 95 99 37-37 Lost 3 75 April 8 @ Washington Loss 99 111 37-38 Lost 4 76 April 10 @ Charlotte Win 116 95 38-38 Won 1 77 April 11 Milwaukee Win 115 105 39-38 Won 2 78 April 13 New York Win 103 95 40-38 Won 3 79 April 15 New Jersey Win 110 90 41-38 Won 4 80 April 17 @ Philadelphia Loss 86 90 41-39 Lost 1 81 April 19 @ Milwaukee Win 106 100 42-39 Won 1 82 April 21 Atlanta Loss 92 104 42-40 Lost 1

Playoffs

Player statistics

Regular season PlayerSF75 14 1,897 324 121 48 61 458 25.3 4.3 1.6 .6 .8 6.1PF 74 42 1,655 439 46 47 36 666 22.4 5.9 .6 .6 .5 9.0C 70 70 2,671 727 159 70 189 1,623 38.2 10.4 2.3 1.0 2.7 23.2SG 56 50 1,865 145 166 45 10 786 33.3 2.6 3.0 .8 .2 14.0†PG 52 52 1,882 201 296 63 12 664 36.2 3.9 5.7 1.2 .2 12.8†PF 47 42 1,357 420 34 19 25 479 28.9 8.9 .7 .4 .5 10.2†SF 44 13 1,033 86 82 31 5 305 23.5 2.0 1.9 .7 .1 6.9†SF 40 40 1,388 286 134 30 22 590 34.7 7.2 3.4 .8 .6 14.8†SG 39 1 639 73 97 14 11 184 16.4 1.9 2.5 .4 .3 4.7†PG 34 1 397 42 54 16 1 103 11.7 1.2 1.6 .5 .0 3.0C 32 6 399 89 9 11 16 101 12.5 2.8 .3 .3 .5 3.2SG 30 0 323 52 31 6 1 176 10.8 1.7 1.0 .2 .0 5.9†PG 28 28 1,047 98 280 58 6 482 37.4 3.5 10.0 2.1 .2 17.2†SF 28 28 788 112 65 32 16 337 28.1 4.0 2.3 1.1 .6 12.0†SG 25 1 410 39 68 16 5 109 16.4 1.6 2.7 .6 .2 4.4†PF 24 0 565 175 17 17 11 365 23.5 7.3 .7 .7 .5 15.2†SF 22 0 354 65 23 16 3 101 16.1 3.0 1.0 .7 .1 4.6SG 19 18 542 46 47 15 3 255 28.5 2.4 2.5 .8 .2 13.4†PF 18 3 235 36 10 8 1 43 13.1 2.0 .6 .4 .1 2.4PF 15 0 156 23 2 7 2 38 10.4 1.5 .1 .5 .1 2.5C 12 1 74 8 4 2 3 13 6.2 .7 .3 .2 .3 1.1†SG 7 0 103 8 7 3 0 31 14.7 1.1 1.0 .4 .0 4.4

Playoffs PlayerPG3 3 110 5 17 3 0 53 36.7 1.7 5.7 1.0 .0 17.7C3 3 92 18 4 2 3 54 30.7 6.0 1.3 .7 1.0 18.0SG3 3 88 6 5 3 0 27 29.3 2.0 1.7 1.0 .0 9.0SF3 3 70 12 5 1 1 14 23.3 4.0 1.7 .3 .3 4.7PF3 3 60 16 3 2 1 12 20.0 5.3 1.0 .7 .3 4.0PF3 0 68 24 1 2 0 18 22.7 8.0 .3 .7 .0 6.0SG3 0 61 4 8 4 0 22 20.3 1.3 2.7 1.3 .0 7.3SG3 0 60 1 4 1 0 25 20.0 .3 1.3 .3 .0 8.3SF3 0 48 8 2 1 0 13 16.0 2.7 .7 .3 .0 4.3SF 2 0 34 7 1 2 0 5 17.0 3.5 .5 1.0 .0 2.5C 2 0 17 4 0 0 0 7 8.5 2.0 .0 .0 .0 3.5PF 1 0 12 3 1 0 0 1 12.0 3.0 1.0 .0 .0 1.0

Transactions July 1, 1995 Released Brad Lohaus. Released Ledell Eackles.

September 1, 1995 Traded a 1996 1st round draft pick (Walter McCarty) to the New York Knicks for Pat Riley (coach).

September 29, 1995 Brad Lohaus signed as an unrestricted free agent with the San Antonio Spurs.

October 5, 1995 Signed Ron Grandison as a free agent. Signed Stacey King as a free agent. Signed Bruce Bowen as a free agent.

October 13, 1995 Waived Bruce Bowen.

November 3, 1995

1995–96 Miami Heat season

Bron en licentie