1991–92 Miami Heat season

The 1991–92 Miami Heat season was the fourth season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Heat received the fifth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Steve Smith out of Michigan State University,^[2][3][4] and also hired Kevin Loughery as their new head coach during the off-season.^[5][6][7]

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.^[8][9][10] With the addition of Shaw, the team continued to play below .500 as they held a 23–25 record at the All-Star break.^[11] 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,^[12] 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.^[13][14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16] Despite a stellar season, Rice was not selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida.^[17] Rice finished tied in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Long finished tied in eighth place,^[18] and Loughery finished tied in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[18]

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.^[19][20][21] 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.^[22][23][24]

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.^[15][25] Following the season, Jon Sundvold was released to free agency. 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.^[26][27][28]