In 2000-01, HEAT Head Coach Pat Riley earned his 1,000th career win on opening night. The Heat should have been the favorites in the Eastern Conference until Mourning returned from the 2000 Olympics to announce he would miss the entire season due to a rare kidney disorder. The Heat missed Mourning for 69 games in 2000-01, yet found success with Anthony Mason, who was named to his first All-Star game. Brian Grant, Eddie Jones and Tim Hardaway also played well for the Heat. Mourning returned with 13 games remaining but the Charlotte Hornets swept Miami in the first round. 2001-02 was a disappointing year - Mourning was not up to the task - and for the first time in his career Pat Riley failed to get his team into the playoffs. Miami began to rebuild in 2002-03. They drafted Caron Butler and Rasual Butler of the 2002 NBA Draft. Mourning missed the entire season due to his condition worsening and Eddie Jones also missed a huge portion of the season with an ankle injury. But even after Miami signed Travis Best to be the starting point guard, with Caron Butler in charge, helped by Eddie House, the team finished 25-57 to end the 2002-2003 season. Pat Riley stepped down as head coach and the team finished 7th in the Atlantic Division.
The old Miami Arena, located in the Overtown section of Miami, had a capacity of 15,200 and was the home of the Miami Heat from 1988-1999. The first game played by the Heat on November 5, 1988 in their first home was a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, 111-91. The starting lineup was Rory Sparrow, Kevin Edwards, Rony Seikaly, Pat Cummings, and Billy Thompson. A minute into the game, Sparrow hit a jump shot to record the first points in Heat history. Their first victory came on December 14th against the same team. The team started out the season by losing its first 17 games, including a blowout 138-91 to Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers - at the time an NBA record. Miami managed only 97.8 points per game, led by Kevin Edwards with 13.8 points per contest. An individual highlight came on April 18th 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. It did not help that the Heat were placed in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, in spite of the geographic unreality. This forced them on the longest road trips in the NBA; their nearest divisional opponent was the Houston Rockets, over 900 miles from Miami. The team ultimately finished with a league-worst 15-67 win-loss record (tied for worst season in franchise history). They've improved a lot since then!
Miami moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division for the 1989-90 season, but during that season they never won more than two games in a row. One highlight was on February 13th in a game against the Chicago Bulls, 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. The 1990-91 Heat continued to show modest improvement but still finished in last place in the Atlantic Division at 24-58. After the season Ron Rothstein resigned as coach and was replaced by Kevin Loughery.
2011-12. After the NBA Lockout ended, the Heat would improve their roster by signing veteran Shane Battier in the shortened season. The Heat finished with 46-20, earning the second overall seed in the NBA Playoffs. They defeated the New York Knicks in five games in the First round. In the Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers the Heat's championship aspirations would take a huge blow after Chris Bosh went down with a lower abdominal strain injury in a game 1 victory, yet the team overcame adversity and defeated the Pacers in six games. Then the Heat faced the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat won the first two games, but lost the next three. The Heat managed to tie the series at three apiece, and winning Game 7, 101-88. The Heat reached the NBA Finals for the second year straight against the young and very talented Oklahoma City Thunder led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Winning Game 1, the Thunder looked dangerous but the following four games were all Miami - and all LeBron James, and he was named the Finals MVP (now known as the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) as he won his first NBA championship.
For the 1995-96 season, Pat Riley as the team's president and head coach replaced Gentry. Riley coached Lakers in the 1980s and had four 50-win seasons with the Knicks teams in the early 90s. He brought 13 years of coaching experience in which his teams had never failed to make the playoffs. In a rush of midseason deals, Riley acquired several players including Tim Hardaway, Chris Gatling, Walt Williams and Alonzo Mourning. The Heat finished with a winning record with Mourning among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding, and the first Heat player to score 50 points in a game. But once again, they lost in the playoffs with a 3-game sweep by the 72-10 Chicago Bulls. The 1996-97 Miami Heat were the league's most improved team with franchise-best 61-21 record, and the third longest road winning streak in NBA history (14 games). They captured the Atlantic Division title and improved the previous season's record by 19 games, but once again had to meet the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals and were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals.
On July 11, 2012, the Heat officially signed veterans Boston Celtics' Ray Allen to a three-year deal and Washington Wizards' Rashard Lewis to a two-year deal. Both Allen and Lewis will reunite after playing for the Seattle Supersonics for 4 years. The estimated value of the Miami Heat franchise is about half-a-billion dollars.
The old Miami Arena, located in the Overtown section of Miami, had a capacity of 15,200 and was the home of the Miami Heat from 1988-1999. The first game played by the Heat on November 5, 1988 in their first home was a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, 111-91. The starting lineup was Rory Sparrow, Kevin Edwards, Rony Seikaly, Pat Cummings, and Billy Thompson. A minute into the game, Sparrow hit a jump shot to record the first points in Heat history. Their first victory came on December 14th against the same team. The team started out the season by losing its first 17 games, including a blowout 138-91 to Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers - at the time an NBA record. Miami managed only 97.8 points per game, led by Kevin Edwards with 13.8 points per contest. An individual highlight came on April 18th 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. It did not help that the Heat were placed in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference, in spite of the geographic unreality. This forced them on the longest road trips in the NBA; their nearest divisional opponent was the Houston Rockets, over 900 miles from Miami. The team ultimately finished with a league-worst 15-67 win-loss record (tied for worst season in franchise history). They've improved a lot since then!
Miami moved from the Midwest to the Atlantic Division for the 1989-90 season, but during that season they never won more than two games in a row. One highlight was on February 13th in a game against the Chicago Bulls, 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. The 1990-91 Heat continued to show modest improvement but still finished in last place in the Atlantic Division at 24-58. After the season Ron Rothstein resigned as coach and was replaced by Kevin Loughery.
2011-12. After the NBA Lockout ended, the Heat would improve their roster by signing veteran Shane Battier in the shortened season. The Heat finished with 46-20, earning the second overall seed in the NBA Playoffs. They defeated the New York Knicks in five games in the First round. In the Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers the Heat's championship aspirations would take a huge blow after Chris Bosh went down with a lower abdominal strain injury in a game 1 victory, yet the team overcame adversity and defeated the Pacers in six games. Then the Heat faced the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat won the first two games, but lost the next three. The Heat managed to tie the series at three apiece, and winning Game 7, 101-88. The Heat reached the NBA Finals for the second year straight against the young and very talented Oklahoma City Thunder led by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Winning Game 1, the Thunder looked dangerous but the following four games were all Miami - and all LeBron James, and he was named the Finals MVP (now known as the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) as he won his first NBA championship.
For the 1995-96 season, Pat Riley as the team's president and head coach replaced Gentry. Riley coached Lakers in the 1980s and had four 50-win seasons with the Knicks teams in the early 90s. He brought 13 years of coaching experience in which his teams had never failed to make the playoffs. In a rush of midseason deals, Riley acquired several players including Tim Hardaway, Chris Gatling, Walt Williams and Alonzo Mourning. The Heat finished with a winning record with Mourning among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding, and the first Heat player to score 50 points in a game. But once again, they lost in the playoffs with a 3-game sweep by the 72-10 Chicago Bulls. The 1996-97 Miami Heat were the league's most improved team with franchise-best 61-21 record, and the third longest road winning streak in NBA history (14 games). They captured the Atlantic Division title and improved the previous season's record by 19 games, but once again had to meet the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals and were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals.
On July 11, 2012, the Heat officially signed veterans Boston Celtics' Ray Allen to a three-year deal and Washington Wizards' Rashard Lewis to a two-year deal. Both Allen and Lewis will reunite after playing for the Seattle Supersonics for 4 years. The estimated value of the Miami Heat franchise is about half-a-billion dollars.
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