1997–98 Miami Heat season

1997–98 Miami Heat season
Head coach Pat Riley
Arena Miami Arena
Results
Record 55–27 (.671)
Place Division: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish Lost in the First Round to the New York Knicks 3-2

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

Local media
Television Sunshine Network, WBFS
Radio WIOD

The 1997-98 Miami Heat season is the tenth season of the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Without Alonzo Mourning for the first 22 games of the season due to offseason knee injury, the Heat continued to play strong basketball as backup center Isaac Austin played string coming off the bench. Mourning would eventually return as Austin was traded midseason to the Los Angeles Clippers for Brent Barry. The Heat finished first place in the Atlantic Division with a 55-27 record.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Heat faced the #7 seed New York Knicks. The Heat would take a 2-1 lead in the series. However, in Game 4, Mourning was suspended for fighting Larry Johnson, his former teammate of the Charlotte Hornets now playing for the Knicks. Without Mourning, the Heat would lose Game 5 at the Miami Arena.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 26 Charles Smith SG  United States University of New Mexico
2 30 Mark Sanford F  United States University of Washington

Roster

Miami Heat roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
SF 2 United States Askins, Keith 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Alabama
SG 17 United States Barry, Brent 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oregon State
PF 42 United States Brown, P. J. 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Louisiana Tech
C 31 United States Causwell, Duane 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Temple
C 40 United States Conlon, Marty 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Providence
PG 10 United States Hardaway, Tim 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Texas-El Paso
SG 21 United States Lenard, Voshon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Minnesota
SG 9 United States Majerle, Dan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Central Michigan
SF 24 United States Mashburn, Jamal 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Kentucky
PF 6 United States Mills, Terry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Michigan
C 33 United States Mourning, Alonzo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Georgetown
PG 5 United States Murdock, Eric 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Providence
PF 30 United States Strickland, Mark 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Temple
SG 23 United States Walters, Rex 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster • Transactions

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Miami Heat 55 27 .671 – 30-11 25–16 18–6
x-New York Knicks 43 39 .524 12 28–13 15–26 13–11
x-New Jersey Nets 43 39 .524 12 26–15 17–24 12–12
Washington Wizards 42 40 .512 13 24–17 18–23 12–13
Orlando Magic 41 41 .500 14 24–17 17–24 11–13
Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 19 24–17 12–29 12–23
Philadelphia 76ers 31 51 .378 24 19–22 12–29 7–17

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks Last Playoff Meeting: 1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Miami won 4-3)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(MIA-NYK)

 Venue Box score Television
1 April 24 Miami 94 New York 79 1-0 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 1 TBS 7:00et
2 April 26 Miami 86 New York 96 1-1 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 2 NBC 12:30et
3 April 28 New York 85 Miami 91 2-1 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York 3 TBS 7:00et
4 April 30 New York 90 Miami 85 2-2 Madison Square Garden, New York, New York 4 TNT 8:00et
5 May 3 Miami 81 New York 98 2-3 Miami Arena, Miami, Florida 5 NBC 12:30et
New York wins series 3–2

Player stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Awards and records

References

    1997-98 Miami Heat

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