Miami Heat: 10 Burning Questions Facing Dwyane Wade and Co. Next Season

It's going to be a long offseason for the Miami Heat.

Not only do they have to recover from their NBA Finals loss to the same team that they had beaten five years prior, but they also need to address a few problems that became greater and more prevalent by the season's end. This year's free-agency class doesn't possess star power and is mostly composed of role players, which is perfect for the Heat, who are looking to bolster their bench as well as a few holes in the starting lineup.

Even with a disappointing end to the 2010-11 season, the Heat still have a lot of positives to come away with. They dominated the Eastern Conference playoffs, with each series only going five games, including series wins over the same Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics teams that had beaten them six out of seven times during the regular season. They proved that they are capable of beating the best teams in the league, as well as proving to themselves that they can.

This coming year will only be room for improvement from the team that finished 58-24 in the regular season and 14-7 in the postseason in their first season together. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh will continue to learn how to play as one cohesive unit and the team will look to making the right signings and trades this offseason to improve for the upcoming campaign.

We're only (hopefully) four months away from the start of the 2011-12 season and we will now address the 10 most important questions heading into the season.

If there are any questions I didn't answer that you'd like to ask, shoot me a message on twitter @JohnFtheheatgod

How Large of a Role Will Norris Cole and Dexter Pittman Play?

The Miami Heat might not have had any definitive answers to their point guard and center problems last season, as they persisted and eventually might have cost them a title. For the past two years, however, the Heat have taken advantage of the draft by selecting two players who could potentially be answers to those two glaring holes.

Now, second-year center Dexter Pittman and rookie Norris Cole will be looked at as the answer to those problems.

Pittman is a huge body that would make any slasher's life difficult if given the chance. He's 6'11", 308 pounds and actually weighed considerably more since joining the team as the 32nd pick. The former Texas Longhorn spent most of last season in the D-League and was an All-Star as he averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game. He only played in two games at the NBA level and scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in 10 minutes.

The Heat's latest draft pick addressed the issue at the point where the Heat are greatly limited. They selected the little-known Norris Cole out of Cleveland State who was a standout in his senior year averaging 22 points, six rebounds and five assists per game. He also averaged at least one three-pointer in his final three seasons at Cleveland State and shot 34 percent from beyond the arc in his final year at the college level.

The Answer: Not a Very Large One

Both players should see time, especially Pittman, but nothing too significant yet. The Heat are making it an issue this offseason to pursue a center with Jamaal Magloire and Erick Dampier likely out and Zydrunas Ilgauskas possibly being the only pure center left to play with Pittman. The Heat could use some size, as well as some much-needed physicality, in the middle and they can receive that from Pittman.

Cole will most likely play behind Mario Chalmers and Eddie House with Mike Bibby most likely on the way out. He might not get used too significantly since the Heat also have Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to run the point, but Cole will at least get veteran help from the likes of Wade, James and House when it comes to running the point.

Is Mario Chalmers the Point Guard of the Future?

He's definitely the most frustrating player to watch as a Miami Heat fan, but he's also one of the best when he's at the top of his game.

Throughout the postseason and especially in the Finals, Chalmers was playing the best basketball of his career. He was hitting two three-pointers per game in the Finals, converting on 42 percent of them and actually appeared to be the Heat's third-best player in the series appropriately behind Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Chalmers' three-point shot helped keep the Heat in a number of games and even his passing had appeared to improve.

Mario only committed 10 turnovers to 21 assists. It was a huge boost from him as the Heat desperately needed some help off the bench with the way Mike Bibby was producing. Bibby scored 19 points in the entire NBA Finals with 14 of those points coming in the Heat's Game 2 loss. Aside from that one quality performance, Bibby combined to shoot two of 12 from the field and one of 10 from beyond the arc as he let the team down with his inability to convert on wide-open shots that he was receiving at an impressive rate.

Quality point guards are currently running rampant in this league with each team seemingly having one that is All-Star caliber. It wasn't until this past NBA Finals that we began to ponder just how quality of a player Chalmers was and we can now see that he has the potential to be a legitimate point guard in this league if given the chance. If coach Erik Spoelstra had decided to start Chalmers from Game 1 of the Finals and not in Game 6, the Heat could possibly be the ones with the bright summer ahead of them.

The Answer: Yes

Chalmers can still commit some boneheaded plays, but he can improve under the tutelage of players like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James when it comes to facilitating plays. He's a quality shooter who shot 36 percent from beyond the arc this season and is completely capable of running the point and creating plays. The team should continue to start him and allow him to work his way on his own through tough times.

Chalmers will be 25 years old by the start of the 2011-12 campaign and it's time the Heat begin to invest in their point guard of the future.

What Are We Going To Do with Mike Miller?

You thought LeBron James and Chris Bosh had rough years dealing with constant criticism? Try putting yourself in the shoes of Mike Miller and tell me what you think then.

After an unbelievable season with the Washington Wizards where he nearly made two three-pointers per game and converted on a career high 48 percent from deep, the Miami Heat decided to take a chance on Miller by signing him to a lucrative deal worth $30 million over the next five seasons. They might have overpaid somewhat, but it was believed that since the Big Three were going to attract so much attention from defenses that Miller would find himself open for the easiest three-pointers he's ever attempted.

That idea came to a crashing halt really fast. Miller injured a finger during a practice prior to the start of the season and was declared out for the next three months. He wouldn't return until December 20th where he would miss all four of his three-point attempts and wouldn't hit a three-pointer until January 15th when he made two against the Chicago Bulls. A week later, he would convert seven three-pointers on his way to 32 points in a win against the Toronto Raptors.

That's about all the production we would see from Miller for the rest of the season, as he would score in double digits on eight occasions and would suffer from other hand injuries, shoulder ailments and concussions. He would shoot below 30 percent from beyond the arc in the postseason, but would at least show some signs of life during the finals as he hit 39 percent from deep.

The Answer: Stick with Him

It would be impossible to trade Miller now after the way he played last season and with that bloated contract he has attached to him for another four years. Miller played abysmal this year, but you can attribute that to the myriad of injuries he suffered as well as the health of his newborn daughter, which was constantly on his mind. The injuries greatly affected the way he shot and his confidence was shot when he wasn't producing.

Since a trade won't be able to happen, unless the Heat attach a member of the Big Three as part of the deal, the team can only attempt to rehabilitate Miller as well as they possibly can. He's only one year removed from hitting nearly half of his three-pointers and can shoot just that well again if he can get his hands in working order.

Will They Find Their Center?

The point guard problem was one issue, but the Heat at least had a number of answers for that. If any of the pure point guards weren't performing up to par, the team could at least look to Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to facilitate the offense. There were plenty of players on the floor wearing Heat uniforms that could play the role of point guard and it was a problem that could at least wait to be addressed.

The center issue was a problem that showed up over and over again because of just how detrimental it was to the team. Miami used eight centers at the position with Chris Bosh, Juwan Howard, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Erick Dampier, Jamaal Magloire and Dexter Pittman all sharing time at one point during the season. They used all of these undersized or down-and-out players because there just weren't any options for the Heat to look to.

Each player carried some sort of problem when it came to playing center. Bosh wasn't physical enough; Howard, Dampier and Magloire were too lethargic; Haslem and Anthony were 6'10" and 6'9" respectively; Pittman was too young; and Ilgauskas can't jump. All of those problems added up to one glaring hole in the Heat's system that was constantly taken advantage of by opposing teams with big men who could actually play their position.

Adding a center should be priority No. 1 to the Heat and the team has many options to look to with the 2011 free-agency class. They can no longer look towards over-the-hill seven-footers or embarrassingly undersized power forwards as their starting centers because opposing teams will begin to take advantage of it. The team needs a center that can at least catch and finish, rebound and play some sort of defense.

The Answer: Yes 

And his name is Samuel Dalembert. He's an unrestricted free agent with ties to South Florida due to its tremendous Haitian population and its close proximity to his native Haiti. He's been in the league since 2001 and could be coming near the end of his career within the next few seasons, so it could be time for Dalembert to go ring-chasing in Miami as many other veterans have done so already.

Dalembert averaged eight points, eight rebounds and nearly two blocks per game last season in his first year as a member of the Sacramento Kings after spending eight years with the Philadelphia 76ers. He would address every issue the Heat have at center as he is a terrific rebounder, defender and shot-blocker and can even catch and finish as well.

How Much Longer Can We Rely on Dwyane Wade's Attacking Ability?

With the way he still plays, you would find it hard to believe that Dwyane Wade will be 30 years old upon the start of the 2011-12 season.

With the way he still plays, you wouldn't find it hard to believe that Dwyane Wade is putting his body at a huge risk every time he drives to the rim. Wade's jump shot hasn't always been consistent, but his ability to drive has been impeccable and it's arguably the best in the game. One of the top components of his game is his ability to break down teams thanks to his ability to drive and score against the toughest of defenses.

Against Dallas, it was the zone defense that limited LeBron James. Wade was still able to thrive because he has a much easier time creating his own shot thanks to his quickness off the dribble and a crossover that would even impress Tim Hardaway. Dwyane has thrived off of this since the start of his career, especially since injuries have limited his jump shot since the conclusion of the Heat's title win and the beginning of Wade's injury troubles.

Dwyane scores at an impressive rate because he has the tenacity and determination to drive on just about every offensive possession. It's also cost him two seasons as he was forced to sit out half of the 2006-07 and the 2007-08 seasons due to injuries that built up because of his high-flying confrontations with opposing frontcourts. Miraculously, he has improved since then and is now the player that he is today.

Sadly, he can't do this forever.

The Answer: Three Years Max

As your body wears down, so does your health, obviously. Injuries don't heal as fast and your body can't take as much damage as it did when you were younger. Wade's going to need to tone down on the slashing and the constant physical play in the paint if he wants to continue being an effective player. He can still drive for the rest of his career, but he's going to need to start creating other ways to score if he wants to thrive for another seven or eight years.

Dwyane should try and develop the jump shot that helped him win his first and only championship. Having a lethal shot from the mid-range to the perimeter would keep defenses honest and would make Wade a more versatile player than ever before. Most importantly though, it keeps Wade out of the paint and has him scoring from other places on the court.

Will We Look Towards Chris Bosh for More Scoring Chances?

Criticize Chris Bosh all you want, just don't tell him that he's not a legitimate member of the Miami Heat's Big Three.

Bosh had a tough time adjusting early in the year to the Heat's offensive system and to the role of being a third scoring option. He managed to overcome the difficulties, but still had his fair share of bad games throughout the season as a result of him playing passively and not having the confidence that he had as a first option in Toronto. With the ball out of his hands for the majority of a play, Bosh wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.

Nevertheless, he still managed 19 points and eight rebounds per game for the regular season and was key in the Heat's series victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls. In their series against Dallas, Bosh was the second-best player on the court for Miami, as he gave the same consistent numbers that he was giving for the majority of the regular and postseason.

When Bosh is producing at the rate he was in Toronto, the Heat seemingly become one of the toughest teams in the NBA to beat.

The problem with the Heat is that they don't use Chris Bosh to his potential. He's a third scoring option on the team, but the team treats him as if he wasn't a first option that was averaging 24 points per game only a year prior. They seldom look for him in the post, especially in the second half of close games, and elect to work the ball outside-inside rather than inside-outside. They don't utilize Bosh the way he should be utilized and it greatly affects the potential of this team.

The Answer: They Should, but Probably Won't

Throughout their first season together, the one key I noticed was that this team wasn't maximized to their potential. The way the offense is run causes slashers like Wade and James to spend the majority of a possession located on the perimeter and for post players like Bosh to go missing since Wade and James are too busy looking to create their own shots.

The offense needs fluidity and for that to happen, the ball needs to enter the hands of Bosh at least once on every possession. Miami should look at him as the first option he was rather than the third option he is now by allowing him to dictate how the offense should be run from time to time. The team should give him confidence by having the offense run through him and allowing Bosh to get his shots in throughout the game and not just when the Heat aren't in dire straits.

Is Erik Spoelstra's Job in Jeopardy?

Quite possibly the most criticized coach to go 58-24 in NBA history, Erik Spoelstra apparently had his job on the line all season long according to the consensus of the Miami Heat fanbase.

Critics of his coaching methods even went as far as to create websites asking for his firing. It's like any sports team that is going through a rough stretch—the fans will automatically blame the coach and his methods for the team not having the success that they envisioned.

Whether the team was 9-8 or losing five consecutive games in March, the majority of the blame went to Coach Spoelstra and his inexperience of working with egos this large. After all, how could a team with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh perform so badly at times?

There is, however, a legitimate case of putting the blame on Spoelstra for the team's loss in the NBA Finals. Once the Mavericks began using a zone defense, the first thing Spoelstra should have done was to implement shooters into the lineup. The Heat had James Jones riding the bench for the entire series and Eddie House only played in Game 6 as the team couldn't find any other answers to their offensive struggles.

In today's age, we usually look towards a person's negatives rather than their positives. What many people don't realize about Spoelstra is that he's one of the key reasons as to why the team advanced as far as they were able to. Spoelstra has a very keen eye of pinpointing problems that occur in a game and finding ways to adjust. For the majority of the regular and postseason, Spoelstra made all the right moves in helping the Heat get to where they got.

The Answer: No, No, No, So Stop Asking and Hoping

Spoelstra is the man Pat Riley wanted for the job and he's going to let him keep it for as long as he wants. The team trusts their coach and they trust him in his abilities to lead them to where they want to be. The offensive rhythm will come in time, but the quick adjustments and the hard-nosed defense will be here to stay fortunately.

Can They Rely on LeBron James' Mental Capabilities?

There's no other way to spin it.

I've written article after article dealing with the situation and I'll continue to reiterate my point that LeBron James was absolutely the main reason as to why the Miami Heat lost the 2011 NBA Finals. His inability to show up in late-game situations, as he did against Boston and Chicago, made the Heat's offense go stagnant and they had no answer for the jump-shooting experts of Dallas.

Because he wasn't driving, the Mavericks were able to maintain their energy level for the fourth quarter as opposed to the Heat's previous series. With James and Wade constantly attacking, opposing defenses were too worn out by the fourth quarter to maintain the same defensive effort that they were giving in the previous three quarters. LeBron taking jump shots was the last possible thing the Heat could have wanted from their former two-time MVP.

James had let the pressure get to him. With Scottie Pippen claiming that he was better than Michael Jordan and the entire Mavericks roster taking shots at him, LeBron wasn't able to live up to the expectations and the criticism and he faltered where great players would usually chomp at the bit for an opportunity like the one James had. LeBron obviously was under a ton of mental pressure and he wasn't ready for what was waiting ahead.

It was a surprise coming from the same player that had thrived in the fourth quarter in the two series before. He closed out both series against Boston and Chicago and was the key reason as to why the Heat won both series. LeBron was dominant in the fourth quarter and not one player on the court in a Heat, Celtics or Bulls uniform could match up with him.

The Answer: Yes

It's time to take a few small positives from one huge negative. The Finals were a disappointment to LeBron, but he should take it as a lesson learned and move on. He'll only be 27 years old by the start of the 2011-12 season as well as four years remaining on the deal that brought him to the Miami Heat, so he'll have plenty of time and opportunities to secure the championship that has eluded him for so long.

Once he secures one, the pressure of winning one will be lifted and he can live his life with ease and without as much criticism.

Are They Going to Keep the Big Three Intact?

For a team that made it to the NBA Finals, the Miami Heat have received more criticism than any other runner-up in the history of this league.

Right from the end of the NBA Finals, the trade rumors began with the most ridiculous one being a swap between the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic that would send LeBron James to Orlando and Dwight Howard to Miami. The trade rumors only seem to pop up when the Heat are losing games and sure enough they did before Game 6 even came to an end.

The same thing happened during the Heat's early struggles and became even more prevalent at the trade deadline with Chris Bosh usually being at the center since he was having the most troubles amongst the Big Three. Miami managed to stand firm and made the right decision in keeping Bosh since he is probably the team's most important player.

You don't just give up on a player because he's going through tough times, you help him through it and that's exactly what the Heat did with Chris Bosh and what they'll do over the offseason with LeBron. The Big Three had their struggles together, mostly early on in the season, and it was discouraging to lose the Finals with all of the talent they had especially. However, it's their first season together and they still have at least four more years together.

The Answer: A Huge Yes

This was Pat Riley's vision and he's not going to admit defeat just because the team came up two games short of winning the championship. Each player will be playing in their prime with the Heat and they're certainly not going to give up after one failed endeavor.

Wade, James and Bosh are too good of players to lose under those circumstances again. They came together for the sole purpose of winning and they'll come across a title if they continue to stay the course.

How Will They React to Their Finals Loss?

The 2011 Finals were a letdown for the Miami Heat. After all the criticism and struggles that they dealt with for the regular season and the Eastern Conference playoffs, it all came down to one shining moment where the team could finally silence its critics and give two of its most important players their first championship. They blew Game 2, but still managed to steal home court back with a Game 3 win.

The next three games were games that everyone associated with the Heat would like to forget, but shouldn't. They should use the final three games of the Finals as not only motivational tools, but as a good source of experience for future Finals appearances. The team managed to break the ice by making it to the Finals in only their first season together and now they can look forward to improving from their disappointing end.

The Heat have the talent to be one of the greatest in NBA history and they're capable of anything if they can continue to stay the course that they have made by joining together as one cohesive unit. They need to take the experience and move on from it if they ever want to become a successful team that goes out and wins championships. These are three of the most talented players in the world and they need to continue playing as such.

The Answer: They'll Win Next Year's Title

Miami has learned a lot from their first year playing together and most importantly they have learned how to cope and deal with the constant criticism from every outlet of the NBA world. The three players that have come together and formed this trio are too good to continue losing and each of them know that.

This upcoming season should be their year to win a championship if they can build off of the experience that they have gained from their Finals loss and the entire 2010-11 campaign.