Miami Heat: 1 Improvement Each Key Player Must Make

Nobody can be perfect, not even a Miami Heat team with three of the league's top players and arguably the two best players in basketball history.

In fact, the Heat have five blemishes on their record. By way of a zone defense, missing free throws and not being able to score against an ugly team, the Heat have lost five of their first 21 games.

Compared to last year's start, however, this has been a dream season and it's tied the franchise record for the best start through 21 games.

The last time the Heat started out this well? The 1998-99 season, which also happened to be a lockout year.

While the Heat have had their fair share of success, there is still so much room for improvement from each and every player on this team. We take the time to analyze each of these player's strengths and how they could possibly correct it.

LeBron James

Must Improve: Decision Making in the Clutch

Instead of focusing on LeBron James' shortcomings in situations over time, we'll instead focus solely on the Miami Heat's victory over the Chicago Bulls, and how the small forward nearly allowed it to get away.

Before we begin, take note that James was probably the best player in the fourth quarter of the game. He recorded nine points and four boards, gave the Heat possession on a crucial jump ball and most importantly shut down Derrick Rose.

The reigning MVP went 1-of-5 for three points in the fourth quarter, with those three coming on a fast break where he scored and recorded a foul over Mario Chalmers.

Oh, and he also had 35 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. No big deal.

James was a lot better than you may perceive—we're talking to you, Jon Barry—but he still nearly cost the Heat another game simply by poor decision making.

With the game leaning in the Heat's favor with less than two minutes remaining, James recorded an offensive rebound.

Instead of immediately kicking it out, resetting and waning down another shot clock, James put the shot up only to see it miss. No matter, as he gets the ball back and promptly turns it over after attempting another wayward shot.

Forget the missed free throws and the bad jump shot at the end, that play right there was what nearly cost the Heat the game.

It was simply poor decision making on James' part. He had two chances to kick the ball out to the three-point line and put the game on ice by wasting at least 20 seconds, but attempted to be the hero instead.

The problem with James in these situations is that he overthinks far too much. Rather than playing the solid basketball he had played all game—where he was confident and making the right decisions—he was trying to hard to force the issue.

He either becomes too heavy on being the hero or making someone else to be the hero.

James can be an excellent player in those situations. We've seen it plenty of times before. He just needs to remain cool, calm and collected when the game is on the line, and act as if it's the last two minutes of any other quarter.

LeBron needs to stop focusing on failure. His body language tells the tale whenever he has the ball during those moments.

All James needs to do is maintain that confidence he possesses throughout the game and continue to play smart basketball.

Dwyane Wade

Must Improve: Durability

Over the course of his career, Dwyane Wade has avoided the question marks that Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill and Brandon Roy have earned.

What could have been? Those three players were all on their way to superstardom before significant and nagging injuries began to take over their careers. While they did all earn All-Star appearances, they never achieved the potential and anticipation that they were meant to achieve.

That was nearly Dwyane Wade. During and after back-to-back seasons where he played in only 51 games apiece, Wade underwent a series of surgeries to repair his shoulder and knee.

It was believed by some to be a death sentence on his having any success in the following seasons. The wear and tear, coupled with the surgeries, was sure to derail Wade's career.

About that: Wade dominated in the 2008 Olympics and then had an MVP-caliber season, where he led the league in scoring at 30 points per game.

The injuries had clearly affected his formerly consistent jump shot, but he was as athletic and dynamic as ever. Dwyane was taking more spills to the floor than ever before, yet it did little to throw off the 2006 finals MVP's performance.

In the three seasons following those surgeries, Wade played in at least 76 games. It was the first time in his career that he played in at least 70 games for three consecutive seasons.

He even spent the majority of the offseason getting in better shape, and was reported to have a body fat level of 3.5 percent, the lowest in his career.

However, the Heat got two scares—one minor and one major—early on in the 2011-12 season. He bruised his foot in the third game of the season, but would recover quickly.

It was the ankle injury he suffered a few days after his return that would put a scare into every single Heat fan across the world. Dwyane reportedly said that it felt as if he broke it at first.

Fortunately he didn't, and he's now back to devastating opponents for 48 minutes.

Still, it was scary, and it made us realize that a 30-year-old Dwyane Wade isn't immortal. He is still capable of aggravating an injury, or creating a new one.

As delightful as it is to see Wade drive and perform his usual theatrics, he'll need to begin creating a solid jump shot if he wants to last past the age of 34, especially when you consider all the ailments he's already dealt with.

Chris Bosh

Must Improve: Rebounding

Remember when there were skeptics who categorized—and still do—Chris Bosh as a "soft" player?

Yeah, that was pretty ignorant. It doesn't seem like many people were criticizing Dirk Nowitzki's passive style of play when he won an NBA title a few months back. It's just so much easier when it's an easy target like Chris Bosh, who happens to be on the same team as fellow target of ridicule LeBron James.

After all, what gives a player any right to struggle when attempting to adjust to becoming a third scoring option after having been a primary one for seven years?

With or without James, Bosh isn't soft in the slightest. I dare anyone to show me a clip of other passive players, like Nowitzki or Pau Gasol, performing plays like this.

Just because he doesn't bang down low and play with his back to the basket doesn't mean he's soft, it only shows how versatile of a player he is.

There aren't many players Bosh's size that can play in the post, hit the jumper from beyond the arc and put the ball on the floor. He's too quick of a player, and with the recently added size he acquired over the offseason, Bosh is now as assertive and aggressive as he ever was with the Toronto Raptors.

While he's taken the initiative to play center for extended amounts of time and is driving far more than he did with the Heat last year, Bosh is still lacking heavily at one key aspect: rebounding.

The 6'11" power forward is currently averaging eight boards per through 20 games, which would be the lowest since his rookie year.

It's a surprise to see Bosh fail to obtain more than 10 boards per. Even though he's playing more aggressive and is the tallest player on the team outside of Eddy Curry, Bosh is still struggling to obtain double-digit boards.

Considering he's the big man that gets the most time on the floor and is getting outrebounded by a bench player in Udonis Haslem, it's clear that he needs to improve this aspect of his game.

Scoring 21 points per game and making up for Dwyane Wade's extended absence was excellent, but those eight boards per game need to be raised. There's no excuse for Bosh to not grab 10 boards when he's one of only two solid big men on the floor that can rebound.

With the Heat struggling through periods of giving up boards on the offensive glass, Bosh's presence is going to be needed more than ever when his team faces off with large frontcourt teams like the Chicago Bulls.

Mario Chalmers

Must Improve: Decision Making

LeBron James needs to improve his decision making in specific situations.

Mario Chalmers just plain needs to improve on his decision making at any juncture of the game. Even though he'll play terrific off-the-ball defense and will nail a couple of three-pointers, he'll just as easily cancel all of that out with a string of turnovers and poor defense.

If you watch Heat games on a consistent basis, you will see brief stretches where Chalmers will convert two or three turnovers in consecutive possessions.

The worst part of it is that the majority of the turnovers aren't forced. Chalmers sometimes plays carelessly with the ball, which usually leads to fast break opportunities.

James can get away with that because he can quickly right those wrongs. The same cannot be said for Chalmers, who isn't able to take over a game like LeBron can.

It's inexcusable for either player—or any player for that matter—to be careless with the ball in a regulation NBA game, but it only makes it worse when the turnovers are off of silly mistakes that could have easily been avoided by just thinking.

Mario has made it tough to dislike him this season. After two consecutive seasons where he played extremely underwhelming basketball and flirted with possibly being a free agent or trade casualty, he's quickly stepped it up and is currently averaging 11 points per, while converting on two three-pointers per game at a 43 percent clip.

He's only 25 and in his fourth season, but those careless turnovers need to end. As the starting point guard, Chalmers' main directive is to be the one to take care of the ball, initiate plays and hit the wide open shots he receives as a result of the Big 3's attention.

Even though Mario has definitely cut down on his careless mistakes from seasons before, there is still plenty of room for improvement from the oft-frustrating floor general.

Joel Anthony

Must Improve: Catching a Leather Sphere

Here's something funny you can do next time you watch a Miami Heat game: When LeBron James or Dwyane Wade enters the lane, attracts attention and passes it off to Joel Anthony, watch the looks on their faces when Anthony drops the easy catch and watches it skid out of bounds.

They're not angry with Joel, just really, really frustrated. LeBron and Dwyane utilize a lot of energy on their drives, and it's reasonable to see them get disappointed when they drop the pass off to their 6'9" center and and he fumbles away another certain two points.

Even though he's a fan-favorite and is arguably the best post-defender on this Heat team, Anthony's offensive shortcomings do affect this team.

While it has been extremely impressive to see him add a decent jump hook to his game, the Heat would much rather see Joel catch and finish before he begins to add a simple offensive move to his repertoire.

There's really no explanation for Joel's struggles at catching the basketball. Seamus from Family Guy would probably have an easier time at catching a pass from within five feet.

A man with shovels for hands standing in the rain would have better luck at receiving a pass under the basket. Even that kid from Little Giants, who put too much of that sticky black substance on his hands, would have more success.

In a nutshell, Joel Anthony simply can't catch and finish. He's a world-class defender, hustler and shot-blocker, but his offensive game is as inept as it can get.

The Heat aren't asking for too much from Joel. He's got the easiest job in the NBA when considering that all he has to do is stay out of the way, play some good defense and just be there to catch the ball and finish quickly.

Two-for-three isn't too bad.

Mike Miller

Must Improve: Involvement on Offense

See the difference a pair of thumbs can make?

A year after struggling through 41 injury-plagued games and shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc on three attempts per, Mike Miller has seen that shooting stroke return after a year's absence due to a few significant injuries to his hands, which happen to be the most vital part of a shooter's anatomy.

Miller dealt with injuries to both of his thumbs and his shoulder, and also dealt with a concussion.

The thumb injury he suffered in training camp was what did Miller's 2010-11 season in, as he failed to establish any sort of rhythm in his first year with the Heat. Aside from a huge game against the Toronto Raptors where he dropped 32 points, Miller was ineffective on the offensive end.

He attempted to make up for it with solid rebounding, defense and a terrific all-around work ethic, but it wasn't what the Heat gave him $30 million for.

The Heat can give much less money to a player who just works hard. They signed Miller for the sole purpose of hitting those wide-open shots that he's going to get as a result of the Big 3 attracting so much attention.

After recovering from sports-hernia surgery, Miller is the shooter we expected him to become. He's getting open thanks to the Big 3's influence and is hitting those shots with ease.

The shots have plenty more arc, Miller is shooting with confidence and has his hands back in working order, which means that this sharpshooter is here to stay, barring another injury.

Miller is shooting 59 percent from deep through eight games, but is only taking two shots from beyond the arc per game.

The limited attempts from deep could be a result of the Heat slowly weening Miller back into a full regulation game, but he should still be taking more than two shots per from beyond the arc in nearly 20 minutes of action.

There isn't much to complain about with Miller since he's only in Miami for one purpose. However, he needs to continue to be the player that the Heat signed him to be while finding more ways to get open and integrate himself into the offense.

But, he's still hesitating and passing up on a few jumpers that he should be taking.

Miller is one of the most vital players to the Heat's success, since he's the lone consistent three-point threat with intangibles. He will need to begin taking more shots from deep in order to allow the Big 3 to get some rest, stretch the floor and create some distance in a lead or closure in a deficit.

Udonis Haslem

Must Improve: Jump Shooting

When I watch Udonis Haslem play in the 2011-12 season, I attempt to make myself think of all the other things that he does.

Those nine rebounds per game are impressive, as he's leading all of the league's bench players in that category. He's still playing tremendous defense and drawing more charges than anyone else on the Heat, and is playing like the hustler he's been since he joined the Heat as an undrafted free agent in 2003.

That hard-work ethic stems from how grateful Haslem is toward the Heat for being the only team to give him a chance after he went undrafted.

I make myself think of Haslem's rebounding and defense because of just how awful he's been on offense through his first 20 games of the season.

Even though Haslem is coming off a serious foot injury he suffered in November of 2010, and only said he was at 100 percent in August of 2011. It's still a huge concern to see him struggle on the same jump shots that he seemed to never miss on previously.

Haslem was always perceived to be one of the league's most consistent mid-range shooters. Although he can't create his own shot to save his life, the fact that he could receive a kick-out on the baseline and hit that jumper nearly every time was enough.

Haslem was tremendous on offense because he was always there to be relied on when Dwyane Wade was getting double or triple-teamed.

Before LeBron and Bosh took their talents to South Beach, Haslem was Wade's sidekick and was the shooter you went to when you needed to help stretch the floor. He's averaged over 10 points per game only three times, but it's more about the fact that he can be relied on that's earned him respect on offense.

For some reason this year, Haslem can't hit anything. He's getting the majority of his buckets off of put-backs and is having a hard time getting into any sort of rhythm with his jump shot.

Hopefully for the Heat, it's just some lingering effects from the foot injury, because the team will need Haslem's reliable jumper come postseason time.

Shane Battier

Must Improve: Three-Point Shooting

Shane Battier is certainly proving his worth on one end of the floor for the Heat. The problem is that there are two ends to a basketball court.

To say the least, Battier's defense has been impeccable. He's one of the most skilled and smartest defenders you will see in the game today, and it's clearly rubbing off on his teammates as they take a more fundamental approach to defensive play.

Battier isn't looking to make gambles, he's out there to play strong defense and force a bad shot or pass.

He fits perfectly on this Heat team. Not only does he reinforce the idea to not gamble and instead pay more attention to playing simple one-on-one defense, he also adds yet another strong perimeter defender along with All-NBA defenders Wade and James.

Basically, Battier made an already-great defense even better. Even though the Heat aren't near the top in points given up per game, it's obvious to tell that when this team does play defense, they're the best in the league. Adding Battier adds one more defensive stopper that is near impossible to beat off the dribble or shoot over.

While Battier's defense has been impressive as usual, his offense has been suspect. He has a lot of trouble in creating his own shot, which is excusable, but the wide-open three-pointers that he has been missing are not.

Battier has yet to take a contested perimeter jumper, yet is shooting 34 percent from deep.

He shot 39 percent for his career before entering this season.

Battier has acknowledged that he hasn't played well on that end of the floor. It's a good thing for the Heat that their slumping three-point shooter also happens to be one of the smartest players in the league.

Talk about a consolation prize.

Norris Cole

Must Improve: Speed and Control

We knew that the Miami Heat got a steal when they obtained 23-year-old Norris Cole out of Cleveland State University.

Little did we know that it would take two games before we got to experience just how quality of a player this unknown rookie is. After scoring 20 points in a close victory over the Boston Celtics in his first ever game at the American Airlines Arena, Cole became the talk of the town and was even in contention for Rookie of the Year.

Since then the hype has died down. Obviously it would, since Cole comes off the bench, is only playing 21 minutes per game and isn't close to being a first-option on this Heat team.

However, it was easy to get hyped over this kid after seeing what he was capable of. His quickness and mid-range jumper were qualities that fit perfectly with a team that likes to run and needed a solid threat in the 10 to 20-foot range.

At the moment, it's a love-hate relationship between the Heat organization and Cole. While the coaching staff loves how confident and aggressive he can be on both sides of the play, they also don't care for him being overly aggressive and confident.

Cole gets way too ahead of himself sometimes. He'll take too many shots—he'll even outshoot the Big 3 at times—and will attempt to drive into places where he has no room to go. That confidence and aggressiveness is what aids his being such a quality player, but it's also been his downfall as well.

Averaging nine points and three assists per game as the No. 28 pick, though? Can't ask for much more.