5 Things Miami Heat Must Be Concerned About Entering 2014-15 Season

The Miami Heat's preseason is in the books, and there is a great deal to be gleaned from it.

The Heat showed a lot that could make one optimistic about the upcoming regular season, but they also showed a lot that could make one pessimistic about how strong this team is going to be.

For now, we're going to focus on the negative. Let's take a look at the five things Miami should be most concerned about heading into its first year of the post-LeBron James era of basketball. 

Norris Cole as Starting Point Guard

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Perhaps the biggest surprise from the preseason has been Norris Cole's apparent ascension past Mario Chalmers as the starting point guard.

There are certainly questions as to whether Cole is ready to lead a team to the level of success Miami is striving for. 

Despite earning a new role, Cole hasn't played great this preseason. He remains a below-average offensive player. He's not an outside shooting threat or a solid distributor, and he doesn't excel at getting to the basket.

He's an effective on-ball defender, but his offensive ability often negates that value.

For those reasons, it's fair to wonder whether Cole's jump to starting point guard is a product of Miami wanting to play Chalmers at the 2 more frequently rather than a result of Cole's play.

The Heat need Cole to step it up once the regular season begins, but there hasn't been much evidence during his three-plus years in the NBA to suggest that's likely. 

Shooting Guard Depth

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The Heat have a real problem at the 2 behind Dwyane Wade.

Chalmers, who has sparingly played shooting guard at the NBA level, now figures to be Miami's backup shooting guard. He has the versatile talent to fulfill such a role, but surely the Heat would be better off with a more seasoned shooting guard.

Shannon Brown, the favorite to begin the season as Miami's No. 3 shooting guard, hasn't had a strong preseason. The eight-year veteran averaged just 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

Simply put, he is not someone the Heat can rely on for meaningful minutes this year.

Miami strongly needs to consider trading for a skilled backup shooting guard this year, which would allow Chalmers to play more often at his natural position. 

Danny Granger's Comeback Season

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Danny Granger represented a low-risk, high-reward signing for Miami this past offseason. Unfortunately for the Heat, the idea of them reaping such reward doesn't appear too promising at the moment.

Granger averaged just 7.5 points while shooting 38.1 percent from the field during the preseason, looking very similar to the player who labored through this past season and nothing like the player who was one of the NBA's top scorers five years ago.

Some people believed a rejuvenated Granger might be able to find a semblance of his old form and be an offensive weapon for Miami. While it would be a mistake to completely write off the possibility of that happening because of his performance during the preseason, his days of being a productive player might be over. 

Dwyane Wade Making It Through a Full Season Healthy

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Wade closed out the preseason on a very high note. The three-time NBA champion scored 42 points on 18-of-26 shooting in Miami's final two games.

Despite all the talk of Wade's demise as a result of his poor play in the 2014 NBA Finals, he remains one of the top players in the league when healthy.

The problem: Wade is not always healthy. His knees, in particular, have been a major problem in recent years.

In an attempt to protect the health of Wade's knees, the Heat instituted a maintenance plan this past regular season that resulted in him missing 28 games. With LeBron gone, the Heat don't have such a luxury and are going to need Wade to help lead the team on a nightly basis.

I'm among those who believe Wade is poised for a big season, but there's no denying that his making it through the entire season healthy is among Miami's biggest concerns. 

Outside Shooting

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The Heat could be in store for troubles beyond the arc this year.

Miami wasn't even an elite shooting team last season—the Heat ranked 12th in three-point efficiency—and lost proven shooters LeBron James, Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Rashard Lewis and James Jones this past offseason.

The Heat shot just 35.4 percent from downtown in preseason play. To put that in perspective, such a percentage would have ranked 19th in three-point efficiency last season.

Miami starts two wing players in Wade and Luol Deng who aren't competent from the outside, which will make it difficult for this team to turn it around from three-point range once the season starts. Plus, besides Chalmers and Shabazz Napier, the Heat lack shooting talent off the bench.

Making matters worse for Miami, Wade, a dreadful 28.9 percent three-point shooter for his career, recently told ESPN Insider Tom Haberstroh (subscription required) that he plans to shoot more threes this season.