Miami Heat's 5 questions for the Season

The Miami Heat are an incredible story, they have the two best players in the NBA (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade) as well as a very good power forward in Chris Bosh. And the Miami Heat with all the controversy and injuries, still managed to come two games (and a Game 2 chokejob) short of winning an NBA championship last season when LeBron came up small once again in the NBA finals.

However the past is the past....there are the five questions that the heat will have to answer to get better this season

It is not a secret the the Miami Heat need a post guy in the paint. After all, it was Tyson Chandler, a journeyman center from the Mavericks that (along with Dirk Nowitzki), ravages the Miami Heat frontline. And with Tyson Chandler moving to the upstart New York Knicks, the presence of Dwight Howard, the size of Chicago and with upstart centers in All Horford in Atlanta and Roy Hibbert in Indiana, did the Heat address this problem in the off-season?

Their Answer:

In a free agency that was all about centers, the Heat, due to the lockout and the limitations of the money they spend lost out on centers like Tyson Chandler, Nene, Marc Gasol, Samuel Dalembert and even Kwame Brown. After Illgauskas retired and Dampier was released, the secret was if the Miami Heat can get a quality big man for the veterans minimum, and they hope they did in Eddy Curry.

He isn't the greatest rebounder or the most conditioned basketball player, but Joel Anthony, although a very good defensive player, isn't nearly the offensive player that Eddy Curry was in his career, so the dynamic of both of them will be interesting as Curry continues to get healthy. Also, Dexter Pittman, a young center who was also overweight, is now also slimming down and is a center who has shown signs of potential.

Is it the right answer?

It was the Heat's only answer. Now they are relying on the acquisition of a center that is now injured because he worked out to hard, and a young second year center with the same problem...they eat to much. And with the uptempo style of Miami, it will make it harder for Curry to be effective. However, since he hasn't played, he hasn't shown anything, so we don't know for sure. Maybe the Heat can get Joel Pryzbilla and really get big, but there is little chance the Heat can beat other teams to get for the 7'1” big man.

However, ultimately, the responsibilities of post production lies on All-Star Chris Bosh, who put on 5-10 pounds of muscle for this season. He need to do more than 18 points, 8 rebounds and less than a block a game to make the Miami Heat more respectable in the post, but if he can, he can once again be considered one of the best post players in the NBA again.

While the Miami heat were a very efficient and a top scoring team in the NBA, the Heat at times, struggled to score, and one of the reasons was because the dynamic of two-time MVP LeBron James and NBA Finals MVP Dwayne Wade has not been established. Both have needed the ball to succeed in basketball. This is not because they are selfish or greedy, but it is because the team has always needed them to dominate the ball to win for so long, a transition out of that is very difficult. This was exemplified in the first game against Boston and continued on for most of the season.

However, when the Celtics played the Heat in the playoffs, it seemed the kinks that LeBron and Dwayne had were worked out, and defeated the Easter Conference Champs in 5 games as well as the best regular season team in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls. But when the Heat played the Dallas Mavericks in the finals, offensively, there were struggles.

The Answer:

The way the Heat have decided to solve the problem is two fold, by making these two superstars play in the post more as well as to increase the tempo of the game. By Erik Spolestra using their strength and speed as an advantage over other player, the plan is to make them unstoppable. And while LeBron and Dwayne are tough to guard the way they play, by attacking the paint more with their post abilities and speed on the fast break, it makes it impossible for these two to guard, especially when both are on the court. This, theoretically can also make them play together better now because while one is in the post, another is on the weak side that can be ready for the kickout pass and drive to the basket.

Is it the right answer?

Duh. It is the best way to maximize their talent and early in the season it has proven dividends already throughout the season. However, this doesnt necessary solve the problem that Miami have against the zone which will be addressed later.

It is a well known fact, that the Miami Heat were short in the point guard position. And while this is not necessarily a concern as far as distributing the ball due to the fact that LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are two of the best passers in basketball, it made things difficult when a quick point guard was playing against them and if LeBron James or Dwayne Wade is guarding very good wing players. The Heat have always searched for the point guard who can both shoot the basketball and play defense against other point guards.

The Answer:

The Heat cut Eddie House because it has confidence in the point guard that they have in incumbent starter Mario Chalmers and this years late first round draft pick from Cleveland St. in Norris Cole. Both players shoot the basketball well and pressure on defense. They both can also take and make the big shot and can push the offense to a faster pace, alleviating the point guard abilities of Wade and James. Both of these guys will play the point guard position for the Miami Heat this season.

Is it the right answer?

Leaving the point guard role to these young players is a risk, and both players will be turnover prone with this fast pace offense, but as the season progresses, they will learn to handle the ball better and with both guys having the clutch gene (Chalmers showing it again in the finals, and Cole showing it in the Heat's bout against the Boston Celtics). And ultimately, if they dont work out, LeBron or Wade can handle the point guard position.

The Miami Heat bench was considered a weakness last year, and was mocked because the Big three of Miami scored a lot and did not have any help from their bench last year. So one of the goals were to bolster the bench depth this season for free agency.

The Answer

The acquisition of Shane Battier was a positive move for the Miami Heat, Shane Battier is a proven defender, a proven three point shooter, and a proven leader in the locker room, He provides wing depth and adds another player alongside the oft injured Mike Miller and the under appreciated James Jones to take a key shot. have a healthy Udonis Haslem will also be a big move in the NBA. He is the big man who comes off the bench for the Miami Heat who is a very good mid-range shooter, a very good rebounder and a high energy guy off the bench who can guard the best defensive power forward on a team.

Is it the right Answer?

With these four guys as the main bench players along with veteran Jwann Howard, the Miami Heat will have a lot of flexibility if one is injured. And while the Heat may not have the best bench in the league, when healthy, this bench can matchup to most benches in the NBA.

The Heat has had a few problems last season, but their biggest problem was that they could not close games, especially playing against the Knicks with Carmelo, Celtics and Bulls, losing all of those games late in the fourth after having a lead, and while LeBron James, who was the culprit of the losses in those games, was clutch in the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Heat once again fell back to their old ways against Dallas, surrendering leads in the fourth in each of those losses, including a double digit lead with less than half of the quarter left to play in Game 2. Many of those poor performances were due to the Mavericks playing the zone defense which Miami could not figure out

The blame fell on LeBron, and while Chris Bosh had a very poor finals shooting less than 42 percent on the field, LeBron James was nnearly non existent in the fourth quarter, with the surprising stat being how little he shot vs the percentage he shot.

Their Answer:

Dont know yet, but some of their changes will put the Heat in a situation that will have them ahead by so far, there will be little need for closing since they will be ahead of contest because the sheer athleticism, top defense and incredible scoring options available. However, when the going gets tough, the Heat will need to figure out a way to close the game.

Is it the right answer:

Obviously not, they need a closer, and whether it be the de facto closer Dwayne Wade, the not so clutch LeBron James, occasionally clutch Chris Bosh or even Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole, the Heat will need to find a closer.

But the bigger problem is the zone defense, when teams implement it, the Heat freeze up, they dont drive, they dont try to throw the ball in the middle of the zone to the big men, they dont cut to the basket to confuse the assignments of the zone, but instead pass it around the perimeter and shoot a jumpshot, the Heat will need to fix this to make themselves a legitimate championship team.