As we embark on another offseason, there are a few things that the Miami Heat should be somewhat concerned about, even if they are minor concerns.
1. Age – The Heat face an offseason in which they desperately need an infusion of good, young talent. Assuming Loul Deng opts in for the next season (which is a strong possibility), the Heat’s top four players (Deng, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Goran Dragic) are going to be 30, 33, 31, and 29 respectively. Not exactly old, but no spring chickens either. Having a lottery pick in this deep draft and a chance to make an impact in the Free Agent market, acquiring some youth could go a long way.
2. Bench Depth – The Heat’s bench played pretty well at points during the season, but was pretty underwhelming as a whole. Before the Dragic trade, the Heat were relying on the likes of Shabazz Napier, Norris Cole, Danny Granger, Udonis Haslem, and Chris Andersen. After the trade, guys like James Ennis, Tyler Johnson and Michael Beasley emerged. But in 2015. the Heat will probably need to make a splash on a big name bench player, to provide some scoring and consistency. Also, upgrading from Haslem/Andersen in the frontcourt would be a positive.
3. Health – The Heat were beat down by injuries during the season, mainly the blood clots that sidelined Chris Bosh for the second half of the season. Wade is always an injury risk, but Deng has become injury prone in the latter stage of his career. Andersen and Haslem were up and down as usual with injuries as well. With as much bad luck as the Heat suffered from this past season, a stroke of good luck in this department is much needed heading into a new season.
4. Whiteside’s Growth – Hassan Whiteside was a shot of adrenaline to the Heat organization this year with his extremely strong play. But his development and maturity during the offseason are going to be paramount for the Heat moving forward. Will he come back next season more refined in his post play and willing to be more of a leader? Also, will he understand that his knucklehead plays can harm himself and his team more than he realized?
5. Riley’s Impact – This isn’t a major concern, but it is worth monitoring for the future. Riley was able to lure LeBron James to Miami in 2010, but was unable to gut check and sell him on returning in 2014. Was that more a function of LeBron truly just wanting to go back home? Or was that a sign of Riley losing his touch just a bit? In an attempt to get Miami back to the promised land, they are going to need Riley’s magic touch to complete the roster. That remains to be seen.