Miami Heat: 3 Questions we would like to see answered during Media Day

The Miami Heat are getting set for training camp to open on Tuesday, October 1. Before they get camp kicked off though, there is the annual Media Day.

As the Miami Heat are about to begin the gauntlet and cycle that is the NBA season, they must first get into the swing of pre-Season, where they will begin to prepare themselves for the long and gruesome 82 game regular season. While training camp is probably the most functionally important part of this process, the annual Media Day has a certain amount of importance to it as well.

This is where discussions are opened and scenarios are expanding upon. This is where storylines begin and where lists of speculation as long as the offseason itself start to end. With those thoughts in mind, here are three questions we would like to hear addressed in some fashion during the Miami Heat’s media day.

1. Who will start training camp as the lead guard on the first unit

After an offseason full of speculation, we can finally begin to seek concrete answers to a question that has plagued the Miami Heat Nation since the end of last season. Who has the upper hand to be this teams starting point guard between Justise Winslow and Goran Dragic?

While Winslow has made it known that he wants to be the guy there, Dragic has been on record saying that he hasn’t had any conversations about that or anything else with any of the Heat brass. Winslow should be the guy if you ask me, but there is a case to be made for Dragic as well, although I do believe Dragic would be the optimal choice to be the sixth man for this Heat team.

We don’t know what Coach Spo is thinking though, and imaginably, that’s who’s opinion matters the most. That is why this is one of the questions that we would like to see answered at media day.

2. What will the big man rotation look like?

While some will see this question as pointless, with Bam Adebayo appearing as the frontman to be the main big guy in the rotation, I would employ them to pump their brakes a bit. While Bam Adebayo does appear to have one of the highest upsides among the big man collective, there could be a case made for another of the bigs depending upon the Miami Heat’s offensive attack, philosophy, lineup, and personnel this season.

Bam Adebayo is the most springy or athletic, who excels the most on the rim running aspect of the pick and roll and who also has an elevating skill set and jump shot. However, Kelly Olynyk or Meyers Leonard would be the better shooters at this point, who also have the abilities to finish around the hoop, albeit perhaps not as in an authoritative or monstrous fashion as Bam can.

While that is one aspect that needs clarifying, another revolves around the actual makeup of the lineups themselves. Will it be a single big man approach for the most part, with a lot of James Johnson and perhaps even Duncan Robinson at the small-ball four, or will we see multiple true big men lineups. This, in essence, asks if we will see lineups featuring two of three of either Leonard, Adebayo, or Olynyk.

While it seems confusing, it really isn’t that complex as a situation, it just has a lot of moving parts. That logistical clarity we seek though is why it is a question we would like to see addressed at media day.

What is the approach with the newer guys?

The Miami Heat have quite a few younger talented players on the roster that should be expected to make some sort of contribution this season, although some may be larger than others. First and foremost, what is the plan with Tyler Herro?

Does Coach Spo plan to work him into a main role early, or does he plan to slowly bring him along? The same questions can be asked relatively with Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, and KZ Okpala, who have either all shown what they can do in other arenas such as summer league(Nunn and Robinson)or has the natural and raw ability to make a contribution even if the skills aren’t as refined as they need to be yet(Okpala).

With a team that needs some of the things that they can bring, shooting specifically from Robinson and Herro along with easy buckets from Herro, Nunn, and Okpala such as those in transition or off of slashing, how will they be deployed or mixed into the fold of things? They can help this team this year, we would just like to know how they plan to unleash that reinforcement. That is why this is the third question we would like to see answered.

While there are a few more questions worth asking that we would like answers to, these are three of the more obvious and important. Hopefully, they are addressed in one way or another.

Either way, Media Day means that we are just that much closer to the start of the first season of the Jimmy Butler era with our Miami Heat. Are you excited yet? #HeatCulture