The Heat head into tonight's game against Golden State out of a playoffs spot for the first time all season, desperate to get a leg up on three other teams jostling for a postseason berth in the East -- teams against which they own a 1-6 record.
If only that were their only problem.
Miami has been long on questions and short on answers all season. Postseason or no, there's a lot of major, gnawing issues the Heat will have to solve moving forward -- or not, and suffer. And we're not even talking about Dwyane Wade yet.
1. Where'd the growth go? The Heat were looking for big strides from Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook, and Michael Beasley, but any spurts have come from Dorrell Wright and Joel Anthony. What does that say about the Heat's offseason training program? Souting? Player development? A lot of responsibility falls to the players themselves, but does all of it?
2. Is there more for Michael Beasley? Super Cool Beas isn't as far along in development as other former top five draft picks (though, to be fair, at least Miami didn't get Hasheem Thabeet). The Heat had to conduct his pre-season training around a rehab schedule, which can't have been ideal, and he's only been the "new" version of himself for a few months. But he's not yet capable of stepping up when Dwyane Wade is out, and scored just one point on Sunday in Orlando. Will he become what he was projected to be? When? And most importantly: is he an ideal partner for Wade moving forward?
3. Should Erik Spoelstra stay or go? How much pause does playing for an unproven coach give whatever top free agent the Heat hope to acquire to entice Wade to stay? Spoelstra's taken a harder tack over the last few weeks, but multiple motivational campaigns early in the season appear to have been for naught, and some of his roation choices have been confusing. If Pat Riley's summer plan falls into place, a coaching upgrade may be in order as well. Or does he get another year?
The problem with these questions is that, when you add the Heat's coming roster clean-up, impending free agency, and ability to wheel and deal with cap space, there's no telling what next year's Heat will look like. It's like someone fed their issues after midnight -- and for once in our lives, we don't envy Pat Riley even just a little bit.
Sports
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
