It will therefore be pivotal for both Chalmers and Cole to continue to develop as quality role players. Cole showed some promise with his 3-point shooting in Miami’s second-round matchup with Chicago, and his dogged defense and shooting will keep him on the floor. Chalmers has played well in big moments but needs to become consistent if he plans on becoming a fourth option – which he may have to take on in the 2014-15 season.
3. The player who will replace Mike Miller. Miller played just 59 games last season and averaged 3.4 points in the 2013 playoffs. But he did allow Wade to ease into his normal minutes load coming off injuries during the regular season.
Battier’s struggles in the conference finals led Erik Spoelstra to insert Miller into the rotation. The former Florida Gator made three 3s in Game 2 and Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and we all know what he did to close out the Oklahoma City Thunder the previous year.
Who will become that player this season – the person who, though not in the main rotation, will seamlessly fit in when needed because of his shooting ability? James Jones filled that role admirably during Miller’s injury-riddled 2010-11 season and is a great shooter in his own right. What about Rashard Lewis, who stood ahead of Miller on the depth chart at the start of last season? Miami may need someone outside its top eight guys to contribute at timely moments this season.
4. Greg Oden. If Oden never plays another game in the NBA, no one would react with surprise. But Riley has taken chances on cheap centers because of his limited options, from the duds (Eddy Curry) to the pleasant surprises (Chris Andersen).
Oden will have no pressure or expectations, thanks to the fact that Chris Bosh and Andersen will start out manning the five-spot. But in a best-case scenario, Oden would buttress Miami’s interior defense and rebounding while becoming a post presence on offense. As soon as Oden heads to the scorer’s table to check in, Spoelstra and the coaching staff will watch to see if he can emerge as a serviceable player.
5. The improvements in LeBron James’ game. James has undoubtedly become a more complete player in 
his three seasons with the Heat. Tactics in his post-game arsenal have become part of his go-to moves, and he has also worked on his balance to become a better 3-point shooter – something that came in awfully handy during Game 7 of the Finals.
But James still has room for improvement. He could increase his free-throw shooting, gamble fewer times in the passing lanes, etc.
James shot an amazing 56.5 percent from the field last season and may go on another ridiculous shooting streak for a stretch of games as he did at the start of the Heat’s historic winning streak. Who knows which parts of his game will improve or whether he will win another MVP (or his first Defensive Player of the Year award)? But it will be very interesting to watch it all happen.
Diego Quezada is a contributing writer for Hot Hot Hoops, the SB Nation site covering the Miami Heat. You can follow him on Twitter.
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