Your team has now been eliminated but there's always next year. What will they need to do to take the next step and improve on their playoff performance from this season? Assuming there's going to be an NBA season...which is definitely in doubt.

How They Were Eliminated: The Mavs got hot from 3-point range and the Heat cooled off in the 4th quarter.

Bright Spot: Most are reveling in the Heat's failure but let's keep things in perspective. After a complete overhaul, the Heat made it to Game 6 of the NBA Finals. It's definitely something to build on and Vegas has already tabbed the Heat as the favorites for 2012.

Biggest Question Marks: What went wrong? As great as the playoffs had gone, the Heat didn't seem to have the mental fortitude to close out the Mavs. These doubts won't go away until the Heat actually win a title. They should have another great regular season but that won't matter unless they win it all. The other big question is the same as last offseason, "What should I do?" 

What should LeBron do? He should get to training and work on his post game so that he can mesh better with Wade who has to play more on the perimeter.

Free Agent Situation: Restricted - Mario Chalmers

Unrestricted - Mike Bibby, Erick Dampier, Juwan Howard, Jamaal Magloire.

Player Options - James Jones, Eddie House, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Free Agent Dreams: The Heat need to improve at the center position. Joel Anthony did well as an undersized defensive stopper but contributes nothing on offense nor is he a big rebounder. There are big names like Nene and Tyson Chandler out there but they will be too pricey. An affordable option might be Samuel Dalembert. He would be an upgrade in every facet of the position and can run the floor with LeBron and Wade.

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SUMMARY: The expectations for this team were absurd. Jeff Van Gundy predicted they would surpass the '96 Bulls record of 72 wins. After a 9-8 start that was out the window but they showed the potential to become a dynasty at one point winning 21 of 22 games. The Big 3 were just that scoring just under 70-percent of the team's points. Injuries to Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller prevented them from reaching their full potential but that didn't stop them in the playoffs. They rolled through the 76ers, then defending Eastern Conference Champion Celtics, then the top-seeded Bulls. LeBron and Wade switched off as the role of the hero but the constant theme was the Heat's overwhelming defense. 

And then they ran into the Mavericks. The Mavericks matched their intensity on the defensive end and showed more versatility on the offensive end. After struggling with their 3-point shot, they caught fire to close out the series.

OUTLOOK: The Heat are the favorites for next year and rightfully so. The Big 3 will have a full year of experience together and should only improve. Mario Chalmers had some big performances in the playoffs and looks capable of handling the starting point guard role. If Mike Miller can come back healthy and get back to knocking down those spot-up threes then the Heat will be in very good shape. They will be in even better shape if they can land Dalembert in free agency. He would push Anthony to the bench and it would give the Heat some much-needed depth. They should once again be competing with the Bulls for the top-seed in the East and have an even better shot of winning a title than they did this year.