Miami Heat Tickets

The Miami Heat came into the season with renewed hope after a terribly disappointing 2007-2008 campaign.

The new look Heat are without Shaquille O' Neal, who they traded to the Phoenix Suns last season for Shawn Marion.

Miami also made major upgrades through the draft, selecting power forward Michael Beasley and then somehow stealing point guard Mario Chalmers in the second round.

Beasley has been a disappointment thus far and actually been demoted from a starter to the bench. No one saw that coming and felt that Beasley would be the top rookie in the NBA this year.

Chalmers has played well as the team's starting point guard and is averaging over 30 minutes per game. He is averaging over 10 points per game while being the team's second leading assist man with more than four per contest.

Now there is talk that the Heat and the Suns might be talking about another blockbuster deal that would involve the disappointing rookie. The Heat would send Marion back to Phoenix, along with Beasley, for center Amare Stoudamire.

I think it would be a major mistake to give up on Beasley so early, especially when they would get a center with knee problems who doesn't play any defense at all in return. In the defensive-minded Eastern Conference, that would be a mistake.

Stoudamire would certainly give the Heat the best chance to win in the near-term, but I still think they would be another player or two away from a championship-caliber team.

As for Marion, he has been a major disappointment so far. He came to Miami wanting to show everyone he could become a scoring star in the league, but he is averaging just 12 points per game this season.

The Heat, however, are still four games above .500 and in great position to make the playoffs and become a factor once they get there. The team just needs to develop a little more chemistry and see Marion and Beasley raise their games to that next level to become a serious threat in the Eastern Conference.

Dwyane Wade has the ability to take over games and seems to be back to his NBA Finals MVP form, which is a scary thought for opposing teams.