Staying Home

Knicks F Amar'e Stoudemire blocks Heat F Lebron James layup attempt during the final seconds of Knicks' 91-86 victory.

Most people have given F Carmelo Anthony credit for guarding F Lebron James in isolation situations on the last two offensive plays for Miami. Of course, we know James was unsuccessful at putting the ball in the basket on both occasions, getting his shot swatted by F Amar'e Stoudemire the first time. It was a remarkable block, and with F Shawne Williams getting the rebound, the Heat had no other choice but to foul in hopes of getting another possession. James missed a three-pointer which ended all hope of sending the game into overtime. The rants about James' inability to come up big in clutch situations came again on all major sports outlets.

A couple of weeks ago, the Heat played the Thunder in a Sunday afternoon showcase game on ABC. The game is noted for F Kevin Durant calling F Chris Bosh a "fake tough guy" after they both got into it a little bit in the first quarter. However, if anyone can remember the outcome of the game, the Heat won a nail-biter. James, with the Heat down one, passed off the opportunity to make the go-ahead basket by passing it to a wide-open G Eddie House, and he proceeded to knock down a three-pointer that put the Heat ahead for good with under a half-minute to go.

This past Thursday, most NBA fans tuned into TNT for the Heat-Bulls matchup. The Heat lost that game, another game against a championship contender in the Eastern Conference. That loss put the Heat at 0-5 against the Celtics and the Bulls combined. However, it has to be noted that the Bulls haven't played in Miami yet. However, the way the game ended was similar to the way the Heat-Thunder game concluded. G Derrick Rose drove toward the basket on an isolation play being guarded by James. Rose deferred the opportunity to take the go-ahead shot and passed it to a wide-open F Luol Deng, who knocked down a three-pointer to put them ahead for good.

So why does this matter? The same scenario presented itself during last night's game. James got an isolation against Anthony, with House standing in the corner behind the three-point line. G Chauncey Billups was guarding House, but lurking off of him a little in anticipation of James' subsequent move. As James drove toward the basket, that put Billups into play. Would he stay home with House and prevent the open three-pointer? Would he help Anthony out and provide a double-team? Billups decided to stay home, thus forcing James all the way to the basket. Stoudemire came from the other side of the paint, coming off of his man which was Bosh, to make the block.

Since James drove left, it was hard for him with Bosh on the right side of the lane, to make a pass to him at the last minute. Also, Stoudemire waited until James committed to driving and scoring for him to make his move. However, while Anthony provided the one-on-one defense and Stoudemire provided the block, the MVP on this play was Billups. Staying home on House prevented a wide-open shot, and forcing James to score the ball is probably the best thing, since he has shown over the course of his career to find the open guy more times than not in clutch situations. This play is certainly bound to occur down the stretch of many more games. Hopefully, other teams and players learn from Billups.