A how-to guide for stopping the Heat
Sean Deveney / TSN

So, almost halfway through the season, it's safe to say Shaquille O'Neal is pretty comfortable in South Florida.

He has the prerequisite big house on the water, on Miami's Star Island, with the necessary terra cotta roofing and a famous next-door neighbor, P. Diddy, in case he needs to borrow a cup of milk. Or a cup of sapphires. Shaq's digestive tract, too, is well taken care of — L.A.-based Jerry's Deli happens to have a location smack in the middle of South Beach. And, it turns out, Shaq has friends in high places in Miami. When he injured some ribs on Christmas Day, the Miami Dolphins loaned him a flak jacket that he says he will wear for the rest of the season.

Also...
# One-on-one with Wade
# Heat No. 3 in rankings
# Turning to the big man

Things are going pretty well at work, too. O'Neal, of course, was the centerpiece of one of the biggest trades in sports history last summer, when he moved from the Lakers to the Heat, and the payoff has been immediate in Miami. O'Neal has boosted his team to the top spot in the East, thanks mostly to a scintillating 14-game winning streak that put Miami at 25-7, the best start in the East since the 1996-97 season.

His numbers are down — 21.9 points and 10.7 rebounds — but he is shooting 60.4 percent and has become the fulcrum of one of the league's two (with Phoenix) most efficient offensive attacks. He has ceded more scoring to teammates than at any other time in his career and is taking a career-low 14.1 shots per game (without complaining about it). Shooting guard Dwyane Wade has blossomed into a star and is averaging 24.1 points. All five Heat starters score at least 11 points a game.

But make no mistake, this is O'Neal's offense. Just as O'Neal is very comfortable in South Florida off the court, he is making opponents very uncomfortable on it. Wade's talent is undeniable, but ask any coach how to stop the Heat, and they'll say stopping Shaq is Job 1.

"Look, Wade does a lot of good things for them," Bucks coach Terry Porter says. "But our focus is going to be on Shaq. I think most teams approach them that way. We're not going to take our eyes off the main thing in that lineup. If you have to opt for who you stop, I think most guys would opt for Shaq."

As Lakers great Magic Johnson says, "The thing he does is he makes every coach scared to death."

So, what's a coach to do? How do you handle a 7-1 behemoth with footwork, an accurate post shot and passing skill? That has been a predicament for opponents throughout O'Neal's 13-year career, one that has taken a different tack with a new team. Double-team him? Triple-team him? Focus on limiting his teammates? Foul him? Throw your hands to the heavens and hope for divine intervention? Well, we went inside the heads of three coaches over a one-week span to investigate their very different approaches to defending O'Neal and the Heat.

Heat at Pistons, December 30

This game was touted as a preview of the Eastern Conference finals, but in the short term, it's a battle between O'Neal and Pistons coach Larry Brown, who has a well-known aversion to double-teams. That makes Brown the coach O'Neal most enjoys playing against.

"Larry Brown is from the old school," O'Neal said before facing the Pistons. "So they usually play me like that, until I get going, and then they come (double-team) later."

O'Neal had it backward. Brown used superstrong center Ben Wallace one-on-one for most of the game against O'Neal, but Brown was more willing to send help in the first half. The Pistons double-teamed O'Neal eight times in 32 first half possessions, and it seemed to bother him -- he shot just 3-for-13 in the first half, 0-for-4 when he was facing a double-team.

In the second half, the Pistons put two defenders on O'Neal only four times. O'Neal managed two dunks on Wallace, and in the middle of the third quarter, Brown made an important change, moving forward Rasheed Wallace onto O'Neal. A big problem for coaches when facing O'Neal is their first line of defense has it tough, but the second line really suffers.

The first time Rasheed Wallace guarded O'Neal, Shaq made a short jumper for his third basket in three shots in the quarter. His rhythm was back. O'Neal then got the ball again and fed Udonis Haslem for an assist. The Pistons did not use Rasheed Wallace much on O'Neal -- only 15 times in 69 possessions -- but the Heat took advantage when they did.

Coach Stan Van Gundy tends to go away from O'Neal in the fourth quarter, which is a good idea given Shaq's 47.3 percent free throw shooting. O'Neal took just three shots in the closing quarter and was used more in pick-and-roll plays with Wade. Good plan -- the Heat outscored the Pistons, 22-9, in the fourth quarter to win the game, and Wade finished with 31 points.

Sonics at Heat, January 3

The Sonics haven't had any trouble stopping Shaq and the Heat. (Elaine Thompson / AP)

After talking about O'Neal as Superman, Sonics center Jerome James joked, "I've got my six kryptonite fouls." Unfortunately, just 2:35 into the first quarter, James already had used up three of those fouls. The Heat attacked him, and he went to the bench early.

Certainly, Sonics coach Nate McMillan hoped James could stretch his kryptonite past the 9:25 mark, but O'Neal was unfazed by James' hackery. Unlike most coaches, McMillan brings his best post defender, Danny Fortson, off the bench. The 6-8 Fortson gives up height to O'Neal, but some of O'Neal's toughest defenders throughout his career -- Brian Grant, Malik Rose -- have been short, strong guys who come off the bench, hold their ground and use their fouls judiciously. That's Fortson, and having a player like him seems to be a key to slowing down O'Neal.

In all, James, the starting center, guarded O'Neal just 11 times. Fortson took Shaq 45 times, and Nick Collison filled in for nine possessions. McMillan also disdains double-teams, but Fortson needed help, and Seattle sent it from a variety of angles. The Sonics double-teamed O'Neal 20 times but usually did it cautiously, with the second man careful to block O'Neal's passing lane.

The plan was effective. O'Neal shot 8-for-13 and was sent to the line 15 times by the Sonics, but his perimeter teammates struggled. Eddie Jones, Damon Jones and Wade shot just 17-for-42 (40.5 percent). That, combined with a great night on the offensive glass by the Sonics, ended the Heat's 14-game winning streak.

Knicks at Heat, January 5

It's not hard to figure out why the Heat is 20-2 against the East this season -- it's because most teams in the East are like the Knicks: undersized up front. Center Nazr Mohammed gives up 75 pounds to O'Neal. Behind him is Vin Baker, a physically weak forward who gives up 85 pounds.

Coach Lenny Wilkens had no intention of leaving Mohammed and Baker alone -- the Knicks all but announced they would double-team O'Neal. And they did. In 17 possessions in the first quarter, the Knicks doubled O'Neal 11 times and triple-teamed him once. The plan was for Mohammed to hold his ground, let help come from the perimeter, limit O'Neal's shots and force O'Neal to pass.

Mohammed got ahead of himself, though. Much like James, he got in early foul trouble. That forced Wilkens to go with Baker. On his first play guarding O'Neal, a helpless Baker was backed down under the basket, and the Heat fed O'Neal for a dunk.

Still, the early double-teams bothered O'Neal enough to limit him to 7-for-14 shooting in the first half, which is not bad considering Shaq's high shooting percentage. But the Knicks, inexplicably, double-teamed O'Neal less in the second half---just 14 times, after doubling him 22 times in the first half. Naturally, O'Neal shot 7-for-7 in the second half, winding up with six dunks, 33 points and an easy Miami victory.

But O'Neal also picked apart the Knicks with passing in the second half. Coach Stan Van Gundy does a great job of making adjustments at halftime (the Heat is 14-8 when trailing at the half), and he set up a play 1:30 into the third quarter that took advantage of the Knicks' double-teams. The ball went to O'Neal on the low left block, and O'Neal held it until Kurt Thomas committed on the double-team. Haslem, who had been Thomas' man, immediately cut to the basket and took an easy feed from O'Neal for a layup.

"To tell you the truth, we could go to Shaq on every play and let him pick them apart," Van Gundy says. "We don't, but we could. I am pretty well notorious with my coaches for, if I find something that is working, I am going to keep going to it."

It sure looks as if things are working with O'Neal.

"Yeah, I have a good horse here," Van Gundy says, smiling. "I am going to ride him."

Sean Deveney is a staff writer for Sporting News. Email him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com.
http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3310912

I read the following one and found it interesting too :

In loss, Haslem proves himself a winner
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Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 6 hours ago

There are always ten players on the court and only one ball.

That means, on any given play, nine guys have to be doing something other than shooting — activities that don't show up in a box score.

Here's your chance to fire back at Charley Rosen. Got a question or a comment? Submit it below and Charley will respond to the best ones in regular mailbag features.
Subject:

Comment/Question:

Name: (ex, john doe)
Email: (ex, a@b.c)
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Like setting picks, filling lanes and cutting, making the pass that leads to the assist pass, boxing out and rebounding, playing weak-side and strong-side defense, and/or being properly positioned so that there's sufficient time and space for the play's designated shooter to do his job. Even though shooting and scoring are also vital roles, all of these unsung, off-the-ball tasks are accomplished by what are called "role players."

It's totally understandable, however, that the attention of the media (and therefore of the fans) tends to follow the bouncing ball. So on Tuesday night, when the Suns hosted the Heat, the focus was on those players whose excellent ball-skills were easily discerned — Shaq, D-Wade, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, and Amare Stoudemire.

But let's look elsewhere to try to discover some of the mostly unseen, unrecorded, and neglected aspects of the game — contributions which often mean the difference between a team's success or failure.

Instead of concentrating on the more celebrated players who radiate obvious star-power, let's focus on the unheralded doings of one of the NBA's finest role players — Udonis Haslem.

Haslem's night
Min. FG 3-FG FT Off. Reb. Def. Reb. A ST BS TO PTS
31 6-10 0-0 4-4 1 5 2 1 1 4 16

Offense

Haslem measures 6-foot-9, and 245 pounds, and his duties in Miami's offense are limited: He's mostly positioned at the top of the key where he sets picks (not counting free throw alignments and out-of-bounds plays, he set a total of 13); makes entry passes into Shaq; and is the designated cutter when Shaq is double-teamed (both of O'Neal's assists were delivered to a cutting Haslem); is responsible for reversing the ball; and takes straightaway jumpers when his defender sinks into the paint. Haslem is deadly from 17-20 feet for the season, he shoots 52.2 percent, sixth best in the league.

The Heat ran only one play for Haslem — cutting left-to-right, he brushed his defender (Marion) on a baseline pick, caught the ball, dribbled once, and missed a short off-balance jumper. That's because handling is the worst part of Haslem's game. The one and only time that Haslem put the ball on the floor he committed a charge. (The only other mistake he made on offense was aiming an ill-advised pass into the crowd clustered around Shaq.)

Offensive rebounding is another of Haslem's specialties. But, during the brief stretches where the game was competitive, the Suns' quick-jumping big men just about wiped the glass clean.

Normally, Haslem's primary role is to be a facilitator — a player who is always in the right place at the right time, and whose precise movements enable Miami's offense to function smoothly. Against Phoenix's overall quickness, however, the Heat never got into a comfortable rhythm. Sure, the Diesel's stat line was impressive (34 points, 11 rebounds), but unless Miami is fully functioning on all cylinders it's Shaq against the world. With the Heat's offense so effectively chilled, Haslem's complimentary skills were mostly wasted.

Defense

Despite the lopsided score (122-107), Haslem proved to be an excellent defender. He boxed out, made quick and sure rotations, attacked right-handed shooters with his left hand, and always made speedy transitions from offense to defense.

Udonis Haslem gets in the way of Suns forward Amare Stoudemire.
(Rick Hossman / AP)

Early in the third quarter, Haslem found himself on the short end of a 3-on-1 fast break. When Stoudemire climaxed the sequence with a dramatic dunk, Shaq had barely reached the timeline. Haslem couldn't help but throw his hands up in utter frustration. Shaq got the message, and for the rest of the game the big fellow hustled back on defense.

Haslem was involved in a solitary screen/roll situation — he aggressively presented himself on the top-side of the screen, and recovered quickly enough to challenge the roller's shot. His one-on-one defense was also impressive — never biting on Marion's fakes, and forcing the Matrix to work hard for every point. (Marion totaled 26 for the game, but only thirteen were scored against Haslem.) Indeed, Haslem's only misplay was turning his head and allowing Marion to cut backdoor, receive a timely pass from Nash, and throw down a nasty dunk.

Ever notice how rotating defenders usually approach perimeter shooters? So intent are they on blocking the anticipated shot, that the slightest eyebrow fake sends them flying into never-never land. But Haslem is different — he's always in control whenever he must run out to challenge a shooter. Instead of taking a flying leap at a moon-shot, Haslem comes to a jump-stop in front of the potential shooter and assumes a "contain position". This is a basic defensive procedure that is totally disregarded by players who believe that blocked shots (and steals) are the only measures of good defense.

When Shaq was getting a blow, Haslem guarded Stoudemire for two possessions. The results were a pair of terrific defensive efforts that forced the high-scoring big man (he matched Shaq's 34 points) into a stumbling, off balance miss, and a stumbling, off balance make. Haslem did nothing fancy here — just employing some hard work and intelligence to augment his lateral quickness.

So, even though Phoenix's speed easily snuffed Miami's power and the game itself wasn't very competitive, Haslem put together an impressive performance under decidedly unfavorable conditions.

The Heat may have lost big time, but Udonis Haslem proved himself to be a winner.