If Derek is looking to challenge the league leaders for steals, he’s on the right track.
D-Fish recorded a team-high three steals for the third consecutive game as the Lakers cruised to a 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday night at the Staples Center.
The league’s steals leader, Chris Paul, averages 2.78 thefts per game meaning Derek’s three game pace is a league best. D-Fish currently sits outside the top 20 with 1.33 assists per game, but he’s quickly climbing the charts.
No. 2 now has three or more steals in 10 games this season.
FILLING OUT THE STAT SHEET
Derek also tallied four points, a rebound and two assists in the victory, his contributions shone throughout.
No. 2 had a big hand in helping the Lakers pull ahead in the second quarter, scoring all four of his points on two pull up jumpers as part of a 9-0 run that untied the game and propelled LA to a double-digit halftime edge.
It was that second quarter that set the tone for the rest of the game as the 13-point lead at the break held for the rest of the game.
Derek also had a hand in the NBA.com Haier Play of the Day. Though he won’t get credit for the assist, No. 2’s long dish to Luke Walton, positioned well down the floor, set up a spectacular alley-oop for Pau Gasol at the other end that gave the Lakers an early edge.
A FAMILIAR FOE
The Lakers head out of town for the last game before the All-Star Break tonight in Utah.
D-Fish played for the Jazz during the 2006-2007 season. He participated in all 82 games that season averaging 10.1 points and 3.3 assists per game.
Derek’s year in Utah gives the veteran point guard a unique perspective on the matchup between Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Lakers coach Phil Jackson, widely considered two of the top coaches of all-time.
“I think they’re more similar that what appears on the outside,” No. 2 told the Salt Lake Tribune. “The packaging is different but they’re the same. Any coach who has been around as many years as both these guys have and had the success they’ve had, they’re doing a lot of things alike. There’s a certain commitment and a certain discipline with which they expect their players to play with that is equal.”
Derek compared and contrasted the styles of the two hall of fame coaches in the interview:
“And they’re both really, really competitive. They show it differently. I guess just in the style. Jerry is more demonstrative. Looks like he’s always raising his voice, and kicking and screaming. When you’re around him from day to day, that’s not really the case. He’s pretty chill.
“Phil’s pretty laid back all the time. He’s pretty consistent in his demeanor, in terms of taking it more relaxed and kind of free-wheeling it and finding your own approach to the game.”
The biggest difference between the two coaches is on their fingers. Jackson has nine championship rings as a coach. Sloan is still searching for his first. D-Fish had a valuable insight on this dynamic as well, s quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune:
“If you know Jerry, I don’t know if winning a championship is really his dream like that,” Fisher said. “He loves the game, loves teaching and coaching the game.
“But I don’t know if winning a title, if he loses sleep over that part of it. Maybe that’s where the contrast is between Phil and Jerry. Where I think Phil—in my opinion rightfully so—obsesses over being a champion. Jerry may, but if you ask him, I don’t think he would tell you that. He just enjoys basketball, being around the game, teaching young guys.”
The last time the two teams, and coaches, faced off, No. 2 scored 11 points in a 113-100 Lakers victory at Staples Center on January 2. He’ll look to defeat his former coach, Sloan, again tonight.
The Lakers and the Jazz tip off a 6 p.m. PST and all the action can be seen live in LA on Channel 9. Over the airwaves coverage is available on AM 570.
RELATED STORIES
Together again: Sloan and Jackson Tango (The Salt Lake Tribune, February 11, 2009)
http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_11672976
Lakers quiet Thunder (The OC Register, February 11, 2009)
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/lakers-jackson-bryant-2305394-half-bynum
Haier Play of the Day (NBA.com, February 10, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/video/channels/play_of_the_day/2009/02/10/nba_20090210_pod.nba/index.html
Thunder at Lakers Play by Play (NBA.com, February 10, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090210/OKCLAL/playbyplay.html
Thunder at Lakers Box Score (NBA.com, February 10, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090210/OKCLAL/boxscore.html