Just one game remains in the 2008-09 regular season for D-Fish and the Lakers, a meeting with the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
Win or lose on Tuesday, this season will mark the Lakers’ second best in Derek’s 10 years in LA. The only season better will be the 1999-2000 when they won 67 games and No. 2 got his first championship ring.
ONE UP, ONE DOWN
The Lakers split a pair of games this weekend, losing in Portland before coming home and shutting down the Memphis Grizzlies.
No. 2 and company played their final road game of the regular season on Friday and couldn’t corral their personal demons in a hard fought 106-98 loss to Portland.
Derek scored only two points in just under 23 minutes.
The Lakers returned to the friendly confines of Staples on Sunday night and trapped the Grizzlies to secure a 92-75 victory.
D-Fish spent even more time on the bench in Sunday’s win, playing less than 18 minutes as Coach Phil continues to use his starters in a sparing manner.
Derek had four points and two assists in the victory.
DEREK ON D
Brian Kamenetzky of the LA Times Lakers Blog took some time out with Fish last week to talk about playing defense in the MVP, he passed along some of the tidbits in a recent blog:
Q: The way games are called now on the perimeter, with guards especially, how do you quantify defense as a point guard? Is it more about helping? Putting the opposition in the spots you want them on the floor? Or is it still about staying in front of your guy?
Fisher: It’s more so about being able to influence guys to have to operate in certain areas and certain positions now. I think you’re required to know much more about the guy you’re playing against, his strengths and weaknesses, whether he prefers to shoot going left or right, or how he finishes at the basket going left or right, and then try your best to influence him and make him operate in the weaker areas.
Kamenetzky also quotes Derek on the lack of a true lock down defensive guard in the league and the importance of team defense.
To read more from No. 2, click here.
DEREK ON HIS SHOOTING
With less time on the floor in the last several games, Derek has found himself scoring less and subsequently No. 2’s shooting has, at least in the stat column, been slumping, as quoted in the LA Times:
“The results of it, yeah, it’s a slump,” Fisher said. “As far as how I feel, no. It’s also kind of like a combination of limited minutes. Also, on practice days, I’m not doing much either. He’s resting me between days too.”
Coach Phil Jackson went as far as to call it a slump as well, but expressed no worry about it come playoff time:
“He’s just in a slump. Players go through slumps, and he’ll work that out,” Jackson said. “He’ll get some extra shooting and he’ll be right there, ready to go… It’s an 82-game season. It does wear on you, but that’s why we’re shortening his minutes. He’ll play his legs back during the course of the week and get live again. He’ll be fine.”
Still Fish has noticed a difference and he’s working at it, hoping to catch fire as the Lakers reach the playoffs, as the Times noted:
“It’s definitely going to be on, right back to my individual work,” Fisher said. “I’ll get in and get my repetitions up. I’m a guy that has to be in rhythm before the game even starts. I’m not a volume guy who gets his rhythm during the game.”
For now, Fisher is not worried about his shooting.
“No, no, no,” Fisher said. “Not at all.”
NEXT UP
The Lakers take on the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center in the final regular season game of the season tomorrow night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PST and all the action can be seen live, coast-to-coast on TNT.
RELATED STORIES
Derek Fisher on defense in today’s NBA (LA Times Lakers Blog, April 11, 2009)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/04/derek-fisher-on-defense-in-todays-nba.html
Derek Fisher isn’t worried about shooting slump (Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-lakersweb14-2009apr13,0,1076166.story
Grizzlies at Lakers Box Score (NBA.com, April 12, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090412/MEMLAL/boxscore.html
Lakers at Blazers Box Score (NBA.com, April 10, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090410/LALPOR/boxscore.html