Derek Fisher and the Los Angeles Lakers are leaving California for the first time this season.
After hosting three straight games at the Staples Center, No. 2 and company will be in Oklahoma City tonight to take on the Thunder.
Last season the Lakers dominated all three games over the Thunder, averaging over 106 points per game while holding Oklahoma City to under 100 points in every game.
D-Fish was a key part of each scoring barrage, dropping double figures in two of the three games last season.
For the season against the Thunder, Fish averaged nine points, one rebound and 2.3 assists.
Still Derek believes no matter who the team is, going on the road for the first time is a challenge, especially with a target the size of the Larry O’ Brien trophy on your back, as quoted in the LA Times:
“No matter who we’re playing, teams are going to come out and put forth their best effort, and now in particular, going on the road with road crowds and home teams getting their first crack at the defending champions,” D-Fish said. “We’re going to have to, mentally moreso than anything, be ready to face those kind of challenges. It’s really just about ourselves mentally being tuned in to what we need to do.”
No. 2 talked about the matchup with Oklahoma City on the LA Times Lakers Blog.
MIXING MINUTES
Though No. 2 has been averaging over 30 minutes a game this season, he knows that the Lakers have two quality backups at point guard, and he has no qualms about sharing minutes and mentoring.
Speaking before the season, Derek talked to the Los Angeles Times about the situation:
“It’s a very interesting dynamic at that point guard position, because you have three different guys in three totally different situations,” he said. “It’s going to be very important that all three of us understand- starting with me, being the veteran guy and the most experienced guy, in terms of making sure that although I understand this is my “contract year,” and I plan on playing beyond this year and want to continue to prove to myself and as well to other people that age is not this arbitrary thing that automatically means your performance has to decline.
“So I’m going to continue to push my performance, and those two guys will do the same thing. But there will always remain one commonality, and that’s that we’re on a championship caliber team… The ultimate goal is to win a championship, and that has to fit into that picture. If it doesn’t, especially because it’s the lead guard spot, it could make it very difficult for everyone else.”
The arrangement has worked well so far, with Derek, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown all averaging about five points a game.
TIME FOR TIP
D-Fish and the Lakers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight at 5:00 p.m. PST. The game can be seen locally on KCAL.
RELATED ARTICLES
Up next for Lakers: Tuesday at Oklahoma City (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 3, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-tonight3-2009nov03,0,2222597.story
Fisher, Farmar, and Brown: Not a Law Firm (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 7 2009)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/10/derek-fisher-shannon-brown-jordan-farmar-lakers-point-guard.html