Derek Fisher and the Lakers are putting their first winning streak of the young season on the line when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at the Staples Center.
The Lakers have won three in a row since losing to the Dallas Mavericks.
Last season, Derek led the Lakers past the Grizzlies in all four games, beating Memphis by an average of 13.3 points.
No. 2 played strong against the Grizz last season, scoring in double figures in three of four games. He averaged 10 points and two assists per game in the series.
In the Lakers’ January 31st win, D-Fish shot 86% from the field, hitting 6-7 shots, including 2-3 from behind the arc.
A month later, Fish turned in another stellar performance, knocking four of his five shots and hitting both his three-pointers en route to a 99-89 win.
ROTATING GUARDS
The Lakers have a plethora of guards behind Fish: Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic, but the rotation is still a work in progress, according to the Los Angeles Times:
“Phil Jackson is currently sorting through Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, and Jordan Farmar in an effort to find a stable backup to Bryant and a way to better manage Derek Fisher’s minutes.”
The reason D-Fish keeps seeing the court, of course, is his veteran leadership and knowledge. The backups behind him are still learning the offense.
“Fish’s primary non-intangible value to the team
[is] he gets them organized, and fast.”No matter what the rotation, No. 2 trusts his coach.
“Phil’s always going to have his idea of what is going to fit best for our team. He wants to see certain things during the season. He wants to see if he can rely on certain guys in certain situations. If this guy is out here in the playoffs or the Finals, can we rely on his decision making and his ability to do what needs to be done.”
WEEK IN REVIEW
The veteran had a typically solid week as the Lakers wracked up three wins against three potential playoff teams. They beat the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.Of the three games, No. 2 had the play of the week, swiping the ball from Trevor Ariza in overtime to preserve the win against the Rockets.
NEXT UP
The Lakers and D-Fish take on the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at 7:30 at the Staples Center. Derek will be looking to silence another young point guard, Mike Conley of the Grizz, as he did Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this week. The game can be seen on FS West.RELATED ARTICLES
Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol are expected to miss Friday’s game (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 6, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-fyi6-2009nov06,0,6891608.story
Lakers Practice Report (NBA.com, 11/5/09)
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/091105practicereport.html?rss=true
The Lakers and depth: Five guards to three (and a half) (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 6, 2009)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/11/lakers-shannon-brown-jordan-farmar-phil-jackson-.html