The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 100-90 last night at Staples Center, in part because of some nice exchanges between Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant.
Last night, Fish and Kobe swapped points and assists, as three of D-Fish’s four assists went to No. 24, while Kobe assisted Fish on three of his four baskets.
No. 2 continued his strong shooting, going 4-8 from the floor, his fifth-best shooting percentage of the season. He tied his season-high of 12 points, as all the Lakers starters went for double figures.
Fish also was stroking smooth from the charity stripe, making all three of his attempts. He’s still only missed one free throw on the year, although his .909 percentage is still only good for fourth best on the Lakers.
Josh Powell and Sasha Vujacic have yet to miss, and Pau Gasol’s a hair better at .923.Fish also grabbed six rebounds, his second-highest total of the season.
TAKING THE BAD WITH THE GOOD
Bloggers and internet commentators often question why D-Fish starts over his understudys Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown.
But the Los Angeles Times’ Mike Bresnahan says that Fish has a unique way of both ignoring the criticism and using it as a motivational tool.
"Whether it has been constructive or negative criticism, Derek Fisher always has used it to push himself to work even harder, to strive for more.
Fisher has come under heavy criticism from Lakers fans this season, and he’s taking it all in stride. Fisher is 35, a 14-year veteran, and has to defend some of the best and quickest point guards in the NBA every game. His offense has not been what he would like—Fisher is making just 36% of his shots and averaging 6.1 points.
But the one thing Fisher holds on to is "that the sun is going to shine when it’s supposed to."
It did during the NBA Finals in June when Fisher made two memorable three-pointers in Game 4 against the Orlando Magic that placed him in Lakers lore forever.”
Derek understands the relationship with fans, and that for many, their affection is tied to success.
"It’s funny and comical to me more than anything because it doesn’t matter what you do," Fisher said, smiling. "When you have your moments that [fans] choose to not like how you’re playing or not like the way things look out there, they are going to say you’ve got to go. . . . Fans are going to be that way."
As Bresnahan notes, however, fans aren’t aware of the long hours that go into creating legendary game winning shots.
Fans don’t see him shooting jumpers after practice — free-throw-line jumpers, three-pointers, bank shots, corner shots, all in an attempt to stay sharp, to find his groove, to get his shot ready.
In Fisher’s eyes, it’s all about how he feels about his play, how his teammates and coaches respect what he brings every game. "I appreciate the positive, supporting fans," Fisher said. "The negative comments, I don’t even worry about that."
NEXT UP
The Lakers get Thanksgiving off and don’t go back to the hardcourt until Sunday night, when they face the winless New Jersey Nets.
RELATED ARTICLES
Lakers cruise gets a little choppy (L.A. Times, Nov. 24, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers-knicks25-2009nov25,0,6322571.story
You’d think Shannon Brown would be a slam dunk (L.A. Times, Nov. 25, 2009)
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-nba-notes25-2009nov25,0,2275513,full.story
Kobe scores 34 in Lakers 100-90 win over Knicks (NBA.com, Nov. 25, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/091124_gameday_knicks.html?rss=true