There are two things Derek Fisher has been known for in his NBA career: big shots and bigger speeches.
Fish didn’t haul back and launch one of the former on Tuesday night, but he delivered the latter. It was right on point as the Lakers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 109-107, at Staples Center.
D-Fish’s inspiring speeches have become the stuff of legend.
He delivered his most powerful speech last May as he motivated the Lakers to a game three win against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
"Derek pulled us all in the huddle and just reminded everybody, this is what it’s about," said Kobe Bryant that night. "This is where you’re tested. To be a champion, you’ve got to respond."
The Lakers did and the result was a 103-97 win that helped propel LA to a two games to one lead in a series they eventually won in six.
He did it again a little over a month ago, with the game on the threshold against the New York Knicks, an emphatic Fish imploring his teammates to seize the fourth quarter.
They did so, winning 115-105 and preventing a two-game slide.
Last night, with the Lakers on the brink of losing four straight, Derek took over the locker room at halftime. Down eight after two, the impassioned vet implored his teammates to pick up their play.
In a fantastic column in the Orange County Register, Kevin Ding described how it all went down on Tuesday:
As Fisher told his teammates in a compelling halftime speech, there is only way for the Lakers to react to these crossed roads:
Go hard. Straight forward.
With the Lakers again being slow, cautious and indecisive en route to an eight-point halftime deficit against Toronto, the coaches left the players alone in the locker room an uncommonly long time. It was way too quiet on the team’s bench that first half, but it was downright silent in that locker room of guys scared to lose a fourth consecutive game.
Until Fisher spoke up.
"Just go out there and play hard," Andrew Bynum said the thrust of Fisher’s words were.
Fisher said he wanted the guys to put all their petty issues aside and stop acting as if they were on the court only because they were being paid to be. This is supposed to be what they love do to, so let loose and go get it.”
Of course, Fish knows that words without action are fairly meaningless.
So with 31 seconds remaining and the Lakers clinging to a miniscule lead, No. 2 put himself in the way of a Hedo Turkoglu pass, picking it off for his second steal of the game. He raced toward the other end of the court and after getting fouled, calmly stepped to the free throw line.
Fish sank both free throws with 30 seconds left to give the Lakers a four-point lead. They needed every point they could get after Chris Bosh hit a three to tie the game with nine seconds left.
But Kobe Bryant did what Kobe Bryant does, drilling a fade away buzzer beater and Los Angeles snapped its losing streak.
NEXT UP
After a short one-game homestand, the Lakers embark on another three-game road trip on Friday to play their division rival Phoenix Suns.
The trip will also take the Lakers back to California to play at Golden State and Sacramento next Monday and Tuesday.
Tip-off of Friday’s game with the Suns is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST and can be seen on KCAL.
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Lakers need what Fisher preaches, Odom promises (OCRegister, March 10, 2010)
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/odom-238453-lakers-fisher.html