It’s nearly impossible for Derek Fisher to go back to San Antonio and not conjure up memories of his late game playoff heroics.
As SI.com’s Frank Hughes writes, 0.4 in San Antonio will always be one of the indelible marks Fish has left on the game. Before the epic bucket, many didn’t think it was possible to get off a buzzer beater that quickly.
"Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher has been in the NBA for 14 seasons, has won four championships and is currently the president of the players’ association" writes Hughes. "But for all his accolades and hours in the gym, he knows he’ll likely be remembered most for his game-winning shot with four-tenths of a second left against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2004 Western Conference semifinals."
Lakers coach, Phil Jackson is thankful for that winning bucket, but he also appreciates everything else Fish has done in the NBA’s second season.
"He has always been great in the playoffs for us, and then has been great in the regular season because of his stability," Jackson said. "But he has always been able to really step it up in the playoffs for us."
Derek’s backcourt partner, who has hit a game winner or two himself, also loves having Fish there to take the rock when the game is on the line.
"Fisher is the type of guy who can go 1-for-7 and then step up and knock down the big shot when the game is on the line," said Kobe Bryant. "He has zero fear. The guy brings so many intangibles. But that crucial moment where you need him, the guy steps up and makes a back-breaking three, a game-winning three. It is tough to gauge exactly what he is doing, but he is absolutely instrumental in all of our championships."
Just ask San Antonio. On May 13, 2004, Derek was 2-6 through 47 minutes and 59.6 seconds of an intense playoff game. But when Tim Duncan hit what he thought was the game winning shot, Fish dialed up his uncanny ability to forget everything that happened earlier.
Even wilder, No. 2 was the last option on the play that night. With Kobe, Shaq and Robert Horry all slated to receive the ball before D-Fish, it would have been easy to lose focus. But he didn’t.
"The ball was not supposed to come to me."
But that didn’t stop him from draining it when it did.
"When things happen so quickly, you just do things instinctively. That is why it is different for guys who know the play is going down for them — they know the ball is going to be in their hands. There is a different mentality I think you have to have. Something didn’t happen the way it was supposed to, something breaks down, the only thing left to do is come to me. It is definitely different than doing what Kobe does, where everybody in the arena knows it is coming to him."
WHAT MATTERS MOST
Of course, Fish has little time to dwell on past heroics, with the present and a five game road trip on the horizon.
The Lakers take a six-game winning streak into their trip, but they want more as they look to establish a pre-playoff rhythm.
"We want to be more consistent as a team," Fish said before the Lakers left on a road swing where they will face five teams that could be in the playoffs. "But at the end of the day, it’s just about winning games. We need to stay focused on winning. No matter how it looks, just win. There’s not going to be much room for slippage."
NEXT UP
The road trip begins tonight in San Antonio. The teams have split their two games so far this year. In the Lakers’ February win, Fish scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting. Tonight’s game will air on ESPN at 6:30 PST.
RELATED ARTICLES
Derek Fisher’s clutch shooting may be needed for the Lakers to repeat (SI.com, March 19, 2010)
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/frank_hughes/03/19/fisher.lakers/
Time to ramp up the intensity (Press Enterprise, March 24, 2010)
http://www.pe.com/sports/breakout/stories/PE_Sports_Local_W_lakers_24.48b9fbb.html