As the Lakers play out the string on the way to the playoffs, coach Phil Jackson has made a concentrated effort to limit the minutes of his starters, including Derek Fisher.
Kobe Bryant sat out on Tuesday and Fish didn’t get much of an opportunity to make an impact either, playing only 18 minutes. But Derek still made the most of his time on the court, scoring six points on 2-3 shooting as the Lakers topped the Sacramento Kings, 106-100.
Jackson was able to limit D-Fish’s minutes because the Lakers have already locked up the Western Conference’s top seed. By losing to Portland on Sunday, LA lost out on a shot to be the NBA’s second overall seed, a distinction that now belongs to the Orlando Magic.
But Fish would only look at the bright side of things. The Western Conference’s road to The NBA Finals goes through LA.
"If we win our home games, we make it to the Finals and that’s a good place to be," No. 2 told ESPN Los Angeles’ Dave McMenamin.
After all, the Lakers won two times in Orlando in last season’s Finals. Their game four victory at Amway Arena was buoyed by Derek’s daggers and made the series 3-1. LA closed the series one game later in Orlando, without even needing to make a return trip to their home floor.
Fish is also happy to be with a supporting cast that knows exactly how to win the 12 games it takes to get to the last round.
"The one thing that has allowed all of us to remain positive and optimistic about the situation is that we’re still in this together," Derek said. "As long as we’re in this together, we can figure out some of the things that are going on in relationship to how we’re playing basketball."
But Fish does know that with the way the Lakers have been playing, on a schizophrenic up and down streak as of late, there will be doubters. Still he maintains that the team’s toughest critic is in the mirror.
"We’re not pleased or OK with how we’ve been playing," No. 2 noted. "We’re not waiting to hit some magical switch or button. At the same time, we’re not going to panic and stop believing in ourselves because we’re struggling right now. That’s not how it works. We got to continue to believe in what we can accomplish and will accomplish and even in the face of adversity and struggle, remain positive and focused on what our goals are."
NEXT UP
Their goal, of course, is to win the NBA Finals. But before they can embark on that, they need to close out the season, which happens tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Lakers is 2-1 against its neighbors this year, and in those three games, Fish averaged four points and 3.3 assists. The finale tips off at 7:30 and is being shown on KCAL-TV.
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