Midway through this NBA season, when the Lakers were mired in a slow stretch of basketball, Derek Fisher sent out a little reminder that, as he put it, the "sky isn’t falling."
Panic has again set in, in LA, after the Oklahoma City Thunder evened their opening round series with the Lakers at two on Saturday. So No. 2 took the platform on Monday to let everyone know that the rumors of the Lakers demise have been greatly exaggerated:
"I don’t think we should be worried," Derek said, as quoted in the Press Enterprise. "It’s a great opportunity we have before us. We’re trying to achieve something that’s not easy to do."
What the Lakers are trying to achieve, in the immediate future, is a victory over a young, energetic Thunder team that, with back-to-back wins, is brimming with confidence. Fish, though, told the Los Angeles Times, that things like this happen in the playoffs all the time, using a current example:
"A couple of years ago, I don’t think people expected the Hawks to take the Celtics to a seventh game in the first round, but they did, and the Celtics…still won a championship."
D-Fish said the only thing the Lakers can do tonight in Game 5, is play.
"You just play and you do what you have to do at that time to win. And that’s the opportunity we have (today)."
Speaking with SI.com’s Chris Mannix, Derek did get more specific about exactly what Los Angeles needs to do to quell the Thunder.
"You have to be efficient offensively," said Fisher. "You have to take smart shots — shots that come out of your offense. The
[shots] that don’t come out of our offense are the ones that are causing us the most problems. From there, there are going to be times when guys take quicker shots. We just have to literally sprint back."Fish has been taking smart shots over the last two games and his shooting percentage was good for second on the Lakers in both losses. He’s also getting it done from three-point land. No. 2 is tied for seventh in the league in playoff three-point percentage.
NEXT UP
Staples Center hosts Game 5 tonight. Derek and the Lakers are tied 2-2 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, looking to put the heat on with a win at home tonight. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m. PST and the game can be seen on TNT.
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