With a resounding Game 5 victory on Tuesday, it would certainly seem the Los Angeles Lakers have all the mojo to close out the series heading to Oklahoma City tonight for Game 6 of their first round playoff series with the Thunder.
But Derek Fisher cautions against any premature celebration and expects his team to be ready for a fight.
"We can’t just feel like we have a game in hand," D-Fish told the Press Enterprise after practice this week.
While he wouldn’t say if he thought the Lakers had an advantage going into Game 6, Derek did speak to what Los Angeles did in turning the tide in Game 5. No. 2 said the extra day off gave Los Angeles enough time to reevaluate its strategy and revamp its game plan.
"From a strategic standpoint, it gave us a chance to understand what had happened the first four games.”
What the ever-humble Fish neglected to mention was that it was his hot shooting that helped jumpstart the Lakers offense and bury the Thunder before the first quarter was halfway over. D-Fish hit his first three shots of the game, as the Lakers kicked off Game 5 with a 20-6 run in the first eight minutes.
The key to tonight’s game, Fish says, is to expect that same kind of intensity from the Thunder, and ride out the storm.
"Whether you’re at home or on the road, when you’re facing elite athletes, pro basketball players, and you’re in a position where their season could be over by losing one game, I don’t think there’s any question you’re going to get their best effort, the highest intensity,” Derek told the Los Angeles Times.
After that, he said Los Angeles just needs to stick to its game plan.
"It’s a matter of what kind of game are you prepared to play, what kind of game you can figure out to put together to counteract all the things they’re going to do well — the crowd, they’re going to shoot the ball well, they’re going to play hard. It really comes back to what we do, and that’s what we need to focus on.”
NEXT UP
Tonight could be the end of Oklahoma’s season, and the start of the second round if Fish and the Lakers can close out the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The ball goes up at 7:30 p.m. PST and the game can be seen on ESPN.
RELATED STORIES
4 keys for Lakers to secure Game 6 against Oklahoma City (L.A. Times, April 30, 2010)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/04/3-keys-to-securing-game-6-against-oklahoma-city.html
Theories abound for turnaround (Press-Enterprise, April 28, 2010)
http://www.pe.com/columns/patton/stories/PE_Sports_Local_W_patton_29.480ae5c.html