After a week of rest, Derek Fisher and the Lakers are ready to take on the Phoenix Suns when tonight’s Western Conference Finals kick off.
"It’s time to go out and play now," D-Fish told the Los Angeles Times. "It’ll be fun."
Derek believes that while the Lakers have spent time over the past week trying to emulate the Suns up-tempo styles, there really isn’t much more they can do before tonight’s meeting.
"It’s practice. You can’t duplicate anything that happens in the game, really," said No. 2. "You can try. You can go over plays. You can cover a lot of things. but there isn’t anything that mirrors exactly what you go through in an NBA playoff game."
Of course, the Lakers have had plenty of chances to see the Suns up close and personal this season. LA played their division foe four times this year and Fish and the Lake Show were 3-1 in those meetings.
Derek also said the he has enjoyed his duels over the years with Steve Nash and told the Daily News, that he’s ready to go at it again.
"I see it as a positive, an opportunity to keep walking through the fire and doing whatever it takes to help us win. If that means I have to keep lining up with the firing squad every round, that’s just what I have to do."
Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons, said that of all the guards in the playoffs, he’d take D-Fish on his squad any time.
"With all due respect to all of those other guys – and they all deserve the praise they get – Fish comes out looking pretty good when you start counting up the W’s."
X-FACTOR
The folks over at Hoops Hype broke down the Lakers-Suns match up, and while everyone assumes the Suns have the advantage at point guard, that might not necessarily be the case.
Hoops Hype’s Eddie Johnson lists D-Fish as a reason the Lakers could win the series if he keeps up the clutch shooting he’s shown through the first two series:
Lakers win if…
– They totally dominate the Suns inside offensively and on the offensive boards. Gasol, Bynum and Odom present huge problems and the Suns will struggle if these three have a great series.
– Kobe Bryant shares the ball and his teammates perform – allowing him to be fresh in the fourth quarter to close out games.– Derek Fisher continues to knock down timely shots when Kobe or Gasol are double-teamed. Fisher was the MVP of the Jazz series because every time they needed a basket, he provided it.
– Defend the two-man game and recover to the Suns three-point shooters forcing them to drive into the teeth of the Lakers defense.
– Keep the Suns under 100 points.
Of course, hitting clutch shots is borderline expected when you are Derek Fisher, and he delivered throughout the playoffs this year. Additionally, he has rarely misfired this postseason. In the past six games, his shooting is just a hair under 50 percent.
FISH’S FUTURE
While D-Fish has a clear focus on the Western Conference Finals and the Phoenix Suns, No. 2 recently addressed his future in an interview with Chris Tomasson of AOL FanHouse:
"I want to play until I can’t," Fisher, 35, whose Lakers open the Western Conference finals Monday against Phoenix, said in an interview with FanHouse after practice Sunday. "Obviously, I’m hopeful that I’ll be here because I love being here. I’ve played 11 of my 14 years here. I know this better than anybody else. But obviously a lot of (whether Fisher returns) rides on whether Phil (Jackson, the Lakers coach) is back and how we finish the season.
"If we win a championship, it’s all good. If we don’t, obviously we got to throw out everything and start over and get new guys. So I’m really just trying to stay on the path and realize that I can still play a lot of good basketball."
Tomasson writes that, with an increase in minutes from the regular season to the postseason, it stands to reason that Derek just needed time to find a groove. Time he wasn’t getting much of in the regular season because coach Phil Jackson was keeping Fish fresh for what he can give the Lakers, here and now, in the playoffs.
Tomasson also gives D-Fish his due for some of the battles he’s won this postseason and believes that Derek has shown there’s still plenty left in the tank.
Fisher has gotten plenty of plaudits in these playoffs. Battling up-and-coming Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook in the first round and Utah’s Deron Williams, perhaps the NBA’s best point guard, in the second round, Fisher has scored in double figures in seven of 10 games. He put up 20 points in a pivotal 111-110 Game 3 win over the Jazz , a victory that led to a 4-0 sweep and the Lakers getting some much-needed rest before facing Phoenix.
"Obviously, he’s playing really well," said Lakers forward Pau Gasol. "He’s hitting big shots as usual and making big plays defensively. He’s doing a great job. He’s also playing more minutes so he’s holding up real well, and we want him to sustain that kind of level for the remainder of the playoffs."
Derek is hopeful that with a fifth ring on his finger, he’ll be running the point again for LA next season.
Fisher’s age hasn’t come up much in this postseason even while battling Westbrook, 21, and Williams, 25. Fisher was asked if he believes his recent strong play will help his chances of returning next season to the Lakers.
"I hope so," he said. "But, what I’ve done up until now, if these next two rounds don’t go a certain way, it’s all out the window. And then all of sudden, you’re like, ‘Oh, God, he can’t play anymore.’"So far, though, there’s been no indication Fisher will need to be sending out resumés this summer.
To read Tomasson’s entire piece, click here.
NEXT UP
The Western Conference Finals begin this evening, when the Phoenix Suns play the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 at the Staples Center. Tip off is at 6:00 p.m. PST on TNT.
RELATED STORIES
Don’t underestimate the power of the Suns (Hoops Hype, May 17, 2010)
http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/johnson/2010/05/17/dont-underestimate-the-power-of-the-suns/#ixzz0oChA1zaV
Phil Jackson stresses ability to react to Phoenix’s tendencies (L.A. Times, May 16, 2010)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/05/lakers-are-healthconscious-as-they-enter-game-1-of-western-conference-final.html
It’s go time for Lakers Fisher… again (L.A. Daily News, May 16, 2010)
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_15100632
Derek Fisher helping chances of staying with Lakers next season (AOL FanHouse, May 16, 2010)
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/05/16/derek-fisher-helping-chances-of-staying-with-lakers-next-season/