If there ever were a place Derek Fisher felt at home away from home, it would be the NBA Finals.
It was visible right away in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. From the tip, the game play was frenetic. After an early foul and turnover, Los Angeles was down 0-2 and almost appeared to be pressing.
But on their ensuing possession, the calm and serene D-Fish deposited a long jumper, then collected a rebound off a Ray Allen miss, pushed it to Kobe Bryant for a basket and just about everyone took a deep breath.
Leave it to Fish to let Los Angeles know how to play their game.
From that point on, the Lakers started to take it to the Celtics, opening leads of four and six points in the first quarter.
In the second, some slick passing by No. 2 stretched the Lakers lead even further. After getting a brief break on the bench, Derek hit Andrew Bynum for a dunk, Ron Artest for a lay up, then got in the act himself with an easy put-in for two. Four minutes had passed, and a two-point lead was suddenly 11, with Boston heading to the locker room reeling at the hands of Los Angeles’ point guard.
The Lakers came out in the third even more passionately. Fish scored five points in the frame, as the Lakers jumped all over Boston.
The highlight, though, came with two minutes left to play in the third, as a hectic back and forth developed between the rivals. Kobe Bryant streaked back for a block, but LA failed to capitalize on a fast break the other way and Boston pushed back down the court.
Off a Kevin Garnett miss, Ron Artest shoved the ball up court to a sprinting D-Fish. No. 2 initially had eyes for a slam, but seeing KG hustle back on defense instead pulled up, lobbed a pass above the rim, and Kobe Bryant slammed it home.
The Staples Center erupted, the lead was 13, and though the fourth quarter was still to play, Game 1 was over and done.
STEPPING IT UP…
Los Angeles cruised into the fourth with a twenty-point lead, but No. 2 said he was disappointed that Boston was able to scrap back in the game, cutting the lead to 12.
"We have to definitely do a better job than we did in the fourth quarter, in terms of our execution," he told reporters after the game. "But it’s helpful to have a lead that you can work with, if you have a slip up or four or five minutes where you aren’t playing your best game."
Regardless of that late hiccup, Fish said, on the whole, he was happy with the way the Lakers played, saying they did the grunt work that’s necessary to succeed on the highest level.
"You have to be willing to throw your body in there, take the hits, dive on the floor for loose balls, scratches, elbows, pushing, whatever it takes to help your team win, you have to be willing to do and I thought we did a lot of that tonight."
And Fish loves seeing his team play that way, because, he says, maximum effort can always overcome a dip in play.
"Everybody was really scraping and doing the best they could. Even when we made some mistakes and didn’t do things well, I don’t think there were any questions in terms of the effort or the intensity."
…AND KEEPING IT UP
While the Lakers energy was there, so was the Celtics, and though the margin of victory was large, the game was a chippy and choppy battle. Afterward, Derek said that it was LA’s determined focus that led to victory
"I think it speaks to remaining focused over longer periods of time. Basketball is a flow game, and so when there are a lot of stoppages in terms of time outs, fouls… you never really get that basketball flow to the game. So it really tests your focus mentally, during those four, five-minute timeouts, you have to hold on to the things you talked about in the timeout and carry that back out on the floor. So that’s where the challenge lies. And I think we, overall, did a good job, holding ourselves together even during a lot of the back and forth of the game."
To hear Fish’s entire postgame interview, click here.
RESPECT FROM RONDO
Before the series began, much ado was made about how Derek Fisher would handle Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo.
What was lost in the mix, though, was how Rondo would handle Fish and before the game, Rondo said he had the utmost respect for No. 2.
"He’s smarter," Rondo told WEEI Boston. "I think he’s been to seven finals so this is probably the same old story for him. He’s probably going to play like this is his last, but Derek’s a veteran. Like I said, he’s very smart and he’s a unique player, so I have to be aware of his tricks he may try to throw at me, some of his veteran moves he may have to draw fouls against me or whatever it may be."
Rondo said he’s aware that it will be a tougher challenge than many spectators perceive.
"You can’t underestimate Derek. He definitely can shoot the 3, you can’t lose sight of Derek, and he draws fouls. He shoots 99 percent from the line so he’s not an easy match up. He’s a tough match up."
And Rondo was only slightly wrong there. In Game 1, Fish shot 100 percent from the line, hitting all three of his attempts, en route to nine points.
NEXT UP
Now the focus turns to Game 2 on Sunday at the Staples Center.
While the Lakers Phil Jackson is now 47-0 when winning Game 1 of a playoff series, No. 2 said nothing can be taken for granted in the next meeting.
"We’ll take this win and build up for Game 2. But I don’t know if you can take more out of it than what it is. We won Game One, but there’s a lot of emphasis on Game Two for both teams. When you have home court advantage, you really have to win your games."
Tip-off of Game 2 of the NBA Finals is Sunday at 5 p.m. PST and the game can be seen on ABC.
RELATED ARTICLES
Lakers’ Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown discuss 102-89 Game 1 victory over Boston Celtics (Los Angeles Times, June 3, 2010)
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/06/lakers-phil-jackson-kobe-bryant-pau-gasol-ron-artest-andrew-bynum-derek-fisher-lamar-odom-and-shanno.html
Rondo’s New Challenge (WEEI.com, June 3, 2010)
http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2010/06/03/rondos-new-challenge/