How the NBA’s Ironman Stays Fresh

It’s not easy playing in 413 straight NBA games.

One can simply look to the Lakers last season to see how a long NBA season can ravage the body. Starters Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant all missed time last year.

But Derek Fisher didn’t. For the fifth straight year, D-Fish was an ironman, playing in all 82 regular season games.

Derek attributes his longevity and health to his offseason workouts, which surprisingly, he says, don’t revolve around basketball.

Fish admitted the long season is a drain, and afterwards, he needs time away.

"You think about only having

[from] June 18 or 19 to Oct. 1 basically to give your body and your mind a chance to kind of reset and be ready to do it again; to me it just makes sense," No. 2 told the Los Angeles Times.

"I can’t say that works for everybody. A lot of guys need to play in the summer. But for me, it’s something that benefited me in being able to play every game of every season and actually be my best at the end when maybe other guys are breaking down or a little tired."

Fish is always working, even if it’s not on the hardwood in August.

"I’m doing things that still keep me in a great place physically. I don’t need basketball to stay in shape. Some guys have to play in order to condition. The way I train, I don’t necessarily have to do it that way."

REST FOR THE WEARY
For the past three years, whenever No. 2 headed to the bench toward the end of the first quarter, he saw Jordan Farmar pulling off his warm-up suit and heading to the court.

But this year, Fish will be spelled by a different player, Steve Blake, who signed with the Lakers in the offseason.

Fish carried the Lakers’ one spot for most of the year, but now, with another established point guard on the roster, the duo’s coach, Phil Jackson said he’s looking for an even split to start the season.

"Blake and Fisher will more than likely share some minutes," Jackson told the Los Angeles Daily News. "Whether it’s a split of 26 to 22 minutes, I don’t know how that’s going to work out. We’ll have to see."

Derek said he’s relishing having a savvy backcourt partner to help take some of the load off.

Fish, after all, has played all the way to the NBA Finals the past three years, playing in an extra 67 games over the past three seasons. That’s in addition to five straight 82 game campaigns, the last three coming in his return to LA.

"I think there’s a reason why we went out and signed Steve Blake, so I’m a realist in that regard," Fish told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. "I can’t remember the last time I played in excess of 30 minutes a game in the regular season. I’m not coming into this season expecting to play more than that. However many minutes there are, I plan to maximize them, take advantage of opportunities and do the things I’m capable of doing."

Of course, given how experimental his coach gets with his lineups, there could be a chance that Blake will not be subbing for him, but running up the court alongside D-Fish instead.

"In our system, it’s always possible." Fish told ESPN. "We could do it."

Derek cautioned, though, that it was unlikely the two would take the floor together often.

"I think with the guys that we have, I don’t think there will be any need to play guys at different positions too much. I think that we have everything that we need at every position, and there really won’t be any one guy that has to overdo it."

But no matter how many minutes he plays, or who is lining up alongside him, Fish makes it his goal to be sure he’s there and ready to play whenever and however his team needs him

"Every chance there’s a chance to help my team win a game, I want to be available no matter what."

Last season D-Fish fought through several nagging injuries, including an ankle sprain. But when game time rolled around, No. 2 said it’s time to ignore the pain, and play the game.

"It’s been more of a mentality of when it’s time to go to work, it’s time to go to work. That’s the way I’m going into it this season. I don’t plan on missing any nights. If I play 30 minutes or 15 minutes, if I’m out there, I’m doing something to help us win… That’s the most important thing to me."

EARLY RETURNS
Through five preseason games, Fish’s numbers have looked strong while playing limited minutes.

On the Lakers’ European swing, he put in 12 points in back-to-back games while playing an average of 22 minutes. Against FC Barcelona, Fish hit 4-5 shots, his best shooting percentage of the preseason so far.

Through five games, No. 2 is averaging seven points and two assists per game.

NEXT UP
With exactly a week to go before the official NBA season kicks off, Derek Fisher and the Lakers are down to their final three preseason tune-ups before the defending champions quest for a three-peat begins in earnest.

Tonight, Los Angeles will square off against the Utah Jazz, whom they fell to Sunday night, 99-94 at the Staples Center.

No. 2 played 20 minutes in the game, scoring two points and notching two steals.

After tonight’s game, the Lakers face the Golden State Warriors for a two game set to wrap up the preseason.

The regular season kicks off against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, October 26, at home.

RELATED ARTICLES
LAKERS NOTEBOOK: Jackson works on rotation (LA Daily News, October 17, 2010)
LAKERS NOTEBOOK: Fisher takes pride in consistency (San Gabriel Valley Tribune, October 10, 2010)
Fisher and Blake in the same backcourt? Unlikely, says Fish (ESPN.com, October 12, 2010)