Reestablishing a focus on defense has done wonders for Derek Fisher and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers have been a different team since returning from the All-Star break and have won four straight games led by a more defensive-oriented gameplan.
LA has only given up 100 points once since the break and it took the Portland Trailblazers five extra minutes to reach that plateau. The trend continued over the weekend, with LA twice holding their opponents below the century mark in wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
On Friday, the Lakers held the Clippers to just 95 points in a 13-point, 108-95 win. Then on Sunday, they turned up the defense even further. LA limited the high-flying Thunder, the NBA’s fifth highest scoring team, to just 87 in a 90-87 victory.
"It’s the difference of we’re getting down to the twenty last games of the season," Derek’s teammate Pau Gasol said. "We want to position ourselves well in the playoff spotting, and you know we understand that. So we have to tighten up in that sense of urgency, and understanding where we’re at in the season probably makes us be a little more focused and a little more aggressive."
In addition to the strong defense on Friday, No. 2 scored eight points and dished four assists in just 23 minutes. As the Lakers built up a large lead on the Clips early, No. 2 split up his scoring, with four points in the first and four in the third. The early effort allowed Derek to take a seat for the entire fourth with the game in hand. He finished 4-of-7 from the field and added three rebounds.
Following their win over the Clippers, LA hit the road for Oklahoma City where they locked up in a Sunday matinee with the Thunder. Fish and his teammates needed all the energy they conserved in Friday’s win.
After a long back and forth battle, the Lakers once again came out victorious thanks to a stingy defensive effort that limited Oklahoma City to just 31 points after halftime. Derek was a big part of what LA worked hard to do, picking up his performance in the second half. Darius Soriano of Forum Blue and Gold wrote recently of the things Derek does well on defense:
"Derek Fisher is a good defender is several ways – he’s a bulldog fighting through screens, he’s still a master at drawing offensive fouls, and there are few players I’d trust more as the last man back in a 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 situation for the opposition…"
While helping LA along defensively, Fish scored six points and tossed out three assists in the Lakers’ victory.
Fish began the first with two assists and a jumper before taking a breather on the bench. He scored two points in the second frame and then notched another basket and an assist in the third. After finally surging to the lead in the third, Los Angeles held off the Thunder in the fourth for their fourth straight win.
PICTURE THIS
Last week, Derek was named LA sportsman of the year at the L.A. Sports Awards.
The Orange County Register was there and has photos of Fish accepting his award as well as the Lakers’ award for their 16th NBA Championship. To see the photos from the event, click here
NEXT UP
The Lakers travel to Minnesota tonight in search of their fifth straight victory. To do it they’ll face off against the Timberwolves.
Los Angeles is undefeated so far this year in two games against the Wolves, with Fish averaging eight points and three assists in the two games.
Tip off of round three is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST and is the game can be seen on KCAL-TV.
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