By the time a player reaches his 15th season in the NBA, he has generally obtained a good deal of serenity about the ebb and flow of the regular season.
But according to Derek Fisher, that quality is something that has to learned and earned.
"It’s taken years for us to develop the abilities to face whatever storms come our way and just push right through it," he said of the Los Angeles Lakers.
But it’s why Derek never panicked during LA losing streaks earlier this season. And it’s why he’s staying calm about the Lakers current winning ways.
"You just always remain faithful," Fish told ESPN LA. "Faith is remaining certain in the face of doubt. You’re not sure how it’s going to end, but you’re constantly of the belief that it will end the way you want it to and the way you always believed it to end, and that’s on top."
The Lakers have ended the season on top each of the last two years and buoyed by their recent winning streak their confidence in themselves is soaring.
LA has won every single game since the All-Star Break, with No. 2 scoring six or more points in seven of those eight games.
Tuesday night, against the Atlanta Hawks, Derek did it again, hitting half his shots on his way to eleven points in a 101-87 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
No. 2 got the Lakers rolling early in the victory, with assists to Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest for four of Los Angeles’ first six points. Then he got in the act himself, hitting a long jumper for his first points of the evening. That jumper keyed a 6-0 run that put the Lakers ahead for good.
After taking a breather in the second, Fish burst out of the locker room in the third. He hit two free throws, then dropped a three and sank another long bucket, tallying seven points in a four-minute span. No. 2 closed out his night with a mid-range jumper that put Los Angeles up 22 late in the third.
Along with his 11 points, Derek finished the evening with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
MOVE THE BALL
The Lakers have been doing almost everything well during their current winning streak.
Their defense has been stellar, their offense has thrived and they’ve won the battle on the boards.
But one of the things that has most impressed Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN LA has been the team’s ball movement. Kamenetzky said this was best illustrated on Sunday against the Spurs:
Ball Movement. In a game filled with some very good offensive plays, this may have been my favorite.
Derek Fisher takes the ball to the right wing, initiating the offense with a pass into the post for Andrew Bynum. With Tim Duncan on his back, Bynum patiently surveys the floor, dribbling left into the lane and drawing Manu Ginobili down in a double team. He kicks to Kobe Bryant at the top of the key, who immediately swings to Ron Artest on the left wing, who immediately swings to Fisher, now in the left corner (having cleared the strong side along the baseline after making the initial pass).
Fisher fakes the shot, but instead passes to Pau Gasol in the left post area, where he’s picked up by Ginobili. Seeing the mismatch, Richard Jefferson rotates down to help. Gasol kicks to Kobe, again at the top of the arc. With the Spurs now scrambling, Bryant puts the ball on the floor, bringing a late-rotating Tony Parker with him and drawing attention in the lane. He throws over the top to Fish, who takes and makes a three from the left corner.
Every Laker on the floor touched the ball at least once, and all five passed up opportunities for a decent shot in order to create a great one.
UNION MAN
There’s always a lot on Derek’s plate with the Lakers. LA is in Miami to take on the Heat tonight and the playoffs are looming just over a month away.
But the fate of the NBA and the expiring collective bargaining agreement are never far from his mind.
In a stellar profile Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times mulls what it’s like to have the fate of the NBA and the league’s over 400 players constantly weighing on you.
"Derek Fisher sits in an almost-empty restaurant on a midweek morning in Cleveland that defines silence, save for the hushed conversation at a nearby table and the occasional clink of dishes behind a closed door.
He seems to savor it as he sips his coffee. There will be little downtime for him in coming months.
After the Lakers’ playoff push ends, Fisher transitions from 13 teammates to about 420."
The article details Derek’s transformation from NBA draft pick to NBA leader. Early on in his career, No. 2 experienced a lockout, during the 1998-99 season, and said the experience shaped him.
"I remember not being quite sure what all the commotion was about. It was a big year for me and lo and behold, half the season’s canceled and all this stuff is going on. I felt like I should at least understand better how this was going to impact me for the rest of my career. It stoked the fire as far as getting involved with the union."
A lot will be at stake in the coming months, with many NBA franchises struggling financially. Fish said he understands that firsthand, coming off his own contract negotiations this offseason.
"I just came off a contract negotiation with a team that could afford to pay probably whatever they wanted to pay and they told me, ‘This is what we’re going to pay you and either you can accept it or go somewhere else. I decided to stay and that’s that. They paid me the number that they felt like they wanted to pay. Every team in the NBA has that option right now. There isn’t anything in the collective bargaining agreement that says you have to pay all these guys this much money."
To read the entire piece, click here.
TOURNEY-BOUND TROJANS
As Fish and the Lakers were knocking off the Hawks on Tuesday night in Atlanta, several hours to their West, Derek’s alma-mater was making history.
The University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans defeated North Texas in the Sun Belt Championship game to punch their first ticket to the NCAA Tournament in 21 years.
Derek issued his own congratulatory message, via Twitter:
What a night!! Lakers win, Ark-Little Rock Trojans win Sun Belt Tourn! Congrats Coach Shields & all the fellas! Enjoy every moment!
Derek played for the Trojans from 1992-1996 and sits third on the school’s all-time scoring list. He is the only UALR alum currently playing in the NBA.
NEXT UP
D-Fish and the Lakers will be gunning for their ninth straight win tonight when they take on the struggling Heat in Miami.
LA will be looking to avenge a double-digit loss to the Heat on their home floor Christmas Day. The rematch tips at 4 p.m. PST on TNT.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Los Angeles Lakers lean on their thick skin (ESPN.com, March 8, 2011)
- Lakers’ Derek Fisher is a union man all the way (Los Angeles Times, March 7, 2011)
- Four things you need to know (ESPN.com, March 9, 2011)
- The Lakers could tell the heat a few things (New York Times, March 9, 2011)
- Lakers 101, Hawks 87: At the buzzer (ESPN LA, March 8, 2011)
- Lakers at Atlanta — What to watch (ESPN LA, March 8, 2011)