Fish Knows Lakers Must Be Better

//Fish Knows Lakers Must Be Better

Fish Knows Lakers Must Be Better

By | 2016-10-22T05:57:48-08:00 April 18th, 2011|News|Comments Off on Fish Knows Lakers Must Be Better

If Derek Fisher has learned anything in his time in the NBA, especially in the playoffs, it’s that one should expect to win, but be prepared to lose.

That’s why, after dropping Game 1 to the New Orleans Hornets, the first in the team’s Western Conference Quarterfinal series, on Sunday, No. 2 isn’t even looking for the panic button.

He said the Lakers came ready to play, but were beaten by a Hornets team that simply played better in all facets of the game:

"They were ready to play more than us," Fish said after LA’s 109-100 loss on Sunday afternoon. "I think we came into the game with the right attitude and they preformed better than us.

"Regardless of how bad you feel about your performance, you have to tip your hat to your opponent."

Fish was certainly ready to play, turning in a strong showing with eight points, five rebounds and five assists. He, however, had the unfortunate task of going against the Hornets’ Chris Paul, who exploded for 33 points and 14 assists.

But No. 2 said that, despite the overwhelming performance from New Orleans’ starting point guard, Paul alone didn’t beat the Lakers:

"It’s not so much about stopping one guy. It’s five on five," he said. "Kobe had 34 points, but their team won. It’s easy to look at numbers and see who was most effective individually, but when you break down the reality of it, their team won and our team lost."

The Hornets came out hot, hitting their first six shots. That led to 55 first-half points, which Derek said is far too many to allow in the game’s opening sector:

"Obviously they scored too many points in the first half," he said. "We did a better job in third period, but in the fourth, we got some early fouls and they basically shot free throws the rest of the game. They never really had to score down the stretch."

That being said, No. 2 noted that it’s about more than one part of the game:

"It’s a 48 minute game, so it’s not so much about starting flat or any particular parts of the game. We didn’t do well enough to win."

After the Game 1 loss, observers were quick to criticize the Lakers for complacency and overconfidence. But to assume that was the case, Derek noted, would be a mistake:

"That implies

[we] were conceited or overconfident initially. I don’t think that was the case," Fisher said. "It can happen in pro sports. The other team can be good enough to beat you sometimes."

Now, with a big Game 2 looming on Wednesday, Fish said playing better is a must for LA.

"We lost and we have to improve in a hurry to give ourselves a chance," he said. "There isn’t anything that’s going to come easy. We’ve lost this first game. We’ve put ourselves in a position where Wednesday’s game is important to us."

But Fish said that the Lakers must be careful to toe the fine line between drawing on their experience and resting on their laurels:

"The only way [experience] helps is if we come out and play better on Wednesday," he said. "We’ll take advantage of these two days to make adjustments. If we come back and get a win, we can try and get this thing back into a position where we have some control of how it’s going to play out."

PARTNERS IN WINNING
Among the many reasons that the Lakers are able to thrive in the face of adversity, high on the list is the leadership provided by their co-captains.

While Derek will rely on his coach, Phil Jackson, to scheme up something on paper to help the Lakers, it’ll be up to No. 2 and his co-captain Kobe Bryant to make sure the team implements it on the court

The duo has been lording over the Lakers as co-captains ever since No. 2 returned to Los Angeles after stints with the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz. The results have been undeniable: three straight trips to the NBA Finals and two straight NBA titles.

But this season has featured fluctuations and swings: eight-game winning streaks and multiple three-game losing streaks that have tested the duo’s patience. Mark Medina of the LA Times writes about how they have endured:

"The Lakers’ co-captains have shared equal duties entering the team’s first-round playoff series…by setting the team’s agenda and trying to ensure the team remains on track toward a three-peat."

Having been around each other for so long, Medina notes that Fish and Kobe share an unparalleled chemistry, allowing them to feed off one another:

"I can gauge Derek," said Bryant. "We can gauge the personalities of what we need at that moment."

"Regarding specifically Kobe and myself, you figure it out," Fisher said. "Regardless of how ugly it looks and how bad you look, you figure out how to turn it around, flip things and get it in your favor at some point."

The result: a never-ending mixed and nuanced exercise on finding a perfect balance between holding the team accountable and pleading patience. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson didn’t completely characterize Fisher and Bryant as the team’s leaders, also citing Lamar Odom’s popular standing in the locker room and Pau Gasol’s polite demeanor as examples that show the Lakers’ identity features plenty of veteran players with similar qualities. But Jackson reserved specific praise for Bryant and Fisher being "good spokesmen."

Let Lakers forward Ron Artest, of all people, explain how they fulfill that quality.

"They’re both different," he said. "They both work well together. They work really well together. Fish is more Xs and O’s type of the co-captain and Kobe is more of the …."
 
Then Artest stopped, trailed off for perhaps an infinite amount of reasons that can only be speculated. But then he came to a realization. "Oh man," he said to himself. "They might be the same."

But although Derek and Kobe know each other so well that they are almost always in synch on the court, the two are viewed in drastically different lights, Medina writes:

"Bryant and Fisher are both similar and different. Both have collected five championship rings and come through with clutch playoff performances. But Bryant enters each postseason adding what Fisher calls a "layer of foundation to his legacy," while Fisher enters the playoffs eager to prove his worth to an always doubting public.
 
Bryant is a two-time Finals MVP, ranks sixth on the league’s all-time scoring list, is a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, a 14-time All-Star, a four-time All-Star MVP and a lock for both the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and a Lakers statue. Fisher has never been an All-Star, has never reached double digits in points per game, never played in the Olympics and likely won’t reach the Hall of Fame."

However, Kobe knows his Hall of Fame career might not feature so many championship highlights if he didn’t have No. 2 at his side. When Derek left Los Angeles, the Lakers fell from the championship ranks. So when Fish became available, Bryant made encouraging him to return priority No. 1.

"Bryant appeared adamant about the Lakers re-acquiring Fisher as a free agent in 2008 after he spent the four previous seasons with Golden State and Utah, arguing his championship experience, willingness to challenge him publicly and privately and the veteran point guard’s commanding locker-room presence makes his job easier.
 
Likewise, Fisher acknowledged Bryant’s presence as a reason for his willingness to return to the Lakers despite prolonged contract negotiations, citing Bryant’s never-ending support and how his abundant talent helps him reach that championship level."

Now that they are back together, they’ve become the NBA’s premiere leadership team. With the talent, desire and success stories the two possess, it’s impossible for players not to fall in line behind No. 24 and No. 2. But that doesn’t make it any easier. Every title campaign has its own unique challenges.

"Even when we were expressing frustration or disappointment with ourselves and with our team, we’re still always keeping the larger picture in perspective and always in full recognition of what’s required to get the job done," D-Fish said. "For us, we’ve been here before and understand the process that comes along with this. You have to be willing to adjust and adapt and do what’s required and be able to read your teammates, read the situation and understand when it’s necessary to say something and what it is you need to say and then other times when to shut up and let guys figure it out for themselves."

And after starting the playoffs off with a loss on Sunday, the two will need to reach into that well of knowledge to find a way to get Los Angeles back into the win column.

To read all of Medina’s piece, and to see video of Fish, Kobe and Coach Phil Jackson discussing the relationship, click here.

TEAM DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES
While plenty of the aftermath of Game 1 has centered on what the Lakers failed to do offensively on Sunday, it must be noted that the Lakers did tally 100 points and only lost because they permitted their opponent to score an uncharacteristic 109.

The brunt of those 109 came by the hand of Hornets point guard Chris Paul. But Medina writes that the onus for Paul’s explosion doesn’t fall on just No. 2.

"It’s a knee-jerk reaction to pinpoint Paul’s 33 points on 11-of-18 shooting to an aging Derek Fisher, who was unable to keep up with him on screen-and-roll plays.

But mostly it was Fisher who held his own and then called out for help in pointing out rotations, only to find Gasol proved too slow and too passive to react. Fisher’s never the type to call out Gasol publicly, but he’s right in disputing the charge that the Lakers lacked urgency."

On the defensive end, Fish said that it’s not about one player, but that the Lakers as a unit are capable of so much more:

"It’s about playing the type of defense we’ve been playing and we’re capable of playing," he said. "If we do that, regardless of which guy it is, then we’ll be able to stop penetration. We’ll be able to get defensive rebounds without giving up second shots and play defense without fouling.

"But if we’re in the wrong positions and we’re not doing the right things, it really doesn’t matter who it is, guys at this level, in a playoff situation, are going to hurt you…. We just were not sharp in our defensive execution."

What the Lakers do need to do for Gasol and his fellow big men, Fish said, is find away to get them more engaged on the offensive end, which could translate to more defensive energy:

"Most teams are aware that we are an inside-out team. That’s where our advantage is every night," Derek said. "If they’re going to work that hard to try and deny our guys inside the ball, we have to find away to get around that."

NEXT UP
If Fish and the Lakers are going to implement a new strategy, they’ll have two days to do it.

Game Two from the Staples Center tips off on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. PST. It can be seen on TNT.

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