Derek Thinks Lakers are Well Prepared

//Derek Thinks Lakers are Well Prepared

Derek Thinks Lakers are Well Prepared

By | 2016-10-22T05:57:47-08:00 May 2nd, 2011|News|Comments Off on Derek Thinks Lakers are Well Prepared

A veteran of numerous NBA postseason campaigns, Derek Fisher knows all about the transition between rounds.

In the span of a few days, teams must go from keying on one style of play to locking down another. The best way to make the change as quickly as possible is to practice hard on the off days. That’s exactly what Fish said he and the Lakers did over the weekend.

"Today was a good day in stepping away from the old and getting into the new," Derek said after a Sunday Lakers practice.

The new is the Dallas Mavericks and the Western Conference Semifinals. The new is a tougher team, a bigger challenge. Though the Lakers defeated the Mavericks two out of the three times they played this season, D-Fish knows defeating them four times is no easy task:

"We are preparing to play a very good team in the Mavericks. Very efficient team. Very well balanced in what they do. They play hard, they play with passion, they play with energy."

However, the Lakers’ trying first round series with the Hornets last round gave them fuel. It also gave Los Angeles confidence that they could get the job done, as Fish told reporters on Sunday:

"We played a very young team that came out and competed," he said. "They played to win. The series swung that first game, but we won four of the next five, went out and took care of business. It was great preparation in terms of doing what we need to do in the playoffs."

As the Western Conference Semifinals tip tonight, the Lakers don’t plan to alter a single thing. In the first round, despite facing a talented player in Chris Paul, D-Fish said the Lakers keyed on the entire team, not on one single person. Now, with another dominant player coming to town, Los Angeles will do the exact same thing.
 
This time, it’s a forward, Dirk Nowitzki. But to Fish, it’s about the Dallas Mavericks as a whole.

"There isn’t any one guy on any team that can beat a team," he said. "There’ll be moments or games where Dirk Nowitzki has a big game and we still win. It’s what we saw against Chris Paul. It doesn’t matter what one guy does statistical. We can handle Dirk Nowitzki as long as we play good team defense."

YOUTH MOVEMENT
For the second straight round, Derek will face another of the league’s elite point guards, but his next challenge is one entirely different from facing Paul.

For the first time in a long time D-Fish will be the younger of the point guards as the Lakers begin a playoff series when he matches up with Jason Kidd. Derek knows the type of skills his counterpart possesses.

"Jason’s a big time performer," No. 2 said. "It’s not a surprise to see him raise his level in the postseason and continue to lead the team the way he does. He’s not going to seek a high amount of shots. He’s going to take what comes to him. He’s willing to step up and take the big shots. That’s why we have to do the right things on the defensive end to make sure we are not only covering Dirk, but covering all the guys and being in the right spots."

But Kidd’s primary role in the Dallas offense is that of facilitator. He racks up a high volume of assists and finds unique ways to get the ball to Dallas’ playmakers.

"Jason makes them go," Derek said. "He impacts games without scoring the basketball. He’s been shooting the ball well from the perimeter, but it’s really just his ability to manage the game, get guys in the right spots. He still has very good hands defensively,

[and makes] timely steals," Fisher said. "So even though you don’t strategize for him offensively, you still have plan for him. You have to play him as an impact player because of how he plays the game."

Elliot Teaford of the LA Daily News writes how the roles of the two veteran players differ:

Fisher’s job is the same as it’s always been in the Lakers’ triangle offense. It won’t change against Kidd and the Mavericks, even if they resort to the zone defense they showed the Lakers during three regular-season games in 2010-11.
 
Fisher will be asked to keep the triangle moving, make open shots and play the sort of badgering defense that knocked Paul off stride when it mattered most in the first round.

Nothing new, nothing special, nothing out of character.

"He plays a different role for his team than I do," Fisher said. "When he’s not on the floor, it’s tough for them to do the things that they’re really good at doing.

"For me, because of our versatility, I don’t always have to be on the floor for us to be successful."

GETTING IN THE ZONE
As Teaford mentioned, the Mavericks often like to employ a zone as a means of stopping their opponents while also mixing up their look so a team never gets truly comfortable on offense.

Asked at practice on Sunday about the Dallas zone, Fish said that you can’t let the structure of the defense change your game plan, as he told ESPN LA:

"Sometimes against a zone, I think you over-analyze what you should or shouldn’t do, instead of taking what opportunities present themselves," he said. "You still can get the ball inside, you can still get penetration, and you can still do certain things defensively against a zone, just like a man [defense]. So just don’t overthink it."

Derek also noted that one key to taking advantage of the zone is to have shot makers in who will make the defense pay for sagging off of them.

"You’re a pro. If somebody’s going to zone and leave you open, at times you’ve just got to be willing to take the shots and make ’em. And if you don’t make them, the coach will put somebody in who will," Fisher said. "You can’t allow somebody to think that they can put two people [on the other side of the floor] and just leave you standing out here. It’s just not possible. So yeah, at times get the ball inside, but at other times you’ve got to make them pay for not respecting your abilities. Then once they come out after you make a couple, then you go inside."

Derek and the Lakers will see if their game plan is up to par when they take the court tonight in the first game of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PT on TNT.

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