Derek Debuts Again in OKC Win

By | 2016-10-28T21:22:59-08:00 February 28th, 2013|News|Comments Off on Derek Debuts Again in OKC Win

The Oklahoma City Thunder are once again in the thick of the playoff race and one of the league’s favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.

So coach Scott Brooks is happy that the Thunder have added a player in Derek Fisher who has been there and done that.


Derek didn’t score in his return, but found other ways to impact the game for OKC (Getty Images).

“One thing I think we know we’re going to get from him is a competitor, a winner, a guy that’s going to do everything for the team, and you can never have enough guys like that,” Brooks said. “You can’t pick another player that has seen everything he has.”

Fish made his return to the Thunder on Wednesday night and played in his first game since December 18, when he injured his right knee while playing for the Dallas Mavericks. He was subsequently waived by Dallas and had to wait two weeks for the knee to heal before he could get back to working out. It was a trying time for D-Fish, but he said this week that, although retirement was an option, he still carried a desire to finish his career on a better note.

“I knew that I still wanted to play the game. I knew I still had the love, the work ethic, the passion,” Fisher said. “The injury was a setback. The biggest struggle was for me, even after 16 years (in the NBA), playing in a different city, being away from my family. Those are things that I struggled with. But as I was leaving Dallas, I understood the risks that that could possibly be my last game or my last opportunity.”


D-Fish is excited to return to OKC, where he believes the talent is in place to win a title (Getty Images).

In his return to the court on Tuesday, D-Fish showed some rust from the two-month layoff and missed all four of his shots in 20 minutes on the court. He did, however, find other ways to impact the game and helped the Thunder along with two assists and a steal as they cruised to a 119-74 win over the New Orleans Hornets. Brooks admitted that with elite scorers like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the roster, scoring won’t be a big part of Derek’s game in OKC.

“We’re not looking for him to score. We’re not looking for him to handle the ball a lot,” Brooks said. “We’re just looking for him to be one of those intangible players, those winning basketball players.”

Among those things, Derek will be looked at to provide leadership over young players like second-year point guard Reggie Jackson. Jackson believes D-Fish will fit right in, just as he did last season.

“I think we’ve played pickup quite a few times over the last two summers together. We’re just being ballplayers. He has a great feel for the offense, getting back to knowing exactly what we’re doing,” Jackson said. “I don’t think he’s really forgotten. Just whoever gets it, trying to make the right decision. Actually, I’ve been working on not calling as many plays and just playing ball and making reads.”

With the return of Fish as well as the addition of swingman Ronnie Brewer via trade with the New York Knicks, OKC rotation players like Jackson could be looking at reduced minute totals off the bench. But Brooks believes every player on the roster is willing to make sacrifices to pursue the team’s ultimate goal of winning a NBA championship.

“To have a good team, you have to have sacrifices from everybody. I don’t know what they all will entail at the moment,” Brooks said. “Minutes are going to be had, minutes are going to be probably taken away from many guys, and not just because of Derek Fisher. Just as the season goes on, sometimes the rotations become smaller,” Brooks said. “In order to have a good team, you have to have guys that are committed to the team, and sometimes those things happen. There’s nothing etched in stone right now.”


Thunder players like Kevin Durant look to Fish for leadership and experience (Getty Images).

Derek knows that, because he’s in his 17th NBA season, the “r” word will follow him until he finally decides to hang ‘em up. But rather than focus on what might happen beyond this year, he’s dedicated to making sure that this go around ends the same way five others have. It’s why he wears the No. 6 on his jersey and why he decided to spend the next four months away from his family, playing in Oklahoma City.

“I think it’s extremely clear what our goal is, what we’re here to accomplish, and oftentimes that’s what sets the table,” Fisher said. “I’m not planning on retiring at the end of the season but if this is my last season, I deserve this opportunity to be here with this group. So, that’s really what brought me back.”

NEXT UP
D-Fish plays in the second game of his second tenure in OKC on Friday night in Denver when the Thunder play the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CST and the game can be seen nationwide on ESPN.

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