He's known for his infamous 0.4 shot, but he's contributed so much more to the game. He's been the voice of reason in every locker room. He's the player who was in the midst of all the drama during the Kobe-Shaq years. He has been the intelligent guard who knows when to pass to Kobe Bryant and when to look at other options other than the game's best player. He's been the one who has guided the younger generation on the squad. He's the player who relocated himself and took a major pay cut to find the right city that has the treatment for his daughter's illness. And yet, this man is one of the most underrated players in the league. So, he's "not spectacularly quick," as his coach described him, but he the smarts and the character.
Some may say that Fisher was having a cold game. Others will claim that he's been having a cold month, like the people on my local ESPN station. But there wasn't a better time for Fisher's clutch shots. One of the few souls over at ESPN, my personal favorite, J.A. Adande, understood the situation better than anyone, having been a Los Angeles Times writer for over 10 years. "There's another face we can add to the images of these Finals. Fire up the editing software and insert a Fisher smile in front of those Kobe scowls. And lay down the piano music track for the next batch of "Amazing" commercials, this time to accompany the 3-pointer Fisher hit with 4.6 seconds left to send this game into overtime."And it's true, future made yet another amazing play down the stretch that will be remembered in playoff history for years to come.
When I think about how much criticism he's been getting over the past few weeks, it's somewhat surprising to see how the media has flip-flopped back into praise mode. The sportswriters at the Los Angeles Times were advocating for more play from Farmar and Brown, and much less time for Fisher. There were various arguements going against: he wasn't fast enough, he wasn't shooting well, he's just getting old, etc. Now, as sportswriters usually do, they have changed their position
Coming into the league, he was a disciplined dude from Arkansas-Little Rock who wasn't known on a national scale at that point. Instead of being played major minutes like some rookies today, Phil Jackson was reluctant to play #2. But Derek kept going; he persisted until he finally got the credit he deserved. When you're playing minutes over Gary Payton, that's quite an accomplishment. Look at him now: he went from the 24th pick in the '96 draft to become "the glue that...can help hold a championship caliber club together," according to the third person bio on Fisher's website.
Some may say that Fisher was having a cold game. Others will claim that he's been having a cold month, like the people on my local ESPN station. But there wasn't a better time for Fisher's clutch shots. One of the few souls over at ESPN, my personal favorite, J.A. Adande, understood the situation better than anyone, having been a Los Angeles Times writer for over 10 years. "There's another face we can add to the images of these Finals. Fire up the editing software and insert a Fisher smile in front of those Kobe scowls. And lay down the piano music track for the next batch of "Amazing" commercials, this time to accompany the 3-pointer Fisher hit with 4.6 seconds left to send this game into overtime."And it's true, future made yet another amazing play down the stretch that will be remembered in playoff history for years to come.
When I think about how much criticism he's been getting over the past few weeks, it's somewhat surprising to see how the media has flip-flopped back into praise mode. The sportswriters at the Los Angeles Times were advocating for more play from Farmar and Brown, and much less time for Fisher. There were various arguements going against: he wasn't fast enough, he wasn't shooting well, he's just getting old, etc. Now, as sportswriters usually do, they have changed their position
Coming into the league, he was a disciplined dude from Arkansas-Little Rock who wasn't known on a national scale at that point. Instead of being played major minutes like some rookies today, Phil Jackson was reluctant to play #2. But Derek kept going; he persisted until he finally got the credit he deserved. When you're playing minutes over Gary Payton, that's quite an accomplishment. Look at him now: he went from the 24th pick in the '96 draft to become "the glue that...can help hold a championship caliber club together," according to the third person bio on Fisher's website.
In this day and age of hyper-analysis, it's very easy to criticize someone very harshly only to bow to his greatness days later. But while we're watching these Finals games, let's remember the conditions each team is faced with: unbelievable pressure, representing a city with millions of fans, and paychecks. However, Fisher has one other subject he's always focued on: his daughter. It can be easy to forget that he could be earning several millions more while playing less minutes in Utah, but he turned it down to in a greater sense, help humanity. Now, he has helped people all over the world with the same adversity as Tatum Fisher realize they have hope. And he's provided much more than hope to the Lakers.
Btw, the point I mentioned in my last post about Jameer Nelson proved to be true with his controversially horrible defense on Fisher.
Related Reads:
Trio of Heroes Moves Lakers A Win From Title by J.A. Adande
Lakers Have A History Full of Miracles by Bill Plaschke
Btw, the point I mentioned in my last post about Jameer Nelson proved to be true with his controversially horrible defense on Fisher.
Related Reads:
Trio of Heroes Moves Lakers A Win From Title by J.A. Adande
Lakers Have A History Full of Miracles by Bill Plaschke