Friday Bolts – 3.23.12
Berry Tramel on Derek Fisher: “When Derek Fisher talks, players listen. In many ways, Perkins arrived in February 2011 and immediately became a team leader on this fledgling team. Now Fisher joins him, and suddenly these young Thunder stars walk into any playoff situation knowing they have teammates who have been there before.”
Britt Robson of SI.com: “The buzz around Derek Fisher’s possibly joining the Thunder after his buyout from Houston is understandable. Oklahoma City lost backup point guard Eric Maynor to a season-ending knee injury in early January and now has rookie Reggie Jackson in that role. The conventional wisdom is that Fisher, a savvy veteran who has won five titles, would be invaluable in the locker room and in spelling Russell Westbrook in the playoffs. That’s probably sound judgment, but adding Fisher at this juncture, assuming OKC is where he wants to go, is not without risk. It would run counter to the organization’s measured and masterful assembly of the roster, which is part of the team’s culture. The Thunder’s young core has already amassed quite a bit of playoff experience (although obviously not on Fisher’s level), and, because the offense relies on transition baskets, isolation plays and free throws more than most teams, traditional point-guard play is not as much of a factor. Given the intangibles Fisher brings — if OKC happened to meet the Lakers in the playoffs, he knows their tendencies better than most of the Lakers themselves — it would be silly to turn down the chance to get him. But there is no dire need to upgrade from Jackson.”
Trey Kerby of TBJ on OKC’s handshakes: “The only problem I foresee with such a tight-knit, handshake-perfectionist team is that adding an old-timer like Derek Fisher could really mess up their flow. They better hope you can teach an old Fish new tricks, otherwise he’s going to feel super awkward, milling around with these youngsters like a dad who’s trying to be cool by playing video games with his sons.”
The Thunder now have the Flopper Emeritus, as Beckley Mason of ESPN.com calls him: “Fisher has a full flopping portfolio: (1) For years, he has specialized at the defensive jujutsu of getting up under opposing point guards, like a limbo dancer, and getting the call; (2) when going around screens, Fisher flails like a pro wrestler who’s just been smacked by a folding chair; and (3) on drives toward the basket, Fisher often does the cannonball maneuver, in which he throws himself into the body of a vulnerable defender without regard for the ball and hoop. It’s clever enough stuff, and it works.”
Kobe talking about losing Fisher.
Michael Pina of Shaky Ankles on Fisher: “In 19 minutes of action he spent his time either bringing the ball up the court and passing to someone on the wing then darting to the opposite corner, or simply spacing the floor while James Harden did his best Mozart impression with a masterful pick and roll. This will be what Fisher does throughout his tenure with Oklahoma City—occasionally initiating offense, always spacing the floor, doing his best on defense to disengage the blatant similarities he shares with your typical summer screen door. The bottom line here is that no matter what you think of Derek Fisher, he’s somehow managed to position himself on an even better basketball team than the one that wanted nothing to do with him. It just might be the most impressive thing he’s ever done.”
Signed KD jersey, with all money going to Hayden’s Hope.
Attention everyone, via ESPN Stats and Info: “Kevin Durant again ranks among the league’s best in scoring, but his improved defense this season shouldn’t be overlooked. He leads the league in opponent field goal percentage as an on-ball defender, nearly 6 percentage points better than last season (38.7 pct).”
Dan Devine of BDL on Westbrook failed dunk attempt: “Then again, maybe that’s the elusive missing element in Westbrook’s game that we’ve all been trying to identify these past couple of years — a dash of JaVale to go in that Kevin Johnson-Allen Iverson-Dwyane Wade-Stephon Marbury mixture. This dunk attempt might have just unlocked the Russell genome. Let’s all put on our labcoats and shake hands.”
