Over the past few years, the NBA has been a breeding ground for young and talented point guards. Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo are just a few of the athletic guards posting career numbers in points, assists and steals.
It isn’t any wonder Lakers fans have been experiencing a bit of point guard envy.
The 14-year veteran guard, 36-year-old Derek Fisher is the current starter at the point for the Lakers. A few people would like to see him take a step down from and come off the bench. Considering Phil Jackson’s options, Shannon Brown and Steve Blake, it’s highly doubtful that Fisher will make that shift at any point from now until season’s end.
Some have grown tired of Fisher’s lack of production on the offensive end, granted he’s never really been a threat at that end of the floor. On occasion he’ll have a great shooting night, but it hasn’t happened recently. For the month of February, Fisher has shot a staggering 11-for-29. He’s shooting at an average of 38-percent for the season, but his average behind the arc has been better than his career average at 40-percent.
At the moment, the one positive in Fisher’s game is that his minutes per game are right around 28-30, right where Jackson would like just before heading into the playoffs.
Next: The back-up guards aren’t exactly rising to the occasion
This has been facilitated by Fisher splitting his minutes with Blake and Brown. It doesn’t help matters for the Lakers as both have been experiencing their own share of shooting slumps. With Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum elevating their respective games over the long road trip, the spotlight and criticism now fall on the Lakers guards not named Kobe Bryant.
Brown and Blake each started the year hot, but the shots that were falling for Brown, a result of his “playing smarter basketball,” now fall every-so-often, and just not enough to produce the output the Lakers desperately need from the bench.
Blake’s problem is completely different. We’ve seen Fisher in the past overcome shooting slumps by simply continuing to take shots, in hopes they’ll eventually start falling, but lately Blake hasn’t even been attempting shots. The injury to Matt Barnes has left the Lakers bench accountable for another 8 or so average of points, but you can’t get points if you don’t shoot the basketball.
Plug in either Brown or Blake for Fisher in the starting unit, but neither will likely improve upon what Fisher brings to the starting unit, instead it would likely break-up the chemistry of the second unit. Even if Jackson wanted to move Fisher to the second unit, which he doesn’t, who’s to say any of his counterparts would do any better.
Next: The triangle offense doesn’t need a Rose or Rondo
Fortunately for the Lakers, as old (in basketball years) as he may be, as slow on defense as you may think he is, Fisher is still valuable to the team in other respects. The triangle offense relies more on inside post play and scoring in the paint. It’s all based on reads and rhythm, spacing and cutting. If all else fails, the ball is given to Kobe Bryant who can run the pick and roll with Gasol or simply create his own shot at will. The Lakers don’t need a Chris Paul or Derrick Rose to run the triangle offense. They need a guy like Fisher who works hard while he’s on the floor, lets Kobe do his thing, and when open, spots up and shoots.
Of course, it never hurts when the ball goes through the hoop and the net goes “swish.”
Aside from being one of the designated vocal leaders on the team, Fisher contributes on defense much more than people think. Many times his activity on defense has caused the opposing team to turn the ball over, sometimes even at the most opportune times for the Lakers. When he’s in position to take a charge, he takes it willingly.
Don’t forget that every so often he’ll unleash his inner-thespian, getting the offensive foul call by creating contact and flopping on the play. No one sells it better than Fisher.
It isn’t fair to say that Fisher doesn’t contribute, because he does. His production may not be as consistent on offense as the coaching staff and fans would like, but defensively he always puts forth the effort. Regardless of what happens during the regular season, his production during the playoffs, to this point, has been stellar. Who could forget the various three point shots he nailed during the series with Orlando in 2009 or game three against Boston last year in the finals.
A player’s production value isn’t calculated by public persona and sentiment, but in Fishers case, he’s at least earned the right to garner our respect. Yes, it is customary for older players to step down when the time’s right, but clearly for the Lakers there isn’t anyone on the roster whose game demands enough consideration for Jackson to make-over the starting unit.
We all may just have to wait a little longer for a changing of the guards.