When the Oklahoma City Thunder entered the 2012 NBA playoffs, a lot of people talked about how important Derek Fisher was when it came to experience in the locker room. However, there were a lot of doubts about what he could accomplish on the court. Thankfully, Fisher is helping the Thunder win both on and off the court.
When the regular NBA season ended, Fisher averaged 5.6 points over 23.9 minutes a game. It was very low numbers for Fisher as the former Los Angeles Lakers great just didn't seem to have it anymore. There were moments that the old Fish shined through, hitting a three when the team needed it the most, but those moments were few.
Most of the time, he fell short on most of his shots, only hitting 37.1-percent from the field and 32.1 from beyond the arc.
Now that the postseason is here, the old Fisher has returned. The man with five NBA Championship rings is playing hard to win his sixth. In the four game sweep of the Dallas Mavericks, Fisher averaged 8.3 points a game with almost the exact same minutes played per game as his regular season numbers. Only Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka scored more points.
Add to that the fact that Fisher hit 58.3-percent of his shots from the field and an inspiring 62.5 from 3-point land. When Oklahoma City needed Fisher to come into the game, he provided just the precision that Oklahoma City needed to knock off their border rival Mavericks.
Now, it looks like the next test for the young Thunder team is to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. If that is indeed the matchup, it will put Fisher in the line of fire, trying to beat the team he won all five of his NBA title rings with. It will also provide the Thunder with the knowledge of how to beat Fisher's old team.
That didn't help at the end of the season when the Lakers knocked off Oklahoma City in their final meeting but this is the playoffs. The Lakers are used to being here but so is Derek Fisher. This is a case where David faces Goliath but has a double agent on their side. There is no one I would rather have fighting alongside the Thunder than Derek Fisher right now.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and is an avid sports fan that has lived in Oklahoma for over 40 years. He used to religiously follow the Dallas Mavericks until Oklahoma City found a team to call their own.
Source: NewsOK.com
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