I know how Spurs fans feel in general about Fisher.
But I thought it was good to understand what the guy's been dealing with these playoffs.
It's not all about basketball.
My prayers are with him on a personal level, as a parent.
Having said that, Spurs in 6.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baske...3-fisher_N.htm
Fisher showing signs of fatigue
Derek Fisher has been on an emotional roller coaster ride throughout the 2007 NBA playoffs. Fisher missed Game 1 of Utah's series with the Golden State, only to come back in Game 2 and lead his team to the win. However, the pressure has seemingly drained him over the first two games against San Antonio.
By Greg Boeck, USA TODAY
SAN ANTONIO — Derek Fisher looked tired. On the court, where his playoff-reliable shot has deserted him, and off the floor, where an emotionally taxing 2½ weeks has apparently taken its toll.
Nobody on the overwhelmed Utah Jazz was more eager to go home after losing the first two games of the Western Conference finals to the San Antonio Spurs than Fisher.
"Hopefully," Fisher says, "getting back home and getting some rest, getting the energy level up, will help us."
The teams get a three-day break before the series resumes Saturday night (8:30 ET, ABC).
It's been like Groundhog Day for the Jazz and Fisher in this series: Back-to-back similar losses, back-to-back second quarter flameouts, back-to-back horrific games for the veteran guard.
The same player who has 130 playoff games, including three championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers, and sank a game-winning 16-footer with 0.4 seconds left to beat the Spurs in 2004, has missed 14 of 16 shots, including all five three-pointers.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan sat him the last six minutes of Tuesday's 105-96 loss. "You have to get yourself out of it," Sloan says. "We're not going to discard him."
Fisher admits he's frustrated. "I played a lot of basketball in my lifetime and professionally a lot of playoff games, and I expect myself to play well at all times," he says.
"If things don't go well for you, it's how you keep your chin up until things work out. … Hopefully the shot will come around."
It came around for the Spurs at home, where they shot 54.3% in Game 1. In Game 2, they shot 55.6% and drilled a franchise record 13 three-pointers — three killers in the final quarter by Bruce Bowen. "Bruce is no different than any other guy in the league," Fisher says. "If he's open, other than me, maybe, he's going to knock down most of them."
Fisher adds, "Collectively, we need to cut into that field goal percentage. That's hard to recover from."
Recovering from a harrowing medical emergency involving his 10-month-old daughter Tatum hasn't been easy, either.
Fisher missed Game 1 of the Golden State Warriors series to fly to New York, where Tatum underwent surgery to remove a tumor between her eye and brain.
He returned two days later, made a dramatic entrance in the third quarter and nailed a three-pointer late in overtime to help the Jazz win Game 2.
Fisher hit 13 of his last 21 shots in the final two games of that series, but has cooled considerably against the Spurs. "It's just part of the business," he says.
Fisher and the Jazz hope to regroup at home, where they are 6-0 in the playoffs and beat the Spurs twice in the regular season.
"We still feel like we belong in this series," Fisher says. "We deserve this opportunity. Hopefully we'll get ourselves together, get a game Saturday and give the series a different feel."
I still maintain that the best way to drive down Fisher's FG% is to deprive him of catch-and-shoot opportunities with hard close-outs. For the most part, if Fisher has to put the ball on the floor, he's done. He lives offensively off of catch-and-shoot chances. Fisher may be understandably fatigued at this point, but he's also not getting a lot of his catch-and-shoot opportunities right now and I think that's making a difference in his offense.
good call.
Let me start by saying that I hope his daughter recovers fully.
OK, I still hate Derek Fisher. The sunnava humiliated us in 2001, and may well have cost us a three-peat by killing the "middle" year le in 2004. I relish watching his speed and agility decline with age.
Man I guess everyone in the Playoffs so far that's faced us must have some similar excuse because they've all played like they were "fatigued", I guess being one of the best if not the best defensive teams in the Playoffs has nothing to do with it....
Oh yeah, and didn't this team get more rest between their series than we did, and aren't we the oldest team in the league?
You're exactly right BUT we're not talking about normal player fatigue here in regards to Fisher. The emotional roller coaster he's been on the past month can bring any man down.
Its not really fatigue that he is feeling; he is emotionally drained. That is something different, really.
If he is "tired," then he got double the rest our team got, and he is getting another 3 days again.
If he bounces back for 10+, everyone is going to say "we called it." But the guy is due a decent game anyway. So is Okur, most likely.
I feel bad for what Fish is going through in his family life but when he steps on the court I hate his guts and hope he misses every single shot he takes. .4 still pisses me off.
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