Another reason the Utah crowd might have booed him is because Fisher was pretty bad last season. This is just my opinion and I'm sure many of you will disagree: Derek Fisher is an incredibly overrated player and has been for quite some time. He seems to be a nice guy and I have nothing against him but his whole career is nothing special at all. He's very lucky to have played with Kobe and Shaq those years.
Maybe we can get a congressional panel together to investigate. lol "Mr. Fisher, isn't it true you really left Utah because you have a problem with Mormons?" - Senator Joe Blow "No, that is not true." - Derek Fisher "Umm...that's not what your housekeeper says." - Senator Joe Blow
Whatever it is with Fisher, I have no sympathy with Utah. The way Boozer got out of Cleveland to join the Jazz was much more sneaky.
Boozer is good but he will always be remembered for having the ball bounced off his head and swish in the all star weekend.........what a loser
He was a key cog in them taking out Houston in the play-offs last year. But he is what he is. A good role player. On a great team, he might not even be top 5. In terms of talent, he wasnt even top 5 with Utah last year. He was however #3 or 4 for the overall series for them. Although he was eclipsed in later games by the play of Kirelenko and Okur.
I'm not minimizing his playoff performance against us. His pathetic regular season made it very hard to swallow. It's just unbelievable a guy would shoot bricks all year and then suddenly become Superman for a brief period against the Rockets.
He was pretty clutch in the Warrior's series also. That game where he came in the 4th quarter after being late because he was attending his daughter's procedure Sloan inserted him immediately and he drained some timely threes to put away the Warriors. This was game 3 or 4 I think. He does suck quite a bit in the regular series, but he hits clutch shots in the playoffs. I think his most famous one was that 0.6s game winning shot against Spurs in Game 5.
the Utah fans were OK w Fisher getting out of his contract. they're just pissed that he signed w the hated Lakers, public enery #1 in Utah don't think so. remember during one of last yr playoff game, Fisher missed the first half of game (after taking his daughter to NYC for the exam which was not available in Utah)
Not just against the Rockets. Fisher has always been clutch in the playoffs. He was an important piece for the Lakers during those Shaq-Kobe playoff runs. It is true that he is just a so-so player in the regular season. But he is kind of like Horry, somehow these guys just hit shots when the games are big.
If it weren't for his fluke shot against the Spurs, no one would call Fisher an Horry kind of clutch player. Memories of Fisher's first Lakers stint are greatly inflated by that one shot.
Oh, no doubt Utah's fans aren't unhappy, they wanted him gone. The reason they boo him is the one you pointed out. About the procedure, well I don't remember all the details but I think the deal was that the procedure was available but he just didn't approve of the Utah doctors and they think it is bs and an excuse. Surfguy, if it was a reference, I didn't get it.
I am not talking about buzzer beater shots. I am talking about important shots at crucial times. I am comparing him with Horry because both of them are average at best in regular season but step up significantly in important games. I watch the Lakers a lot, partly because I am in LA, partly because I hate them so much and want to root for whoever plays them. Believe me, Fisher was important for their championship runs BEFORE he hit that fluke shot.
Yes, Fisher hit some key shots other than the one against the Spurs. My memory of him is of a guy who never became as good as the Lakers hoped. In his younger days, he had some huge games that had people salivating. But in the end, he never became anything more than a streaky jump shooter with a little toughness who meshed well with Shaq and Kobe on the court and in the locker-room. For a couple of years, Shaq and Kobe were the two best players in the NBA and they carried Fox, Fisher, etc on their back to championships. IMO, Fisher's best trait was he didn't become tight & choke under pressure or try things he wasn't capable of. Then again, all that entailed was basically waiting on Shaq/Kobe to make something happen and being ready to hit the jumper if the ball came out to him. Just my opinion. If you lived in LA during the Shaq/Kobe era, I can't really argue with you since you saw them so often.
Isn't that what you want in a role player? As a Lakers hater, I was annoyed by Fisher to no end. It seems (I know this is just subjective feeling) that Fisher always would hit a couple of big shots in a row when the Lakers needed them most. Anyways, if you look at his 3pt shooting, he makes about .380 in regular season but then raises it to .420 in playoffs. This year, the Lakers are that much more dangerous, Gasol and Bynum aside, because they got Fisher's playoffs experience at the point.
I'm a Laker fan and I agree that D-Fish is extremely overrated.. If it weren't for his FLUKE .4(which didn't even result to a championship that season) no one would even mention him as a "key piece", the guy is a COMPLETE SCRUB! Rafer>>>>>>> Fisher
Right, the current Lakers usually play better when Farmar is on the floor rather than Fisher. Farmar > Fisher
I agree with you about Fisher about his previous value as a roleplayer, but he just isn't as good this year...and he wasn't really that good last year either.
