Yes Fisher plays defense, and not all-NBA or anything but pretty darned well. It is Fisher who plays the Franchises and AIs of the league, not Kobe. Fisher is a pretty good all-around PG in the Lakers system.
Horry's defense against PFs in the West, is worth much more than Sam's bickering. That's just my opinion. Trading Horry would mean that Mad Dog would have to play 25+ mins a game...
DFish has got burned a number of times by the Francis' and Bibby's of the NBA, but yes he does play very aggressive, above-average defense.
Mad Dog for 25+ mins a game? He would retire with a bad back at that rate with all the flopping he does.
D-Fish plays a hell of a lot more defense than Cassell. Fisher's physical play combined with his hustle, go a long way for LA. Think about all of those close games LA had with Sac, that came down to 1 possesion. Well, Fisher usually adds 2-3 extra possesions for LA, thanks to his sheer hustles for loose balls. Moreover, he's just a pain in the ass for opposing PGs.
<b>D-Fish plays a hell of a lot more defense than Cassell. </b> Against lesser PGs. When he plays against legit PGs he gets abused time and time again. His only hope is for a PG to have an offnight. <b>Fisher's physical play combined with his hustle, go a long way for LA. Think about all of those close games LA had with Sac, that came down to 1 possesion. Well, Fisher usually adds 2-3 extra possesions for LA, thanks to his sheer hustles for loose balls. Moreover, he's just a pain in the ass for opposing PGs.</b> Yeah think about those close games, who would you rather have Derek Fisher or Sam Cassell? Fisher adds 2 to 3 possessions, Cassell could add 6 to 7 possessions, not only hustling to loose balls, but stealing the ball, rebounds, and things like that. You don't think a guy who puts up 20 ppg, 8 to 10 assist per game and steals the ball is a pain? Fisher is a nice player, but he isn't anywhere near the level of a Sam Cassell, not even close. And Cassell is a multiple champion in his own right so Cassell has the talent to step up his game to superstar level in the playoffs. I can't believe there are actually people who would take Derek Fisher over Sam Cassell! Fisher's defense can't stop the Bibbys, and Parkers, and Francis, and Nashes of the world. Sam Cassell, even if he can't stop them defensively, can outscore them, something Fisher couldn't do when he was getting abused.
Nobody is saying Fisher is a better player than Cassell. But are the Lakers better having Horry and having Fisher play the point than losing Horry and having Sam play the point? I think the Lakers are better with Horry/Fisher. You also have to consider the impact/role within the team. How many times is Sam going to be able to do his thing (dominante the ball, beat his man 1 on 1) when the team has Shaq and Kobe? Not much, thus Sam is going to be reduced to a spot up shooter--and he isn't significantly better than Fisher in that role.
Harold Miner, aka Baby Michael, was a total bust. But everyone booed when we drafted Horry and passed on Miner. Most of the time, CD and RT know what they are doing assessing talent. I got this crazy feeling that Sam I Am will end up his career as a Rocket - somehow he just kinda belongs. He would fit in great. D R
RM- Cassell was very unhappy and constantly b****ing about sharing the ball with Allen and Big Dog. I would think that Cassell would b**** even more, if he had Kobe and Shaq on his team. Cassell is a cancer, plain and simple. He's too high maintenance, which is the reason why he's been traded so many times, and is always on the trade block. Yes, Cassell is clutch, but other than that I don't see much substance to that baby's game. Cassell is a loser, plain and simple. The Rockets were able to win 2 rings with him, because he was a backup PG. We traded him as soon as he wanted to be a starter, and wanted starter $.
We traded him because he was the only thing that could have gotten barkley that we could lose and the suns wanted.
He also wanted a new contract. Remember, the set rookie contracts weren't in place until 2 years after Sam was drafted. And I am 99% sure he was grumbling about becoming a starter. Fact is that he's not that great of a guy, and there is a reason why so many teams would rather not have him than have him. His defense is worse than Francis'.
To my understanding, Cassell wasn't originally part of the package offer for Barkley. Phoenix insisted on him and Rudy eventually, reluctantly relented and threw him in there. Btw, why would we be upset that Cassell wanted money commiserate with a starting position? We knew by then he was starter material and better than that even, and that Smith would soon be leaving and he would be our starter.
