http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2658938 Fisher best solution at point guard By RICHARD JUSTICE Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle RICHARD JUSTICE Derek Fisher doesn't have Brent Barry's flair or Troy Hudson's outside shot. You don't have to stop there, either. Look hard enough, and you could make a case for other available point guards. What Fisher would bring to the Rockets is something more subtle and maybe more important. Like winning. Fisher has been around winners and been one himself. He has hit big shots in big games. He does not require the spotlight but doesn't run from it, either. This is no small thing. Think of how many times you watched the Rockets the last few seasons and were amazed at how sloppy they'd get with the game on the line. Sometimes you thought they were doing and saying the right things but, deep inside, didn't care. Caring in itself is not enough anyway. Finishing games is also about toughness, making the right decisions and not backing down. Keen distributor For all these reasons, I think Derek Fisher would be perfect for the Rockets. He's not the perfect point guard. He's undersized and has played some grueling minutes the last few years with the Lakers. His star has risen, in part, because he has been part of the NBA's most talented roster. But there's so much there to like. He'd fit between Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming with the Rockets the way he fit between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in Los Angeles. Fisher understands where the ball is supposed to go. He's a character guy. He's smart and tough. He's a max-effort player and the kind of defender coach Jeff Van Gundy would love. He's respected by his teammates. This week's trade with Orlando made the Rockets one of the NBA's most interesting teams. What they still lack is someone to lead them. This offense will start with McGrady and Yao, but with Fisher waiting at the 3-point line, defenses would be forced to make choices. Rockets mostly mum Speaking of the trade, how did you like Magic general manager John Weisbrod's suggesting McGrady could not lead a winning team? Talk about spinning bad news into good. Maybe the Magic will be better with Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, but Weisbrod looked like he was trying to lay last season's 61 losses on one guy. Strange how he all but begged T-Mac to sign an extension, then starts trashing the guy the moment he's rejected. I'm just happy the newspaper business doesn't have people like that. As for Fisher, the Rockets have given no indication he's the guy they'll ultimately pursue. They've said only that they'll sign a point guard but probably only after allowing the free-agent market time to cool down. This is a required risk. Every player enters the marketplace thinking he's going to make almost as much money as Kobe. Maybe they all believe it, and maybe their agents have told them they're Shaq and Kobe rolled into one. In waiting a bit, the Rockets might not get their first choice, but they have no choice about waiting, too. Fisher, 29, may yet re-sign with Los Angeles, especially if Mike Krzyzewski is the new coach. But Fisher is probably going to get offers before he knows what the Lakers will look like next season. Did you say Mike Krzyzewski? You're kidding, right? Is threatening to leave Duke for the Lakers his idea of a midlife crisis? Does he really think that Chicago tough-guy routine will fly in the NBA? Talk about a guy on his way to a wake-up call. Back to Fisher. Word in NBA circles is that he wants to play for the Rockets and that the Rockets want him. He's the best, but not the only, choice. Barry is a high-energy player who'd give the Rockets a terrific outside shooter at the point. However, indications are the SuperSonics have offered or are prepared to offer him $8 million a year for three years. The Rockets have only the $5.4 million mid-level exception, so Barry might be out of their price range. Hudson is intriguing, too. He's a streaky outside shooter and maybe the most talented of the three. He's won some, too, as Sam Cassell's backup in Minnesota. What Hudson doesn't have is Fisher's history of coming up big in big games. He doesn't have Fisher's history of winning, either. The Spurs attempted to sign Fisher in 1999, then watched him essentially end their playoff hopes this year with that stunning jumper at the end of Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. Maybe there's a lesson in there somewhere for the Rockets. And a reminder that Derek Fisher knows something about winning the kinds of games they have been unable to win in recent years. richard.justice@chron.com
PG: Fisher SG: McGrady SF: JJ PF: Howard C: Yao Damn, now that's a nice squad. Fisher running point, T-Mac nailing the J's, JJ on the wing, Howard pounding the boards, and Yao being Yao....this is the squad!
Wasn't it just a few months ago when Justice informed us that Chris Duhon was the best solution at Point Guard? http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/justice/2481329 LOL, look at some of these comments, did he just use a "find and replace" or does he have an affection for "little engine that could" point guards....oh well, at least he didn't talk about his "sleepy chocolate brown peepers", like Fran....
Yeah, that lineup would be awsome, except I dont see Howard pounding the boards. We need a decent back up C too.
Justice, give up the basketball and just stick to baseball. Article sounded like it was written by a high schooler. Just last week he said Fisher would get a max contract.
Hmm, where is this idea that Fisher is a great defender coming from? Everyone in the media is harping on this. Have they forgotten how many times the Lakers will killed by the opposing point guard with Fisher as their starter?
well if justice wants him this bad i'd as soon go with barry or hudson. justice is a moron. actually i'd just go with the cheaper of the 3 since they all bring different qualities. i have such faith in jvg's defensive coaching ability that it might be best to just find the best shooter/distributor and have him molded into the team defensive concept. hmm, barry maybe?
Alright seriously. Was I the only one who watched the playoffs this year? Fisher is on the downside of his career now. What we don't need is to offer him a nice contract, have him play mediocre next season and suck the year after that, and we are left with more dead money on our hands. If he wants to play cheap, fine. If he wants the full MLE, I'd tell him to enjoy playing for the Jazz.
if the chronicle is suggesting it then i know my opinion that Fisher is not a good choice is correct. say no to Fisher.
Fisher got torched repeatedly by opposing PGs in the playoffs. Could not beat out a rather ineffective Gary Payton for minutes or the starting position. Is not really that good at anything. Not horrible either, but not good. Average defender. Average shooter. Average ball handler. There are about 20 or more PGs that are better than him.
Fisher was one of the Main Reasons The lakers got Slaughterd!. if anyone watched how Billups Abuse Fisher left and right they would know what i mean. Bilups had a Field day with fisher!.Personaly i much rather Have Arroyo or Barry!
Barry and Arroyo are even worse defenders than Fisher..and Fish jus tstruggles when he gets no help from the pick and roll..one on one he isn't a bad defender and he can pass the ball to the bi man and hit the open shot
Maybe, but His Really Undersized. I'm not disputing his passing abelity, i'm just worried about his lack of Size.
Sooo.....Richard Justice is still allowed to write about basketball? What did he recently write about some scrub going for a maxed out contract?!
i realize the knee-jerk reaction is to disagree with anything richard justice writes...but i thought this was his best column in weeks. i tend to agree with it. we've been short on playoff experience for quite some time, and the T-Mac trade doesn't help that. having a stable point guard setting up an offense for Yao and T-Mac sounds nice to me.
Fisher is a good defender. The reason why he gets "torched" is because the Lakers are horrible at defending the pick and roll. Opposing quards always utilize this strategy to get Shaq out of the lane and go right around him. Either that, or Fisher gets no help at all when he runs into a pick. In JVG's defense system, Fisher will fit right in.
The problem with Fisher is that he can't hit the open shot. No Fisher. Munco - Put me down for an Anti-Fisher...
Fisher can hit the open shot. That's the major point of acquiring him. He is streaky. But so is Kobe. I watch the Lakers a lot. Fisher specializes in putting the dagger into the opponents back by hitting those wide open 3s. And those who say Fisher got burned by opposing PGs don't really understand the Lakers. They always get burned by the PnR no matter who is playing PG. Gary Payton didn't just suddenly get old and suck at playing D. Yes, Payton lost a step or two. But it's no accident that the Glove's defense took a nose dive after he came to LA. It's the system. Fisher is a good defender. He is very quick-footed. He defends with his feet and body, which is the right way. I hate his flopping. But you have to be a good positional defender to be a good flopper. I usually don't like Richard Justice's takes. But I agree that Fisher is a good fit. One of my top two choices for our starting PG.
