ACROSS THE POND - LAKERS GO THREE UP
06/12/2009
 The Los Angeles Lakers take control of the 2009 NBA Finals with a gutsy 99-91 win over the Orlando Magic in a pivotal Game 4 at Orlando.
By Terry Lyons.
ORLANDO - Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express News had the foresight to write a great story yesterday morning, June 11th, 2009., from his humble abode in Texas, a place he calls the "Tater-Dome."
Monroe thought about the title and honor of "most dominant NBA player of the decade" and he posed the question to a few NBA experts who were lucky enough to witness all the big games of the past 10+ years and people who really knew the players he put forth in his three-person 'playoff'' for the NBA star who made the most impact during the past 10+ years.
Kobe, Shaq or Duncan asked Monroe?
I can say that I was honored to be among the NBA gurus that he polled as he was doing his research. He also asked Steve Kerr, the overmatched GM of the Phoenix Suns, who carried Michael Jordan's bags for four years, as he spotted up on the three-point line while Tim Duncan dominated the paint in San Antonio for a couple of years. Of course, giving credit where credit is warranted, Kerr did hit a couple big shots throughout the decade, earning himself a championship ring in the 1997 NBA Finals when he drained a shot off a Jordan pass with six seconds remaining to defeat the Utah Jazz..
When I was asked to choose between the three players, I defaulted to an answer that Celtics great Bill Russell explained quite eloquently when he was asked who the best NBA players of all-time were during the NBA at 50 celebration.
"There are a lot of ties," said Russ. "How can you possibly say that Oscar Roberston was better than Jerry West or that West was better than Sam Jones or Jones was better than Walt Frazier and so on, describing just a handful of the NBA's greatest guards, never mind centers like Chamberlain, O'Neal or himself."
So, who is the player of the decade? Is it Kobe, Shaq, Timmy Duncan or do you prefer to nominate another?
Yes, another! As the actual answer might be: Derek Fisher!
"He's very persistent," said LA Coach Phil Jackson. "He's just a dogged player. He's not blessed with great speed. He's a good athlete but he's not spectacularly fast. But, he has a certain sense about him. He knows what's going on on the floor and can organize a team.
"It's character. We've always said the character has got to be in players if they're going to be great players. You just can't draft it. It's not about talent, it's about character and he's a person of high character. He brings that to play, not only in his gamesmanship but also in his intestinal fortitude," said Jackson.
Where did it rank in Derek Fisher's personal experience?
"Well, it's number 100, 101, maybe," joked Fisher in the NBA Finals press conference room a few minutes after he won Game 4 and put the Lakers in control 3-games-to-1.
"I don't compare myself to Robert Horry," said Fisher when he was asked to compare his career to that of another role player who had a reputation of hitting very big shots in many an NBA Playoff game.
Fisher was selected by the LA Lakers in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft, the 24th overall pick of that draft. He is currently in his 13th season of NBA basketball after playing his first eight years with the Lakers, then taking a free agent route to Golden State for two years and Utah for a season (2006-07). Fisher re-signed with the Lakers as a free agent on July 20, 2007 after a much publicized personal decision to move to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City to better serve his young daughter who had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancerous tumor in her left eye.
"I gained so much respect for him," said Kobe Bryant when he was asked about his relationship with Fisher over the decade with the Lakers. "He's been there before. He's been there and done that. We teased him a little bit in the locker room, because he was 0-for-5 before he hit the two big shots. He has supreme confidence and those shots at the end of the game were easy for him."
Fisher finished the game with an impressive statistical line of 12 points and four rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting, playing 42 minutes of time. He was one of four Lakers to log 40+ minutes in the pivotal game in the series.
Terry Lyons, Contributor
A former communications and media executive at the NBA, Terry has behind-the-scenes knowledge that few others could boast. His vast experience, contacts list and knowledge of the game make him a star asset to 24/7's writing team.
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