In nine games with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Derek Fisher's numbers actually have been taken an even bigger dip in a dismal 16thNBA season. They still believe he'll make them better come playoff time, but they really could use him now.
By Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US Presswire
Derek Fisher might not be scoring a lot for the Thunder, but the team still knows he can bring a lot to the table down the stretch.
By Jayne Kamin-Oncea, US Presswire
Derek Fisher might not be scoring a lot for the Thunder, but the team still knows he can bring a lot to the table down the stretch.
Fisher only has averaged 2.7 points and shot 22.5% in playing 20.2 minutes per game with Oklahoma City since signing as a free agent last month and has gone scoreless in two of the last three games. They've lost all three for a season-long losing streak.
After Friday's 103-98 loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Thunder lost their grip on the No. 1 seed to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference.
"We looked at it as an opportunity to enhance our team on the floor and to our depth but also an avenue to accelerate our development in other ways as well," general manager Sam Presti told USA TODAY Sports about Fisher via text message earlier this week. "Derek's been a part of high performance teams throughout his career and we feel he will help us on the floor and in the areas that we have identified early in the year as important to the evolution of our team."
That means decision-making, particularly with guard Russell Westbrook and forward Kevin Durant, 23-year-old All-Stars who came unraveled in last season's playoffs when they advanced to the conference finals for the first time. In three losing the last three games of their series to the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, the Thunder fell by six points, seven in overtime and four. They were minus 15 in turnovers.
The Thunder are in a similar stretch right now. They're minus 21 in turnovers in their last three games, falling by five to the Pacers and Miami Heat and six to the Memphis Grizzlies. Westbrook is averaging four turnovers per game and shooting 21-for-65 (30.9%) in this losing stretch. Durant is averaging five turnovers.
They hope their stars acquire intangibles from Fisher, the 37-year-old president of the players union who won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, such as how he manages conflict, pressure situations during games and deals with teammates.
All of those intangibles, the Spurs have with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili who have won four NBA titles together since 1999.
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