During training camp, Fisher told me that he saw his job, in part, as one of teaching the Lakers how to play with Kobe.  It can be tough, he said, to run with a star of his drive and high expectations.  "Kobe's a dominant basketball player, he's a dominant personality.  You have to understand those things and still feel good about who you are as a player, and feel comfortable about going out there and doing the things you need to do," he said.  "You still have your space.  And that's what he expects from you as a teammate.  He doesn't expect you to bend to his pressure.  He needs you."  Easier said than done, but Fish could lead by example. 

Certainly having him around during the three ring media circus that was training camp and the early weeks of the season, with the constant trade talk and endless rumors, was invaluable.  As the season went on, Fisher continued to provide leadership on and off the floor, a role that continued into the playoffs.

That Fisher could deliver the intangibles was a given.  A larger question heading into the year was how much his play- his actual on-court production- would benefit the team.  Remember, Fisher wasn't a top shelf starting point guard during his first stint in LA.  Solid, but no superstar.  Now three years later and into his 30s, some wondered how much impact have, and whether it would be enough.  Again, Fish delivered.  While he was no Chris Paul, Fish did what was expected of him, and (depending on your POV) perhaps more, registering career or near career highs in field goal percentage (43.6%), three point shooting (40.6%), free throws (88.3%), and scoring (11.7 ppg). 

Defensively, while Fish would sometimes have trouble sticking quicker guards, he certainly constituted an improvement over Parker. 

Like many supporting players, night to night Fisher's production would vary.  He'd occasionally go cold from the floor (not surprising, since he's never been known as a true knock-down gunner), and suffered through a miserable February shooting slump.  But breaking down his splits, it's clear that he was able to provide solid and steady production over all 82 games of the regular season.  In the playoffs, Fish shot 45% from the floor, including 44% from downtown, while averaging just over 10 points a game.  He struggled against Tony Parker and the Spurs, and like everyone else on the Lakers, wasn't able to exert his will against the Celtics, but overall played reasonably well in the postseason, especially when considering he was playing through a painful injury to his foot. 

In the end, what Derek Fisher gave the Lakers this season isn't easily calculated simply by examining the stat sheet.  But had his contributions stopped merely with leadership, it's easy to question if the Lakers would have made the run that they did.  Relative to the rest of his career, especially, Fisher played well. Whether he's able to sustain it over the rest of his deal remains to be seen, but the Lakers certainly got their money's worth this year.

Grade: B+

BK