OKLAHOMA CITY – Veteran guard Derek Fisher and coach Scott Brooks know when to take control of the Oklahoma City Thunder and when to let go.
Richard Rowe, US Presswire
Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Derek Fisher speaks to Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks during the second quarter against Los Angeles Clippers.
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Fisher, 37, a five-time NBA champion acquired by the team in March, has no issue taking and hitting clutch shots during his limited minutes on the floor, as he did in the closing period of Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs. But he says he won't force any of his wisdoms on a team of 20-somethings, most experiencing the Finals for the first time.
Brooks, 46, is hands-on during practice and authoritative on the bench but obliged when star forward Kevin Durantsaid he wanted to play all of Game 6, which ended in the series-clinching victory against the Spurs that got the Thunder to the Finals.
Plus, the coach knows that "long practices suck," as Fisher puts it.
"He knows what he needs to do and, more importantly, what he doesn't need to do," Fisher says. "He doesn't need to try and over-coach and over-analyze every single situation. Being a former player has helped him to recall and remember how it felt on certain days, in between games."
Brooks, who played for six NBA teams from 1988 to 1998, and Fisher, in his 16th season, crossed paths in the late 1990s when the two were dueling point guards. Brooks was on the downside of a career spent almost entirely in backup roles, and Fisher was starting to make a name for himself with the Los Angeles Lakers.
"We got after each other a little bit. It was a scrap," Fisher says of playing against Brooks. "You had to compete hard. There wasn't anything that was going to come easy. I was a young guy, so of course he was trying to get after me, and I didn't know any better and I was trying to get after him.
"Same thing he tries to instill in the guys now: playing with toughness, playing with passion and playing for each other."
Brooks has praised Fisher during the playoffs for his clutch contributions and team-first attitude. Fisher has averaged 21.2 minutes and 6.5 points in 15 playoff games, but Brooks says Fisher's value rarely is measured in statistics.
Fisher didn't offer any dramatic pregame speeches as the Thunder pulled off four consecutive victories against a Spurs team that had won 20 in a row. His intangible contribution is an understated one that is easy to overlook, Brooks says.
"The guy is a winner," Brooks says. "You can never take that away from him. If he misses a shot, it doesn't matter. The guy still wins games for us. I don't look at him as, 'If he made a shot, he helped us; if he misses a shot, he does not help us.' He's helped us in more ways than I probably realize. You're always going to have things that he's talked to these guys about, shared with them, and it's going to last for their entire career."
Fisher is careful about when to approach players with advice, yet as Brooks says, "He's been in every situation this league can present a player."
Only 14 teams had rallied from down 2-0 to win an NBA playoff series before the Thunder did it last week. Fisher was a member of the Lakers team that did it against the Spurs in 2004. This time, Fisher didn't have to hit any last-second game-winners.
Durant did most of the heavy lifting in earning the franchise's first trip to the Finals since the relocation to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008. He says the experience of Fisher and former Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins has been critical during the playoff run.
"Those guys have been through it. This is our first go-round. They bring a lot of poise, especially late in games," Durant says.
Says Fisher: "I've found it better to allow guys to experience things for themselves. You can't always try to tell someone what they should feel or what they should be thinking, because they're getting ready to go into what may be the biggest moment of their life or their career.
"It's important to allow people to be who they are and experience it the way they naturally would. And then, as they settle in and things smooth out, you can offer suggestions."
Fisher downplayed the criticism of Brooks as the Thunder fell behind the Spurs with two losses in San Antonio. Oklahoma City eventually won a marathon of shuffling individual matchups, and suddenly the coach who didn't consider himself to be in the class of the Spurs' Gregg Popovich had an army of supporters.
"It's become part of our business these days," Fisher says of the outside noise. "The smart (coaches) just kind of respect it but tune it out and keep at it. And I think that's what Scotty has done and will continue to do, which is just focus on coaching the team and let everybody else have their opinions and discussions."
Fisher won his last championship with the Lakers in 2010. Brooks won a ring in 1994 as a member of the Houston Rockets but was traded to the Dallas Mavericks the next season. Now each point guard has a shot at another title in a new uniform, with Fisher wearing blue in lieu of gold, and Brooks sporting a tie instead of shorts.
Who's shoes would Brooks rather be in?
"When you're a kid you dream about playing in the NBA Finals. You don't dream about coaching in the NBA Finals," Brooks says, laughing. "It's always better to play. It's always better. You play 48 minutes, you lose, you can blame it on the coach.
"They both are rewarding. Being able to coach the group of guys that we have — I feel very privileged."
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