The loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, especially after building an early 22-9 lead, left a sour taste in the mouths of Lakers fans, but the week still featured some highlights. The top highlight was delivered by none other than Derek Fisher, and as a result he was awarded the team player of the week by the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll. Fisher hit a running bank shot as time expired on Wednesday night against the Clippers, turning a one-point deficit into an 87-86 Lakers victory.
↵Fisher averaged just seven points per game, and made just 32% of his field goal attempts (eight for 25), but his game winner vaulted him to the top of the list. As wandahbap noted, "What can I say? I'm a sucker for buzzer beating game winning shots." Since the Elias Sports Bureau began tracking game-winning baskets in 2000-2001, Fisher has hit five game winners, although only two have come with the Lakers. In addition to the shot on Wednesday, Fisher also beat the Spurs in the playoffs in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals in 2004 (the 0.4-second shot).
↵Fisher also now has the longest active games played streak in the NBA. He has played in a league-high 436 straight games, and has also started an NBA-best 314 games in a row. It would be boring to keep giving the award each week to usual suspects Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, or Lamar Odom, but just for fun let's see how that trio performed:
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Kobe: 26.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 49.2% field goals, 34.5 minutes
↵ - Gasol: 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 43.5% field goals, 42.5 minutes ↵
- Odom: 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 56.3% field goals, 35.5 minutes ↵
The Lakers were 2-1 on the week, defeating Washington and the Clippers at Staples Center, and losing to the Bulls on the road. The Lakers are in the middle of a seven-game road trip that will take them next to New Jersey, where they will face the Nets on Sunday morning.
↵For more Lakers news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.