Comments on: By adding 38-year-old Derek Fisher, OKC goes from 6th youngest roster to 14th

By: New Daily Thunder.com Wednesday Bolts – 2.27.13 | New Daily Thunder.com

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:25:58 +0000

[...] John Rohde: “At the beginning of this season, the Thunder had the NBA’s sixth youngest roster with an average age of 25 years and 38 days. With Eric Maynor (25 years old) traded to Portland and the acquisitions of Derek Fisher (38) and Ronnie Brewer (27), the Thunder now has the 14th youngest roster with an average age of 26 years, 163 days.” [...]

By: Todd

Todd — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:24:43 +0000

Welcome back to the Fish man. Glad to have him, although I suspect he’ll be used mostly in certain situations this year, as opposed to last, and probably not usually see floor-time quite as much. But, we’ll see.

Fisher as part of OKC’s coaching staff in the future? Yeah, I can see that. In fact, I can see Fisher on a coaching staff somewhere, period, whether with OKC or somewhere else. Maybe he could be Kobe’s coach next year. (Kidding. I think.)

I also see where Dallas is pretty miffed at Fisher’s decision to join OKC after leaving them in December. I see their point, but I guess they’ll just have to deal with it.

By: Wilson

Wilson — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:56:41 +0000

NBA Power Rankings: Spurs feeling the Heat?
By Marc Spears-Yahoo expert

Hey San Antonio, here comes LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

The San Antonio Spurs remain atop the Yahoo! Sports NBA rankings for the fifth consecutive week, but are now getting some heat from the Heat. Miami has won 11 straight games and has not lost since Feb. 1 against the Indiana Pacers. San Antonio, however, has won eight of its past 10 games and has a light schedule ahead.

Records are through Monday.

1. San Antonio Spurs (45-13, previous ranking: first): Tony Parker’s absence is expected to last just one game, with a likely return from a right arm injury Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. And yes, Parker is an MVP candidate.

2. Miami Heat (40-14, previous ranking: fourth): Assuming both win their next game, the Heat will put their 12-game winning streak on the line Friday at home against the Memphis Grizzlies’ eight-game streak.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (41-15, previous ranking: second): The Thunder brought a needed veteran presence back by re-signing free agent Derek Fisher. Fisher could be a strong mentor for guard Reggie Jackson, who is still trying to prove himself.

4. Los Angeles Clippers (40-18, previous ranking: third): An NBA source said a possible trade sending Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles from the Boston Celtics for guard Eric Bledsoe and center DeAndre Jordan was “closer to happening than people think.”

5. Memphis Grizzlies (37-18, previous ranking: fifth): Guard Michael Conley is now the Grizzlies’ all-time leader in steals with 642 in 411 career games. So whose record did Conley break? That of Rudy Gay, who recently was traded to the Toronto Raptors.

6. Indiana Pacers (35-21, previous ranking: eighth): Did you know the Pacers have the NBA’s best defense, allowing just 89.4 points per game, and the Grizzlies are second at 89.6? The Pacers host the high-scoring Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

7. Denver Nuggets (36-22, previous ranking: seventh): Denver appeared poised to challenge for the fourth seed in the West about 10 days ago, but Memphis now has a 2½-game lead over the Nuggets. A Memphis-Denver first-round matchup is intriguing.

8. New York Knicks (33-20, previous ranking: sixth): New Knicks forward Kenyon Martin could make his season debut Wednesday against Golden State. New York, 19th in the NBA in defense, is in need of Martin’s defense and intensity.

9. Golden State Warriors (33-23, previous ranking: 11th): Center Andrew Bogut is expected to miss his third straight game Tuesday at Indiana because of a disc protrusion that is causing back spasms. The Warriors are 27-17 without Bogut this season.

10. Brooklyn Nets (33-24, previous ranking: ninth): Quietly, the Knicks and the Nets are in a battle for the Atlantic Division title with the former owning a two-game lead. Unfortunately, the Knicks-Nets four-game season series is already over. C’mon, NBA.

11. Atlanta Hawks (32-23, previous ranking: 12th): Hawks forward Al Horford had the third 20-20 game of his career with 23 points and a career-high-tying 22 rebounds in a win at Detroit on Monday night. The Hawks have won three straight.

12. Chicago Bulls (32-24, previous ranking: 10th): Yahoo! Sports NBA analyst Greg Anthony said injured Bulls guard Derrick Rose (knee) could make his season debut as early as Thursday against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers.

13. Houston Rockets (31-27, previous ranking: 14th): Coach Kevin McHale, arguably the greatest post player in NBA history, worked with new forward Thomas Robinson on his post game after Monday’s practice. Robinson could debut Wednesday versus Milwaukee.

14. Boston Celtics (30-27, previous ranking: 15th): Kudos to the road-weary Celtics for playing their fifth road game in seven days, an overtime win over the Utah Jazz on Monday. Boston will not play again until Friday against the visiting Warriors.

15. Utah Jazz (31-26, previous ranking: 13th): The trade deadline passed with big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap staying put despite their pending free agency this summer. Both are expected to generate strong interest.

16. Los Angeles Lakers (28-30, previous ranking: 17th): If the Lakers defeat the visiting Timberwolves on Thursday and take care of business at home against Atlanta on Sunday, Los Angeles would finally bring its record to .500.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:48:06 +0000

The Thunder got to like Fisher’s demeanor on the court and off. Could it be a permanent position for Fish if he retires with the Thunder’s coaching job?
Surely Presti thinks so, if not he wouldn’t have hired him, plus he played a good game with the team last finals and probably knows why the team did not become champions. Maybe he knows something that the coaches have ignored. There’s always a chance to be player-coach, could it be a start of something cooking here?

By: Monte

Monte — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:43:22 +0000

Five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher isn’t planning on his latest stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder being his last chance to play in the league. He still understands that it could be.

Fisher went through his first practice with the Thunder on Tuesday after signing with Oklahoma City for the stretch run for the second straight season. He asked Dallas to waive him earlier this season so he could spend time with his family.

Fisher says he’s ”not planning on retiring at the end of the season,” but his family agreed that he deserved the opportunity to play with the Thunder in case this ends up being his last chance.

Coach Scott Brooks wouldn’t say if Fisher will be activated for Wednesday night’s game against New Orleans.

Jeff Latzke-AP sportswriter

By: Jay

Jay — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:35:30 +0000

The team needs experience players who had been to the championship and won. A young team often stumbles due to the lack thereof, so with going to 14th ain’t that bad, as long as the coach knows what to do with his assets!

Its mostly the coach who answers the win-lost of his team, if he hasn’t figured it out his weaknesses and use the strength to their advantage.