When the Oklahoma City Thunder signed five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher late in the season, it added a veteran guard with oodles more NBA finals experience than the rest of the roster he was joining.
Whether Fisher can prepare his Thunder teammates for what they are about to face is another matter.
While the Miami Heat is returning to the finals for the second consecutive season, it will be an eye-opening experience for most of the Thunder's youthful players when Game 1 tips off Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Only Fisher, starting center Kendrick Perkins and backup Nazr Mohammed have made it this far before -- all winning titles with other teams.
But for all the leadership Fisher has provided since joining the Thunder in late March, he doesn't plan any lectures for the team's younger set, which includes three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant and All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook.
"With my experience, I've found it better to on some level allow guys to experience things for themselves in its natural state," Fisher said. "You can't always tell someone what they should feel or what they should be thinking as they get ready to go into what may be the biggest moment of their life or their career.
"I think it's important to allow people to be who they are and experience it the way they naturally would."
Seeking redemption for last year's finals loss to Dallas, the Heat should be aware of what's to come. The lion's share of the team is back from last season, and Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem were on the 2006 squad that won it all. LeBron James will be making his third finals appearance, including one with Cleveland.
"It's been a long 12 months. But obviously when you lose in the finals, it hurts," Wade said. "And you have to come into the season, you have to forget it. But you can't forget in a sense. So you play and you try to get back to this moment again, so you can in a sense redeem yourself or in a sense put yourself in that position again to succeed."
No comments:
Post a Comment