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NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SUNS v LAKERS

May 29, 2010

Derek Fisher

PHOENIX, ARIZONA: Game Six

L.A. Â– 111
Phoenix - 103

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Derek Fisher.

Q. It seems like every night it was somebody different for you tonight. Tonight was Ron. Can you talk about that a little bit. Then talk about Kobe.
DEREK FISHER: Yeah. No, Ron was spectacular for us tonight. His offense really set a tone for us early. It's key to have more than just Kobe really being the guy attacking on the offensive end.
We couldn't have won this game without Ron's effort. Putting Kobe in a position to do the things he did late.
I've said it before. He's one of the very few guys that I've seen play myself that, you know, literally can will the ball in the basket. He has the ability to lock in on the rim. No matter what you do, the ball is still gonna go in. He hit a few of those shots tonight.

Q. What does it mean to get to go back to the finals and face the Celtics?
DEREK FISHER: Yeah, no, it means a great deal, not just for me, but for the team, for the organization, for the City of L.A. For all of our fans. You know, it takes a tremendous amount of effort and heartache and pain and injuries, you know, a lot of 2:00, 3:00 in the morning landing in another city, trying to do everything you can to get back to this position where you have a chance to win a title.
You know, we feel good about that part of the accomplishment. But, you know, we're still a long way away from really where we want to be, and that's champions.

Q. Early on in the season, not much was expected of the Suns. Can you talk about the team, the effort they gave.
DEREK FISHER: Well, I think they became the true essence of a team as the season went on. If I remember correctly, I think they got off to a good start, then went down a little bit. It seemed like as they got closer to the trade deadline, then after, once everybody knew they would be there, which happens on a team that has a lot of young guys, once everybody knows, I'm going to be here, you have a guy like Amar'e who wasn't sure about his future on a day-to-day basis, seems like once that was done, they turned the corner, became a team that played together, with a tremendous amount of energy and fight. I think Coach Gentry deserves a lot of credit for the mindset that this team started to play with as the season wound down.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about that second-quarter run. I believe you went on a 15 to 4 run, how it carried over to the third quarter.
DEREK FISHER: I think our bench guys really were a huge factor in that second quarter where we were able to get that separation. Our bench has been poked at a lot in this series and other series. You know, tonight guys like Jordan Farmar, Sasha, Lamar, came off the bench, did some really good things for us. That was key in this game tonight. To have the cushion we had to withstand the run that the home team made tonight, that was really key. Those guys off the bench deserve a lot of credit.

Q. The Celtics are obviously a really physical team defensively. Can you talk about the difference between what you saw from the Suns this series and what you can expect from the Celtics. Is that going to be a tough transition for you guys?
DEREK FISHER: From this team to the Celtics, it will be -- I don't know if it will be a tough transition, but it will definitely be different in terms after the first couple games really playing against a team that played zone defense the rest of the way. We understand that's what we gonna see theoretically. However, if you really break down the Celtics' defense, it's basically a zone defense.
So, you know, when we think about the teams we matched up against like Oklahoma City who fronted the post, were extremely athletic, great shot-blocking team, great in transition, then you go to the Jazz who passes the ball well, plays as a team, physical team. Then this team, a little bit different.
We feel like we're prepared basically. You know, we'll be ready to go Thursday evening.

Q. Two major differences you have from a couple years ago, Bynum kind of semi-healthy but available to you guys, then Ron in the lineup. Can you get a sense of how much difference that can make against the Celtics? Do you think the Celtics are back to who they were when you last saw them in 2008?
DEREK FISHER: Uhm, I don't know, man. You know, I don't know if it does us any good to compare ourselves or their team to the teams in '08. For ourselves, we know Andrew is an extremely important member of our team. The things he's able to do for us out there, even not being a hundred percent, are going to be huge in this series.
You know, we missed Trevor back in '08 as well. You know, so just having all of our guys available, even Andrew not being a hundred percent, we feel like will be something that is good for us.
We aren't looking at them and lining them up against the team in '08 and trying to figure out how they're not as good as they were then or how we're better. This is gonna be the 2010 finals. If we want to win it, we're going to have to work extremely hard and continue to make the sacrifices necessary.
Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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