Derek Fisher's Big Night

What could you do in 34 minutes of court time in an NBA game? Statistically, you couldn't do any less than Derek Fisher managed in last night's overtime win over Rockets. Not one point, not one assist, and not one rebound. 34 minutes. That is pretty hard to do, you'd think a ball would ricochet your way off a crazy bounce and into your lap at some point or you'd swing the ball to someone who will make a shot. In fact, Fisher became the first player since 1986 (at least, that's as far as I can go back) to play 34 minutes without recording a single point, rebound or assist. Only 3 other players, Theo Ratliff, Bruce Bowen and Morris Peterson have played 25 or more minutes without getting in the box score. But hey, those guys never hit the shots Fisher has consistently hit throughout his career, so Laker fans will take it as long as he comes through like he did in the Finals last season.

How about JJ Barea flopping like a rag doll down the stretch last night? It was a thing of poetic justice as the 94% free throw shooter missed both freebies following his bush league tactics. I don't think any basketball fan watching the game without a vested interest wanted to see those shots go down. Not saying the Hornets deserved to win the game, but they didn't deserve to lose it on that junk.

Quick, who has played the most minutes so far for the Orlando Magic? If you guessed Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis (where have you been?) or their new marksman Ryan Anderson, you would be incorrect. That's right, the much maligned JJ Redick has played the most minutes on the team and has taken advantage of his minutes with Carter and Mickael Pietrus in and out of the lineup with a sprained ankle and flu-like symptoms respectively. Redick is putting in over 14 points a night while connecting on 45% of his shots from the floor and 13-25 (52%) from beyond the arc. The biggest misnomer though is that Redick is just a shooter. He has bulked up and expanded his game dramatically since leaving Duke and joining the Magic. Redick is a capable ball handler and playmaker off the dribble as well as an adequate perimeter defender. While he won't lead the Eastern Conference Champs in minutes all year, it does speak to the improvements he's made and he will stay in the rotation all year.

Speaking of the Magic, and minutes played (or lackthereof in Dwight Howard's case), what is the over/under on games played before Howard is suspended for exceeding the league's technical foul threshold? He's already has 3 in 5 games, and between himself, Stan Van Gundy and Patrick Ewing, someone is in the ref's ear after every single play that he's involved in. He's turned into the modern day Shaq -- impossible to officiate because he's so big and so strong. He needs to play his game and pick his battles with the officials.