The NBA Finals always has those players that show up when they're needed the most. They provide that spark for their team or they take it upon themselves to make sure their team goes on to victory.
Saying that, you would think I'm talking about a guy like Kobe Bryant. Instead, I'm talking about two different guys that are keys for the Lakers to win their 17th championship.
The two I'm referring to are Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher.
Sure, we can sit here all day and talk about how Kobe Bryant is the biggest key for the Lakers, and while that may be true, if it wasn't for Derek Fisher the Lakers would be staring at a two-games-to-one deficit heading in to Game Four on Thursday night.
Instead, it's the Lakers that are currently in the driver's seat, and they are the ones that have the two-to-one advantage.
Fisher took the Lakers on his back and gave a tremendous fourth-quarter effort to put his team over the top in a 91-84 Game Three victory.
This isn't the first time Fisher has come up huge for the Lakers. He's been part of three NBA championships—all with the Lakers, all with Kobe Bryant. He's hit clutch threes, he's had key steals, and he's come up with key defensive stops. He does whatever is needed at the exact right time.
So, headed in to Game Four in Boston, the Lakers once again will need their veteran point guard to have another good outing if they're going to really put this series out of reach. But he's not the only one that is a key to putting this series away.
Pau Gasol needs to come up bigger than he ever has before.
Gasol was part of the 2009 NBA Championship team, and he was also on the team when the Boston Celtics were the ones celebrating. He knows what it takes to win and he also knows what it feels li...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
