Derek's plan

Derek Fisher has picked up more than a few tricks in his 12 seasons in the league. How to take charges without completely selling out his body, how to draw fouls or lead a team. But this summer he picked something new up.

After the Lakers long, deep playoff run, and with his odometer sitting at age 34, Fisher knew he needed a different approach to his offseason training. Going full-out, six days a week was going to be pushing it.

Instead, he went hard four days a week, then rested and recovered the other three. The results were fantastic.

``It was actually probably my best summer, if not the best in terms of how my body felt overall,'' Fisher said. ``I didn't feel weak or run down or anything.

``The biggest difference is the way I approached my training. I used to feel like I had to go hard, 5-6 days a week. Now I just make it four days and take three days off.

``I try to convince Phil to approach my usage in practice that way, to practice a few days then have a few days off, but it's not quite working that way yet.''