Defending Fisher

Coach Phil Jackson said today he admires some of the elite point guards around the NBA, including Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. He said he believes they have great gifts in their ability to control the pace of the game and still manage to score as well as they do. He said all that as a preface to defending Lakers point guard Derek Fisher, whose role is a good deal different in directing the triangle offense.

"All these guys are dynamic point guards who can speed up the game and also score," Jackson said. "This offense (the triangle) doesn't require that, it requires the point guard to be a quarterback of sorts, but he doesn't have to score the touchdowns."

That's Kobe Bryant's job and that's why Jackson sticks with Fisher.