Fisher displayed that ability during last year's NBA playoffs, and will do it again on a far less drastic scale this season.
With the Utah Jazz wrapping up their first-round series victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night, Fisher will be facing his former team in the Western Conference semifinals as the Lakers prepare to host the Jazz in game one of the seven-game series on Sunday at Staples Center.
"I think I will be able to manage the emotion that will be there because I know what my overall purpose is in terms of my responsibility to my team," Fisher said. "Outside of some of the normal emotion that you feel in the playoffs, and then obviously if it is the Jazz some of the personal emotion that will be there, it means so much to me to help this team win a championship that I feel like I will be able to keep myself in a place where winning four games will be all I will be focused on."
Fisher was a playoff hero for the Jazz last season as they made their run to the Western Conference finals. He balanced basketball with cross-country flights to New York to be with his daughter, Tatum, who was being treated for a rare form of eye cancer.
Fisher asked out of his contract with the Jazz during the summer so his family could be closer to specialists for Tatum. He signed with the Lakers, and was booed by Jazz fans during his return to EnergySolutions Arena in December.
The Lakers will play at least two games in Salt Lake during the series, but Fisher's teammates aren't concerned about Fisher being rattled.
"Derek is tough," Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. "I am not worried about that. I am not worried about that at all. He will handle it the right way and be a professional and when it is time to play he will be ready."
"He is one of the strongest individuals I have ever met as far as mentally being ready to play basketball," added Lakers forward Luke Walton. "He has been through a lot. He has won championships and I don't think that playing against Utah would affect his game at all."
rpotkey@sltrib.com
The matchup this season
LAKERS 119, JAZZ 109
Nov. 4, Staples Center
What happened: Kobe Bryant scores 33 points, Derek Fisher adds 19 and Andrew Bynum contributes 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench as the Lakers use a 38-point fourth quarter to rally past the Jazz.
Key play: The Lakers lead by seven midway through the fourth quarter when Bryant runs down Andrei Kirilenko in the open court and blocks his layup. Bryant scores six points in the next 4 1/2 minutes.
Key stats: The Lakers shoot 55.8 percent from the field, the Jazz make only three of their 14 three-point attempts and Fisher, who was 0-for-7 from the field in the first half, makes a career-high 13 free throws.
JAZZ 120, LAKERS 96
Nov. 30, ESA
What happened: The Jazz play without injured starters Carlos Boozer and Memo Okur, but Deron Williams scores a career-high 35 points and Andrei Kirilenko finishes with a 20-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.
Key play: After allowing 70 points in the first half, when the Jazz hit 29 of their 50 shots, the Lakers go on a 10-0 run and make it 87-70. But Williams draws Bryant's fourth foul and converts a three-point play.
Key stats: The Jazz finish with a 48-34 rebounding advantage. Paul Millsap, starting for Boozer, contributes 20 points. Derek Fisher scores three points.
LAKERS 123, JAZZ 109
Dec. 28, Staples Center
What happened: Despite sitting out the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant finishes with 31 points and seven assists. He makes 13 of 19 shots. Bryant scores 21 points in the first half, when the Lakers build a 75-48 lead.
Key play: Andrew Bynum leaves with two fouls early in the first quarter. Kwame Brown, playing for the first time in 20 games because of a sprained ankle, replaces him and sparks a 19-7 run that makes it 37-21.
Key stats: The Lakers shoot 54.4 percent and Bryant scores at least 30 points for the third straight game. The Jazz, playing their 10th game in 18 nights, trail by 34 points midway through the third quarter.
LAKERS 106, JAZZ 95
March 20, ESA
What happened: Kobe Bryant scores 27 points while Lamar Odom contributes 21 points as the Lakers build a 38-18 lead at the end of the first quarter and snap the Jazz's 19-game homecourt winning streak.
Key play: Carlos Boozer's jumper makes it 94-84 with 4:32 remaining. But Bryant buries a 20-footer. After Deron Williams hits three free throws and trims the deficit to 96-87, Bryant's dunk stops the rally.
Key stats: The Lakers, playing without injured Pau Gasol, made 15 of their first 20 shots. Odom finishes the first quarter with 10 points and five rebounds. The Jazz lose at home for the first time since Dec. 29.
