Lakers' Fisher receives mixed reception

Coming into Friday night's Jazz-Lakers game, many wondered how the EnergySolutions Arena crowd would welcome Derek Fisher in his first game back as a reconverted Los Angeles Laker.

Including Fisher, who admitted to dealing with a few more pregame butterflies than usual.

"I have no idea to be honest," he said an hour before tipoff.

Would Utah Jazz fans give him an eardrum-damaging hero's welcome like Fisher got in the playoffs last May following his inspiring cross-country journey he made after spending time with his cancer- stricken baby girl?

Or would they treat him like a traitor who worked an offseason deal to get out of his Jazz contract and into a loathed Lakers uniform again?

The reaction, it turned out, was a bit of both. He didn't get quite as many boos as Jazz Fan Enemy No. 1, Kobe Bryant, but he didn't receive nearly as many cheers as his replacement in Utah's starting lineup, Ronnie Brewer.

And that was the warm part of his reception.

Again sporting a headband, which he couldn't do in his one year with the Jazz, the Lakers' starting point guard was loudly booed every time he touched the ball during Utah's 120-96 blowout win.

"To be honest with you I'm choosing not to really comment about the crowd reaction I guess," he said. "I'll take a bow and accept what happened, and that's about all the attention I want to give to it really."

Perhaps Utah fans should've cheered him when he had the ball. Fisher missed his first three attempts, ended up hitting just 1 of 8 shots and finished with only three points in his return to his short- lived home.

"Coming back to Salt Lake City," he said, "was definitely for me personally different and a little bit weird."

Despite the less-than-warm homecoming reception, Fisher still cherishes the memory of Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against Golden State.

After spending time with his 1-year-old daughter, Tatum, who was receiving treatment in New York for retinoblastoma (a rare form of childhood eye cancer) Fisher caught a plane to rejoin his team as soon as he could. When he finally made it to Utah after the long flight, he rushed to the arena and quickly entered the game, without even stretching, late in the third quarter with the Jazz holding a tenuous three-point lead.