"I feel as close to these guys as I do with guys that I've played years with, in terms of knowing who they are beyond just our accomplishments on the court," he said. "I feel like I really know who these guys are. I know their wives, I know their children. We went over to each other's houses and had dinners, and shared special moments. Those are things that will never be replaced, no matter how much basketball we play."

All that, in seven months.

How can it be?

"Because it's such a small community when you compare it to other major cities, I think you're able to take advantage of living close," Fisher said. "Here in Los Angeles — or in New York City, or Chicago — guys are living 40, 50 minutes, an hour, away from each other. Our teams that I was on in L.A. before — we hardly ever saw each other in-between the games.

"Because once Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) went to his house and I went to my house and Rick Fox went to his house, nobody was coming back out after that. I mean, traffic gets horrible. So, being in Salt Lake City last year was enjoyable in terms of being able to call each other and say, 'Hey, you want to come over and have a bite to eat?'

"There were nights after games Masha Kirilenko would have some food prepared and we'd all go over to Andrei's house and have dinner and eat and talk and watch the other playoff games. I think that's how we all grew together."

Then there's Sloan's system.

"It was a style of play (in which) you have to play together, and share the ball, and be good teammates, and be respectful to each other," Fisher said. "So I think on and off the court it was just a good environment for a team to be close."

· · · · ·

May 5, 2008

The update, as of Monday:

"Medically, Tatum is doing great," Fisher said. "We continue to, obviously, watch very closely. But for intents and purposes ... doctors feel there's no cancer cells, or a threat to her life.

"The tumor's still there, because of the treatment we chose, which allows her to keep her eye. So as long as the tumor's there, there's always a chance of the cancer coming back. That's why we have to watch so closely."

Tatum's Los Angeles doctor is an ex-colleague of her surgeon, which Fisher said "really gave us the confidence that, 'OK, if we can't be in New York, this is the guy we want to see.' "

"The tumor in the eye she experienced — they start like a pin mark on a paper. That small," he said. "So if you aren't watching closely, and if you're not dealing with doctors and medical people that have seen this for 25 or 30 years, and know exactly what to look for, you could miss something. We never want that to happen again.

"But she's doing great, and prayers and support and love have been tremendous. I don't know what more we can ask for, as a family."

Inform Fisher that Friday, when the Jazz and Lakers meet for Game 3 in Utah, is the anniversary, and tears well, words slow.

"It was life in a day, to feel the threat of losing something that you love so dearly, to then being able to go out and do something that you love so dearly, the game of basketball," he said. "To juggle those in the same day was truly remarkable. And I still don't accept all the credit myself. You know, I'm definitely a man of faith. Not a perfect man, at all. But I definitely believe I was being touched and watched over that day."

---

E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com