Derek Fisher was part of five Los Angeles Lakers championship teams and played in two other Finals for the Purple and Gold—in 2004 and 2008. If he had to choose between the two, the veteran point guard considers the 2008 series the one that got away. After all, the Lakers had a chance to even the series up, 2-2, in Game 4, but Phil Jackson's rotational choices turned the tide in favor of the Boston Celtics.
Fish outlined the sequences of that game on Byron Scott's 'Fast Break' podcast. It was all about matchups, and the Lakers unfortunately got the short end of the stick.
"Phil Jackson decided that Jordan Farmar was going to be the Eddie House matchup," said Fisher. "So in that third quarter we were up 15, they make a substitution early. Eddie House comes in, I go out, Jordan Farmar comes in. The next time I got in the game we were down 4. So, that's a -19."
"As I'm sitting there, I'm not… Where I'm from, you're not gonna go to the coach or go check in the game yourself. Kob could have done that, but I couldn't. I couldn't just check myself into the game," added the 50-year-old NBA vet.
Ultimately, the Lakers couldn't recover. They squandered a 21-point lead and dug themselves a 3-1 hole they never got out of.
What really happened
Game 4 of that Lakers-Celtics NBA Finals matchup was on June 12, 2008. Since it was over 16 years ago, the Little Rock, Arkansas native understandably forgot some details.
For instance, Jackson did not immediately sub Farmar in for Fisher as soon as Doc Rivers tapped Eddie House. House entered with 7:05 remaining in the third for Rajon Rondo, with the Lakers up 20, 68-48. Fish came out at 2:58 in the same quarter in favor of Farmar as Boston chipped away at the lead, 61-72.
Then, he returned with only 2:10 left in the fourth; at that point, the Celtics had turned the tables on their archrivals. Boston was already up by five, not four, 88-83. Therefore, it wasn't a 19-point turnaround, but the team was -16 in those Farmar minutes that bridged the third and fourth quarters.
Nevertheless, the 1996 first-round pick was accurate in many aspects. His veteran smarts would have made a difference against an equally experienced Celtics squad. Fish was hot during that game, making 4 out of 5 shot attempts, and was one of two Lakers starters with a positive +/-.
However, there was no way to tell if he could've ultimately prevented a defeat. Kobe Bryant was struggling in that game, missing 13 of 19 shots. The Lakers were without Andrew Bynum, so they couldn't match up with the Celtics' frontcourt size. Los Angeles lost to the better team that night and, ultimately, the series.
Related: Shaq on the difference between Pat Riley and Phil Jackson: “In the long run, if you have a little more humor, you can get more done”
Sweet revenge
The Lakers returned in the NBA Finals in 2009 and won 4-1 against the Orlando Magic. Ironically, Fisher's heroics turned a potential Game 4 defeat into a resounding victory. The lefty point guard drilled a deep three to force the extra five minutes, and another one in OT gave the Purple and Gold a three-point lead that they never relinquished.
However, the 2008 defeat still left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The Lakers and Celtics' paths crossed again in 2010, and, as expected, it turned out to be a dogfight. Fish did his best statistical work in Game 3, scoring 16 points, including a clutch and one layup that preserved an L.A. win.
Fisher provided another clutch moment in the winner-take-all Game 7. The veteran made a crucial three-pointer to tie the game, 64-all, off a Pau Gasol pass. Interestingly, the Lakers were never behind after that basket, as they toughed out an 83-79 victory. Most importantly, Phil never made the mistake of sitting one of the best clutch role players for too long again.
Related: D-Fish on why he doesn't have anything against load management: "If we get a chance to watch Curry play for three more years, I am on board with that"
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