Advertisement

Ted Green: The Fish That Saved Los Angeles

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Say, Derek Fisher, now that you’ve won the NBA title for the Lakers, where ya goin’?

He’s going to Disney World for Game 5!

Some of you aren’t old enough to remember a funky old ‘70s movie named “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.” Derek is now the Fish That Saved Los Angeles … and also saved Kobe Bryant from a pressure cooker 2-2 tie that could have ultimately defined Kobe’s career in a way he would not have liked had the Lakers lost the championship.

Now, though, the man who put Point-4 in Lakers lore added two more Shots to Remember to his expanding resume: One pullup triple from an unfavorable angle to send Game 4 to overtime, now known as 4-Point-3. And then another dagger from the top of the circle, shot directly into the heart of the Magic, effectively winning it in overtime.

Advertisement

Now Kobe, the Black Mamba...or Kobe Python and his Holy Grail, as I like to call his obsessive quest for a Shaq-less ring, is going to get the validation he so desperately seeks.

Thanks, Fish, you’re the man.

Amazing, considering many Lakers fans - -let‘s be honest here -- myself included -- were openly wondering if Father Time hadn‘t caught Fish from behind. As Mark Jackson says, the old man IS undefeated.

Fish, the thinking went, was too old at 34, too slow, too unable to stay in front of speedy young point guards like the Rockets‘ Aaron Brooks. And his famously reliable jump shot, the pretty lefty rainbow with the extra high arc, was out to lunch and headed for the back of a milk carton.

Ah, but when everyone was ready to kick the Lakers’ old man to the curb, toss him from the starting lineup, go with Jordan Farmar or Shannon Brown, not only did Phil Jackson refuse to listen, he UPPED Fish’s minutes, trusting him even more, if such a thing were even possible. Understand, Phil Jackson LOVES Fisher. And today, that is why he is Phil Jackson with nine rings going on 10, and you and I are, well, you and I.

And so as Fish was draining those two humongous triples that figure to stand as the turning points in the 2009 NBA Finals, my first thought was a question. Actually two:

First, how big does your heart (actually, I was thinking of another word) have to be to shoot those two shots when you’re 0 for 5 from distance on the night? Obviously, you know the answer.

And second, is Derek Fisher a Hall of Fame player?

Check the three (soon to be four) rings, the six appearances in NBA Finals and his shooting stats in those big-stage performances, and you’ll see it’s hard to argue that he’s not. But that discussion is for later on.

Advertisement

For now, today, D-Fish is the new Mr. Big Shot. I’m quite sure his friend and former teammate, Robert Horry, won’t mind at all.

-- Ted Green

Green formerly covered the Lakers for the L.A. Times. He is senior sports producer for KTLA.

Advertisement