Man Up, 85% of you owe .04 an apology...

[Tekkenlaw]

Only the people that said he was garbage or that he should retire owe him an apology. The Lakers can still afford to upgrade the PG position, even a moderate upgrade like Hinrich or Dooling would do wonders.

[Sedale Threatt]

That's about how I feel. We still can, and should, do better going into next season.

Fisher has some major flaws, and we've been fortunate to get this far in spite of them. Case in point -- we have yet to play an opponent this postseason that he hasn't been torched pretty severely on defense. Even Rafer "And-1" Alston has been having his way at times.

Still, there's nobody on this team I like or respect more, and I'm thrilled he was able to make those shots, as much for him as for us. He is a true champion and he deserves to have his moment in the spotlight.

[Dr Aki]

good thing i was in the 15% that stayed true to derek fisher

told you all kobe trusts fish to hit clutch shots!!!

[kevin_405]

Fisher for all his deficiencies on defensive and offensive end , he rarely turns the ball and he makes some tough shots with the shot clock winding down...

Phil likes these qualities in Fish so he trust him more than FArmar, Shannon and Vujacic..

U have to appreciate Phil more than Fisher for showing the trust for such an extended period of bad play, missing shots which began somewhere mid season..

Thats what Phil is paid the big bucks i guess and we are here typing s-hit on realgm..

BTW as much as i hated Fishers start and mid game play i always appreciated fisher in the end game where his role is more of a shooting gaurd... and in the game 4 game thread i had repeatedly called for Phil to draw up plays for Fish or Ariza...

Dont know where that puts me the the 15% or the 85%...

[garcia3]

Actually I was the first Laker fan to apologize to Fish, and I did it in the Game Thread of the General Board. What a great game from him, great defense, nice poise, great shooting, damn, he sure saved our @sses last night

I'm sorry Fish, I apologize for all the bad things I said about you in the previous 3 series, you have been great in this one.

Also mad props, to Ariza, we couldn't have done it without his 2nd half explotion

[yongaz]

Fish is a great option in clutch scenarios.

It's the other 47 minutes that he struggles with.

In all seriousness, it was a great shot (and a great decision), by the only player outside of Kobe who I trust taking and making clutch shots. All credit to Fish for hitting the biggest shot in the game, and so far, the biggest shot in the series.

I agree. I never hated or doubted him though.... not even when he missed against the Nuggets. And yeah he's the only guy other than Kobe whom I trust in taking and making clutch shots.

[LAKESHOW]

in your face you 85 percentage people?

hey, the main thing is, we are all winners as LAKER fans!!!

[hermes]

i'm sorry Derek if i've ever doubted your clutchness

now if we can get you working on the rest of it we'll be in great shape

love you Fish!

[Gus McCrae]

Fisher, I'm sorry I doubted you. thank you for coming through last night.

[tkb]

For hitting a couple shots? He better hit something considering how crappy he's played for the rest of the playoffs, and we still need to replace him in the starting lineup.

[Free Rider]

Count me in with the 85% of fans who owe Fisher a heartfelt apology. Coming into the Finals I thought he was pretty much done as a player and I figured he would be much more of a liability than an asset to this team. I was among those who thought he probably should be benched much more this series and I cringed everytime he got his hands on the ball.

For all this I must apologize to you Derek Fisher; you're veteran experiance and savvy and ability to make the right crunch time decisions is exactly what this team needed. You are and have always been the consummate professional, the embodiment of pure class and you represent this Lakers organization with a level dignity and respect that few people in this world possess. You deserve a ton of thanks from every Lakers fan out there because without you this team wouldn't have been where it is. I take pride in having you as a member of this organization and I look forward to see you retire as a Laker. For everything you've ever done and continue to do for us I say thank you.

[Tee212]

no appologies here, do what youre are paid to do. I said this before, his poor shooting in the other series and the only way he can redeem himself would be to make a big shot in the finals and he did just that! everything just works out

[Erik Eleven]

I honestly haven't been impressed enough with him these playoffs to say that I wouldn't have wanted to see Shannon Brown or even Farmar getting more minutes for stretches. I won't apologize for that because it's true, and a few more minutes here and there for them would not have killed Fisher's mojo, which at the time was non-existent.

The starting line-up I was calling for was not to replace Derek with Farmar or Bronw, it was the tallest line-up ever; Kobe, Ariza, Odom, Gasol, Bynum. I stick to that opinion still.

Fisher has played like crap offensively but he has been a total beast on defense in this series against Orlando. A coach knows his players best, and this is one reason why Phil has nine rings — Phil truly seems to know the inner makings of each one of his players.

[Mindflayer]

He needs to play better in the first 47 minutes or he should get less time. If he gets more shots than Gasol in game 5 then we will see a game 6 in LA. No appolagies from me. Heck, even Smush Parker won one game for the Lakers.

[KObe Bryant]

I criticized him for about 2 times. And I'm sorry for that, DFish. DFish is back, guys. Now I understand why Phil trusts him every time and keeps him a lot on the floor. Hell Yeah. He saved us.

[CowsMoo]

I love what he does, and I love what he did. I didn't think too sourly of him during the season, because I wonder would our record change by much if Fisher wasn't our starting pg.

However, I do think his time is ending soon, and he might need to move to the bench or retire. To leave on a good note would be excellent.

[Chubby Chaser]

Shoot.. I owe the man more than apology i fear.. I was crucifying him to my friends and family. You can't say that he didn't deserve it though.He was absolutely horrid these playoffs. And the worst part about it was he thinks he has the green light so he would just be relentlessly firing away at will. Which was basically a turnover. It got so bad and frustrating at a point where he was reaching smush parker status with me. Yeah I said it...
"but then you do something like this... and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF..."

[Basketballogy]

By the way, it is "0.4"

Not ".04"

The NBA clocks don't even count down hundredths of seconds.

Good for Fish though; it's nice to see good things happen for good guys.

[YiYaoYue]

Fisher is still valuable to the team, but i think even fisher's biggest fans can admit that he is going downhill. Eventually he'll be more valuable off the bench while playing the late minutes of playoff games. I never hated on Fisher... no where near the hate I have on Sasha.

[Verbal]

For all the shi* he's received from this board...I know you guys want him to succeed, but damn, he got shredded in here.

It will make you all pure as a Laker fan again. To forgive is to cleanse...

Let's hear it. Don't do it for me, do it for youself, and do it for DFish...

you're a genius.

+2, DubaLakers.