The Four PG's in Game 4

Game 4 was a classic in so many ways.

And the aftermath has indeed bought many reactions: Doc Rivers is out-coaching Phil Jackson (true), Kobe can no longer be compared to Mike (so very true), and the Celtics are tougher than LA (do I even need to mention how true that is?). But one thing that stood out to me when watching yet another Celtics-Lakers epic was the handling of the PG’s in the second half.

Derek Fisher was out there when LA built their 24-point lead, very present in helping them hold a 20-point lead through the first half of the third, and, along with Vladamir Radmonovic, was one of few Lakers who finished in the “plus” column as far as +/- for the game.

Yet, having said that, Phil Jackson stubbornly kept Jordan Farmar out there until the final minutes, but by the he finally pulled the second-year guard, momentum (“She’s a funny thing,” Jackson told ESPN after the third) was well and truly dressed in green. Worse yet, Fisher was one of the few Lakers willing to mix it up. On a crucial play in the third where Paul Pierce swatted Bryant that led to an Allen breakaway, it was Fisher’s hard foul on Ray-Ray that stopped a Celtics break. It was an anti-Gasol play if there ever was one.

On the flip side, Rajon Rondo was facing his own demons, that of the Lakers continuing to dare him to shoot. Jackson switched Bryant onto Rondo for Game 3, and it allowed Kobe to roam, to sit in passing lanes, to neglect Rondo, deeming him a non-threat. Rondo, who had been a key to the C’s home defense (he had 16 assists in Game 2) was suddenly inept in LA.

It is worth pointing out that Rondo missed most of the second half of Game 3 with a sprained ankle, and it unwittingly forced Doc Rivers’ hand to play Eddie House, a noted gunner who had seen his time handed to “the new guy” in Sam Cassell.

In Game 4, with Rondo again struggling, Rivers turned to House in the second-half. It was his jumper in the final minutes that game Boston their first lead, and surprisingly, Jackson and his Lakers didn’t respect House enough to do something about it. It’s especially noteworthy when you consider that House, when with Phoenix two years ago, was held without a three-point field goal through the first six games of that classic ’06 PHX-LAL matchup. That’s like a human going without water for six days. Seriously. The Lakers put serial pest Sasha “Tears” Vujacic on him, and House couldn’t get a sniff. Fast forward to Thursday’s game and House is bouncing around, firing jumpers, uttering expletives to motivate his teammates, and delivering a daggers (including the one to take the lead, right in front of the Lakers bench) that came to signify The Comeback.