That's where Fisher, who has averaged 8.6 points during his career in the postseason, came into play. There had been big playoffs for him before. In 2001, he averaged 13.4 points a game and blistered the San Antonio Spurs in the conference finals by making 15-of-20 from 3-point range. In 2003, he averaged 12.8 points and shot 52 percent from the field and a stunning 61.7 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the shot in San Antonio in 2004 has become classic YouTube fodder.

Still, it was hard to fathom what he could bring five years later and his 34th birthday coming in August. Not only did his minutes go up from the 27.4 of the regular season to 35.2 against his former teammates, but he averaged 14.2 points and 3.5 steals — shooting .571 from the field on 24-of-42 shooting, including 11-of-17 3-point attempts — a searing .647 for the series. For all of Bryant's heroics despite a bad back, Odom's amazing versatility and Gasol's productive numbers, Fisher was the calming dagger amid the chaos, time and again.

Through the good karma of doing the right thing for his family, Fisher proved you can go home again. His talent notwithstanding, it is his mental approach as much as his physical presence that has made the Lakers and Bryant whole again.

Without Derek Fisher, they would not be in the conference finals. And in one of those strange twists of fate that life often throws out there, Larry Miller, Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz deserve many thanks.