Garnett: "You're flopping, Fish, you little bitch." Fish: "Yeah, but you can't get mad at me while I'm wearing these shorts."

Doc Rivers voiced what we’ve all known all along; Derek Fisher is a dirty flopper. (ESPN Boston)

Rivers spent much of his interview session discussing officiating and the difficult situation his team has been placed in with calls going against them. He also went so far as to label Lakers guard Derek Fisher a flopper, then noted he sent extra tape to the league offices Wednesday pointing out some of his primary issues.

“Derek? What, besides flopping, he doesn’t do a lot extra,” Rivers said when asked about Fisher’s ability to fight through screens. “He plays hard. He’s been in the game long enough to understand. I thought he got away with a lot last night. I thought there was a lot of holding going on and a lot of flopping going on, and finally he showed that last one.

“But he’s good at it, he’s always been good at it. We knew that going into the series. He’s one of the best charge takers in the game. He’s always been that. And some of them are charges and then some of them are flops, but all of them are tough to call. It is a brutal call to make, it really is a tough one.

“But as far as the off-the-ball action, single-double action, you are not allowed to hold. You’re not allowed to bump and you’re not allowed to impede progress. I read that this morning, and I’m positive of it. So you know, when that happens, then that has to be called.”

Doc is as pissed off with refs as I’ve ever seen him, and I have to assume its mostly because Phil Jackson made comments after Game 2 that definitely changed the complexion of Game 3. As far as Fisher’s holding and flopping, there was one play I mentioned in an earlier post where Fisher was holding Allen with both hands and riding him (pause) with his body. Allen, not Fisher, was called for the foul and one of the few chances the Celtics had to take a lead was squandered.

Doc has a legitimate beef with Fisher’s defense, I just wish he didn’t have to go all Phil Jackson and whine through the media. Unfortunately, that’s what seems to work, and so Doc is doing what he thinks give his team its best chance to win Game 4. Don’t be surprised if Fish gets called for an early foul or two for bumping Ray-Ray off his cuts.