Knicks coach Derek Fisher is having a very bad two weeks. Last week he was involved in the most bizarre story of the week, in which current Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes drove to his ex’s house and fought Fisher in the backyard. That personal drama has taken a backseat now to the plight of his former teammate and friend Lamar Odom.

“I think that oftentimes athletes, celebrities are judged by choices or decisions, and that’s not representative of who they are,” Fisher said of Odom, who is suspected of having used cocaine over the weekend that contributed to his hospitalization. Odom is currently in a Las Vegas hospital breathing with the aid of machines.

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“Lamar Odom was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known. That’s the way I see him. I don’t see him through the prism of choices he has made. I view him through the heart and soul of the person he really is.”

Fisher isn’t the only Knick with close ties to Odom. Phil Jackson was Odom’s coach on those Lakers teams, and Carmelo Anthony said that Odom was one of his favorite players since high school.

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“I’ve known him personally since high school. He’s a friend of mine. It’s a sad situation,” Anthony said.

“Lamar was a point forward, 6-10 coming out of high school. A lot of people will tell you, he was one of my favorite players coming out of high school, one of the best high-school players I’ve ever seen as a kid.”

Luckily for Fisher, his situation with Barnes has quieted down in the media. The incident highlighted a number of things, including Fisher being away from the team during training camp, the fact that he is dating a controversial reality television star, and it dredged up nasty details of his divorce last year.

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