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To use a sports cliché, it was the game within the game. It really didn’t matter who the Los Angeles point guard Jordan Farmar was guarding. What was interesting was how this young point guard was going to handle public adversity and whether his coach, Phil Jackson, was going to allow him to play. Game Five in Los Angeles was a pivotal game for the Lakers in their playoff series with the Utah Jazz.

Phil Jackson did keep Jordan Farmar in his player rotation. While Jordan Farmar still had some problems at the defensive end of the court, he answered with some offense. He made a three point shot. Then he took the ball to the basket, made the shot, was fouled and made the foul shot. The offensive production for the evening was six points. However, those six points were needed and Jordan Farmar showed that he would not go away. He kept shooting.

link: Game Five - Lakers and Jazz

There had been speculation that Jordan Farmar would crumble and have his confidence shattered. Less than complimentary comparisons were made to a former L.A. Lakers player, Smush Parker. However, Jordan Farmar went into the game and competed. It was high drama and there was genuine enthusiasm from his team mates when his shots started to fall. Perhaps Jordan Farmar can borrow some of the shooter’s mentality from Sasha Vujacic. In twenty four minutes of playing time, Sasha Vujacic took eleven shots. He made one of them. That’s a nine per cent field goal efficiency. With a shooter’s mentality, though, the belief is ‘the next one is going to be good’.

Welcome back to Jordan Farmar. By the way, the Lakers won: 111 - 104.

Catherine Forsythe

Tags: confidence, Jordan Farmar, L.A. Lakers, NBA, Phil Jackson, Sasha Vujacic, Utah Jazz

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