The Official Site of Jordan Farmar

Thu, May 28th 2009, 16:30

Jordan's Playboy.com blog: Five on 5 - May 28, 2009

Hey what’s up guys? Don’t you just love all the conference finals drama? Like my fellow former Bruin Trevor Ariza making huge late -game steals and Kobe dropping 40-point games in our first two wins, both come-from-behind victories against Denver. Kobe and Melo have been having like their own personal “can-you-top-this?” duel, jist like Jordan and Bird in those cool McDonald’s commercials ending with “nothing but net.” As for LeBron’s amazing buzzer-beater in Game Two of Cleveland vs. Orlando, that’s the NBA, where it’s never over till it’s over, even with one second to play! One other thing about the playoffs: The games come so fast you got to forget about the last game, win or lose, and be ready for the next one. The Magic dealt with LeBron’s killer buzzer-beater, forgot about it, and then won the next two games.

As for us, we fought hard to regain homecourt from Denver and we went back to L.A. for Game Five. Shannon had a momentum-changing slam in Birdman’s face and Lamar had a huge game (19 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks) in our win.

Now we’re heading back to Denver for Game Six, ahead 3-2. We got a big-time win in Game One just two days after finishing a draining, physical seven-game series. But everyone contributed and we found a way to grind it out. Game Two was a tough loss to take. But we went into Denver for Game Three where they hadn’t lost in 16 games (and were also unbeaten in the playoffs) and we gutted it out. During a late timeout, D-Fish got us huddled up and told us that this was a moment in time when “you can define yourself,” when we could step into our destiny. Fish’s veteran leadership is key to our mission.

During the playoffs, and depending on the matchups, we’ve been rotating our guards—Fish, myself and Shannon Brown. It’s like point guard by committee. Derek has been a mentor for me, a tough, skilled point guard who’s won three NBA championships. Recently, he said some cool things about me. “Playing point guard is the hardest position to learn for a young player. But Jordan’s game is coming along well. He’s got toughness, energy, speed, and he’s an integral part of our team and our mission. Even in college, he wouldn’t back down from anyone and that toughness is a big part of his game, he’s not afraid to get in there. You see him block shots, be aggressive on defense, create turnovers, then set up others and be unselfish.”

The NBA figures roughly 20% of players are foreign born—we had a regular season game against the Cavs where 40% of the starters for the two teams were foreign players. And in the two conference finals series, we’ve got our own Pau Gasol (Spain) against Denver’s Nene (Brazil), and the Cavs’ Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania) against Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey). Overall, they’ve added to our game. Their skill level is very high, as is their ability to dribble, pass and shoot. A lot of them are great outside shooters. Players growing up here in America and reaching the NBA are great athletes and smart players, but they may not focus on some of those other aspects. A lot of foreign players are specialists. They can be great long-range shooters. Or someone like Ginobli can come in, penetrate and make great dishes to other guys. Then there are guys like Nowitzki and Pau who can do it all, they have an all-around game. The fundamentals of foreign players are extremely good. They start playing professional basketball at a really young age, 14-15 years old, so they tend not to develop bad habits. If you’re taught at 13 or 14 the right way to play the game, the fundamentals are much easier to master.

Playboy.com reader Elisabeth asked about me pursuing a career in another industry after basketball. I made an appearance with Pau on Numb3rs earlier this year and I’ve heard they want me back. I talked to my agents about doing something, maybe going back on Numb3rs in the summertime. They’re trying to see how they can get me in, what they can write for me, another little part, beyond me just playing ball. I don’t want to just play myself, I’d like to play somebody else but I just don’t want to be killing somebody! If it was something involving music, that could be fun, too, as you guys know how much I love good music. Got any ideas? Anyway, it’d be cool to work toward getting my SAG (Screen Actors Guild) card in the off-season. BTW, some of my teammates have nicknamed me after that cool mouse in the Disney movie, Despereaux. I may be small but I’m like that big-screen mighty mouse, and I get the job done when I’m called.

BTW, the Inaugural Jordan Farmar Celebrity Golf Classic and Gala, benefiting my foundation, is creeping up fast on July 19-20, in L.A.. At the Gala on Sunday July 19, you’ll get to chill and rub elbows with some great athletes and celebrities like George Lopez, my Lakers teammates and others, while checking out the very cool view from 1010 Wilshire, voted Downtown L.A.‘s top rooftop hangout. Admittance to the Gala is included for those playing in the golf tournament, but gala tickets are also available to the general public for $100 each. For ticket info, call the Jordan Farmar Foundation at 310-473-5445. It’s going to be a lot of fun and for a cause close to my heart.

People say these playoffs have been the most exciting in years. Both conference finals series could possibly go to the wire. But guess what? The NBA Finals tip off next week, and we’re gunning to be there. Check out what happens in my next dish.

—JFarm