Farmar reaps benefits of an aggressive approach

LOS ANGELES - Jordan Farmar entered Game 5 Sunday night determined to be aggressive, especially when it came to attacking off the dribble. Three of his five field goals came on drives to the basket.

"I talked to myself [about doing that]," said Farmar, who had 11 points in the Lakers' 103-98 win. "I'm putting pressure on the defense and making them help. I'm making plays for my teammates if they don't come and finish, and I have the ability to finish inside even though I'm little.

"I mean, we just have to go in there and do it, make it happen."

"We thought Jordan could attack," said coach Phil Jackson. "His speed and quickness got him to the basket, and he was able to break their defense down a little bit. That was important to us. His activity on the defense end was important.

"You know, Sasha [Vujacic] didn't have a really good game going, so I put Fish [Derek Fisher] as a balanced partner back there in the backcourt with him."

Farmar liked being paired with Fisher.

"[The Celtics] go to their small lineup and try to stretch the floor," said Farmar. "Good matchup for us on both ends of the floor.

"Offensively, we do things differently. He spaces the floor and I was trying to get to the basket and be aggressive, put the pressure on them."

Getting to know you

Matching up with Kevin Garnett is never a welcome prospect. But in Game 5, Pau Gasol looked as good as he had all series with 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists, More important, he didn't look at all intimidated by Garnett. "It's always tough," said Gasol. "I'm getting more used to what he does out there and the pace of the game and facing him up. The first couple of games, I was still trying to figure it out, what kind of looks I was going to have to defend and stop. So, definitely, I feel more comfortable now and more used to everything that is going on out there so I can be more effective guarding him."

The spread offense

Is a big 40-plus-point performance on the horizon for Kobe Bryant? The MVP may be playing it conservative with his answers, but Bryant doesn't seem to think so. Nor does he think that's the way to go in the Finals. "[Celtics assistant] Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach with the Rockets, and I know when we played them, their philosophy was 'anybody but,' " said Bryant, who had 25 points in Game 5. "They're going to throw the whole kitchen sink at me. Could I force myself to get 40? Yeah. But is that better for our ball club? No. We've got guys open, I'm going to move the ball and do what I need to do." In Game 5, Bryant thought it was important to help his team start quickly, and he scored 15 points in the first quarter. Then he stepped back and let teammates like Lamar Odom and Gasol step up.

Choosing sides

Not even David Ortiz can persuade Bryant to switch allegiances to the Red Sox. When told that Ortiz was spotted wearing a Bryant jersey, Bryant joked, "Really? Go Red Sox. Things change in two days." He quickly added, "I'm obviously joking. I'm a diehard Yankees fan."