So once again point guard Shannon Brown was the first guard off the bench and is playing significantly more minutes than Jordan Farmar. The logical assumption would be that Brown has just passed Farmar on the depth chart. But that’s way to cut-and-dry.

Brown had 15 DNPs since coming over from Charlotte in the Vlad Radmanovic trade, so he needs to log some court time in order to earn Phil Jackson’s trust in the playoffs. Phil already knows what he’s going to get from Farmar.

So far, the audition has gone well. But from listening to Phil the last couple of days, it sounded like Brown was being cast as a “defensive stopper” who could be called upon depending on the match-up.

What kind of match-up?

Brown is a big, athletic, quick, physical guard … just like two of the Lakers potential first-round opponents Chris Paul/New Orleans and Deron Williams/Utah.

Oh, by the way. The Lakers lead the Jazz 56-55 at the half. Kobe Bryant has been in foul trouble, though I don’t think he was going to play a ton of minutes anyway.