Category Archives: Jordan Farmar

Mike D’Antoni views Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar as great guards for his system

Posted on by
Reply
Lakers #1 Jordan Farmar, #0 Nick Young and #5 Steve Blake enter the practice facility for media day. The Los Angeles Lakers held a media day at their El Segundo practice facility. Players were photographed for team materials, and interviewed by the press. El Segundo, CA. 9/27/2013. photo by (John McCoy/Los Angeles Daily News)

Lakers #1 Jordan Farmar, #0 Nick Young and #5 Steve Blake enter the practice facility for media day. The Los Angeles Lakers held a media day at their El Segundo practice facility. Players were photographed for team materials, and interviewed by the press. El Segundo, CA. 9/27/2013. photo by (John McCoy/Los Angeles Daily News)

Overlapping injuries to Steve Nash and Steve Blake left the Lakers last season seriously exposed in the backcourt.

Not anymore.

Nash and Blake have fully recovered. Meanwhile, the Lakers added Jordan Farmar this offseason three years after playing as a critical reserve in the Lakers’ back-to-back championship seasons (2009-10).

“There will be room for all three of them,” D’Antoni said.
Continue reading “Mike D’Antoni views Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar as great guards for his system” »

NBA2K14 simulation predicts Lakers will miss playoffs

Posted on by
Reply
An NBA2K14 simulation has the Lakers missing the NBA playoffs. Photo Credit: NBA2K

An NBA2K14 simulation has the Lakers missing the NBA playoffs. Photo Credit: NBA2K

Anxiousness awaits for the Lakers’ training camp, and for what?

Very few tab them as NBA championship favorites. Uncertainty lingers on how Kobe Bryant will look after he heals his left Achilles tendon. Skepticism persists over whether Mike D’Antoni can lead these Lakers through troubled times.

That’s perhaps why NBA2K14, a video game that prides itself on comprehensive player analysis and credible game simulations, tabs the Lakers this season failing to reach the playoffs and finishing with a 35-47 record. Granted, NBA2K13 rated last year’s Lakers as the NBA championship favorites, and we all know how that turned out. The NBA2K franchise also may do its own simulations before the Oct. 1 release. I received an advance copy and performed my own simulation.

But there’s plenty of reasons to feel skeptical about the Lakers. Dwight Howard bolted for the Houston Rockets. The Lakers lost their best defensive player in Metta World Peace for the sake of saving luxury taxes through the amnesty provision. The Lakers’ offseason additions in Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, Chris Kaman and Jordan Farmar bring some added speed and additional scoring. But on paper, it appears the Lakers don’t have enough defensively.

“This team just doesn’t have enough athleticism and speed to contend for a title,” said Clark Kellog, who offers analysis with Steve Kerr while Kevin Harlan serves as the play-by-play announcer for the NBA2K14 game.
Continue reading “NBA2K14 simulation predicts Lakers will miss playoffs” »

Lakers depth chart breakdown: Jordan Farmar

Posted on by
2
Jordan Farmar, a former Laker and UCLA Bruin who grew up in the Valley, will be re-joining the Lakers after spending last season playing in Turkey. El Segundo, CA. 7/19/2013(John McCoy/LA Daily News

Jordan Farmar, a former Laker and UCLA Bruin who grew up in the Valley, will be re-joining the Lakers after spending last season playing in Turkey. El Segundo, CA. 7/19/2013(John McCoy/LA Daily News

Below is the seventh in a series previewing the storylines surrounding each player on the Lakers’ roster for the 2013-14 season. This post focuses on Lakers backup point guard Jordan Farmar.

1. Will Farmar become the primary backup point guard? Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni may have always felt Steve Blake would make the perfect player in his system for his play-making abilities. But Farmar has such qualities too, ranging from his aggressiveness, quickness, driving abilities and outside shooting. It’s highly plausible Farmar, 28, could surpass Blake, 34, on the depth chart or at at least eat minutes away from him for reasons beyond any possible injuries.

My hunch is that D’Antoni will plan to have an open mind in training camp with the intent to give them an equal share of minutes. But if one significantly outshines the other, that player will have a more prominent bench role. Neither Farmar nor Blake should feel worried, however, about not having a role. D’Antoni said he’s planning to have an 11-player rotation, and it’s possible both Blake and Farmar will play at shooting guard as well.

2. Farmar should enjoy the Lakers more this time around. Despite being a key bench piece in the Lakers securing back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010, Farmar sounded very eager afterwards as a free agent to leave Los Angeles. The Taft and UCLA standout lived here his whole life. Farmar wanted to start. And he believed Phil Jackson’s triangle offense restricted his play-making abilities. After two-year stint with the Nets and an overseas gig in Turkey, Farmar sounds ready to be back in Los Angeles.

One, he’s married and has two daughters, including a new born. Second, his talents cater more to D’Antoni’s system than Jackson’s. Third, Farmar has gained added perspective from his other stints that makes him appreciate more what the Lakers can offer. With that mindset, it’s easy to predict that Farmar will adjust here pretty easily.
Continue reading “Lakers depth chart breakdown: Jordan Farmar” »