Sing it, Marvin! Dunk it, Kobe!

Marvin Gaye was awesome.

GO LAKERS!

Re Post From the Jordan Farmar Thread:

How de we feel blog...Is Jordan Farmar the PG of the future for the Los Angeles Lakers?

Last year I would have said, very probably, barring mega injury or huge contract dispute. But last year I think we saw that Jordan has a pretty rough time on defence. He cannot guard a guy going around a screen of any type to save his life. He strayed from his early season success and started shooting 3 pointers within the first 6 seconds of the shot clock, ignoring a wide open Machine (I also notice the strain between the two, but that's natural-they're competitors for the 4th quarter playing time), and I don't think he's a very good passer.

He has a hard time with alley-oops (not a terrible detriment, but for a PG, should be a skill in the arsenal), needs to work on his skip pass (something Luke, Lamar, Pau and Kobe can do). He makes poor entry passes and his recognition suffered after he lost confidence in his shot.

He also was pretty ineffective in the Playoffs/ Finals. Now, I realize he's a second year guy, coming up on his third, but we need him coming into the game ready to take it to the defense. I'm not sure if Phil pulled the plug on the quick scoring offense that they ran early last year, but they strayed from it as the season progressed and I think it revealed how limited in the triangle that Jordan actually is. He's about as good a jump shooter as Luke (at this stage of his career, maybe he'll get better), he'll never be a rebounding guard 9a la Q Ross), so I think he may always be a back up.

I think he might be the Laker most on the bubble as far as moving up in the rotation. I wouldn't be surprised to see Kobe, Ariza and Sasha getting more of his minutes and bringing the ball up court (as the triangle doesn't need a guy with mad handles, just a body to get the rock across mid court) because they are MUCH better defensively.

I love Farmar because A: He eats at Good Burger in Santa Monica (mmmmm, good burger), B: He's a local boy done good, C: He's the littlest Laker and there's something darn cute about writing that. But I don't see him as the PG of the future, especially as long as Phil is coach.

Thoughts?

Jeff K...

Are you Jeff Kriese?

Just wondering.

Jamie Sweet,
I don't think Farmar is quick enough to make up for his lack of size, and as a result will likely be an adequate starting point guard/good back up, but not much more.

The loss of Marvin Gaye was a great tragedy. That man could really sing.

Jamie Sweet:

I'm a different K. Was there a Jeff K before?

Jamie Dulce,

Farmar is a B grade for back up PG. A C + as a starter.
But due to his improvements every year, he has the same skill set of Tony Parker.

Hopefully he keeps going to Summer School and get that A!

Sorry Jon K...

... to continue, I think that Farmar could be a better PG on a different team, he's more of handle the ball for awhile type of player. But he'll never get that luxury on this team. He'll have to get better at D if he wants to play quality 4th quarter minutes, which it seems he obviuosly covets (what competetive gym rat wouldn't).

Your point 4:
4. His explosiveness reminds me of a younger Tony Parker. Tony Parker used to drive teams fricken nuts.

I totally agree, he reminds me of TP, also, but TP wouldn't have developed into what he is now under Phil. Phil wouldn't let him roam into and out of the paint for 8 - 12 seconds/ possession.

I thought Jordan looked absolutely amazing the first third of last season. But, he went away from his penetration game about midway through the year. Why? I don't know. It seemed early on the quick offense had Phil's blessing. What changed? Was it the acquistion of Pau Gasol? Was it the emergence of Lamar as a viable offensive option? Was it Kobe's MVP rumors? Did he hit a sophmore wall?

I wonder if Phil will have him play to start in training camp, a little competition for Derek. Also, Derek coming off the bench (although it would piss him off) would really stabilize the 2nd Unit. Phil is such a kooky kat, I never really feel that I have a handle on what he sees on the court vs what I see from my couch.

My opinion is that the rotations will mirror the end of last year for the start of the season. If Lamar is ineffective, I don't think they'll move him to the bench, I think they'll just move him. If Fisher is still a step slow, I think he'll go to the bench and they;ll give Farmar a shot at starting (remember, he started in 07-08 playoffs as well as the last few games that year).

I like the make up of our team and I am not for getting rid of J-Farm, however, he is constantly referred to as our PG of the future and I think that is expecting too much.

GO LAKERS!!!!!

I don't know much about Sun Yue, seen some Youtube fottage of him playing against non-NBA competition.

Sasha isn't a PG (I'm sure HE thinks he could play PG, PF, or C because the dude just don't quit), but he and Farmar better get used to each other.

Jon K, you bring up Shaun Livingston...any word on his status? Are the Clippers interested in giving him another shot? Are they just waiting it out so they can low ball him when other teams shie away from his bum knee? I REALLY liked Shaun Livngston pre-injury (He could use some Weight Gain 3000, but he's a perfect fit in the triangle) I think he and Kobe could really shut down the opposing team's back court.

Does anyone know whether the Lakers are even considering Livingston?????

I believe we need 1 maybe 2 more season to know if he is the point guard of our future. We know the Lakers are pretty content right now.

He is quick , can get to the hole, cocky, great at the running game. He is sneaky at getting to rim much like Parker, he has an improved 3 point shot. He looks real good wheh he played along Kobe and Bynum.

I believe he will get better, he was our 6th man last year.

I love D Fish , but i would love to see what Farmar can do with more playing time.

Jamie Sweet,

Shaun Livingston has been cleared for one-on-one play. I haven't heard much more, but it seems there's cause for concern.

The Clippers are interested in signing Shaun Livingston, but at a lower rate, that's why they let him go into unrestricted free agency. However, with the signing of Baron Davis and the slew of recent Clippers signings, it's seeming less and less likely that the Clippers will resign players like Shaun Livingston and Quinton Ross.

I don't know if the Lakers are looking at Shaun Livingston (in all honesty, I have no idea who the Lakers are looking at AT ALL. It's been a really blind offseason for Laker Nation.)

However, if (and I emphasize IF) Shaun Livingston could return to something near his pre-injury form, he is the perfect point guard for the Jacksonian Triangle.

Long and lean and sees the court like nobody else.

GO LAKERS!

RE: FARMAR AS LAKER PG OF THE FUTURE

I really don't think so. I like Jordan Farmar but physically (quickness especially) I feel he's limited to compete with the elite guards in the league , especially the West.

I think Phil uses him well as a change of pace guard off the bench, but until he toughens up on defense (he can do this by learning to play better a la D-Fish or find a way to get quicker..don't think that's possible) I don't see him as a starting PG in our system.

I think he could be a starting PG in the league though, but not on this team.

I do feel he has value around the league though and to be honest, would do great in the D'Antoni system with the Knicks where they move the ball up the court more and the PG gets to handle the rock most of the time.

How about Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar for Stephon Marbury and David Lee?

We get an energy, banging 4 with a cheap contract (although he might be a free agent this next year) and major cap space with Marbury's contract coming off the books.

We basically won't be able to sign LO to anywhere near what he's making now so he's as good as gone anyway. Lee could probably be had for the $7-$9 million a year range we'll need to spend on him.

Charles

"You're a dirty pirate hooker. [...] Why don't you go back to your home on Whore Island? What movie was that line from?"

Pirates of the Striptabean Part II

oh my god...

Ok, first... there is a god, the god of:

http://tinyurl.com/5um94w

Sun, Aug 10, 10:15 a.m (Eastern). USA - China (M) on NBC

Tues, Aug 12, 8:00 a.m (Eastern). USA - Angola (M) on USA channel

Thurs, Aug 14, 8:00 a.m (Eastern). USA - Greece (M) on USA channel

Sat, Aug 16, 10:15 a.m (Eastern). USA - Spain (M) on USA channel

Mon, Aug 18, 8:00 a.m (Eastern). USA - Germany (M) on USA channel

- double check to make sure I didn't transpose anything but this should be right.

Andrew Z,

"How about Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar for Stephon Marbury and David Lee?"

Dude, are you smoking crack?

How about this? Why don't we build our team around Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, Ron Artest and Stephon Marbury (the best point guard in basketball)?

Lunacy. I like David Lee but Stephon Marbury is pure cancer. Period. He destroys his team from within.

GO LAKERS!

The NBA is slowly becoming a guard's league. From the no-hand check rule to zone defenses, the league is favoring outside shooting and more specifically, the PG position. Here is a sample of the current and futre stars at the PG position.

Chris Paul
Baron Davis
Chaucey Billups
Deron Williams
Jason Kidd
Monte Ellis
Brandon Roy
Mike Conley
DJ Augustine
Derrick Rose
Dwane Wade
TJ Ford
Jose Calderon
Gilbert Arenas
Rafer Alston
Tony Parker
Mike Bibby
Javaris Crittenton
Kyle Lowry

All of these PG's, with the possible exception of a few, are better AND/or have more potential than Jordan Farmar. I like Farmar as a backup of the future, but if Laker Nation wants dynasties, Farmar cannot be the starting PG of the future.

I don't want to get political since this isn't the place to do so, but I don't understand why Kobe is backing away from his original support of aid to Darfur, as mentioned in this article,
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/
beijing/basketball/news;_ylt=
An.rP96Rk_74pkQdSIzeGkg5nYcB?slug
=dw-darfur080708&prov=yhoo&type=lgns .

Kobe's a polarizing figure anyway, so I say why does he not use that to his advantage? He has already dealt with losing endorsement contracts, but it was for a bad reason. Now if he does he will be seen as important for more than just basketball. Even if he achieves as much as MJ in his career, he will never be seen in the same light, just because so many people don't like him anyway. Let Lebron try to become the next MJ. Kobe should think about the depth of influence he could carry if he is like Muhammad Ali. In the bigger scheme of history who is a moire relevant individual, Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali?

Within the triangle offense you dont need anything close to a true point guard. He is not counted on to be a scorer and not even and assist specialist. You just need to know know the system, be a leader, get the team to flow, have the proper spacing, get the ball started with the movement and be ready to cut, move, or shoot.

Which is why coach had asked him to improve his 3 point shot and he is doing a good job of that. I believe he fits well both with the triangle and with a fast break offense.

Lets not forget at the beginning of the season it was said that or offence was changed by allowing the players to have 8 seconds to create a fast break point and then switch to the triangle offence. This was done strictly to help maximize FARMAR'S skills . This year we can expect more passes from FARMAR to , KOBE, ARIZA, and ODOM on the break and more of GASOL and BYNUM on the half court game. I believe there will be more fast breaks this season.

With so much attention that is going to be on those 4 guys Farmar will be also be able to get a lot of sneaky shots, and open look to the baskets. He has more of a nack to attack the basket now. and has a improved shot.

We definately don't need another scorer, when we have KOBE, GASOL, BYNUM, LAMAR. So we have a guy who is cocky , is a leader yet does not need to be the center of attention and wants to feed the other scorers and the shooters in SASHA, VLAD, D-FISH.

Farmar aka MIGHTY MOUSE ( his size, muscle, leader ,toughness and definately the ears = Mighty Mouse) dont tell me you dont see it.

Farmar "mighty mouse"?

Don't cha mean Dumbo? Jus playin.

I like Farmar, he's alright; for a Laker that is.

laker hopeful,
"I don't understand why Kobe is backing away from his original support of aid to Darfur"

He isn't backing away from supporting aid to Darfur; he is declining to make a statement critical of the role of China in the Sudan. Those are two separate, although related, issues.

The problem is where you draw the line between politics and sports. It's an extremely slppery slope.

Should athletes make political statements, and "not be gracious guests", or try to completely separate sports from politics? Do you not allow athletes from certain countries to compete at all, like what happened to South African athletes in the 70's and 80's? Should we boycott the entire Olympics, like in 1980, because of China's involvement? Do those actions actually help at all, or just make the situation worse?

I don't think there are easy answers to any of them, but in general, I think that the more friendly interaction you get between societies, the better. And that probably means that this isn't the best time for the athletes to make statements that are critical of the host nation.

I believe Lakerhopeful has a valid point.

Kobeef Bryant may be beloved in Bevery Hills 90210, but is hated around the country. Kobeer might be loved outside of teh country because the international community don't know that deep down, Kobeef Bryant is a jerk.

A Jerk.

Real fans are too smart for Kobbef's pretenciousness.

A real Faker if you ask me.

"C" what I mean?

Speaking of PG's with possible career ending injuries, what ever happened to Jay Williams from Duke?

Let's Go C's:

Pretenciousness???!!!

Put down the hater-ade and pick-up a dictionary! As the commercial used to say: The mind is a terriible thing to waste.

Dude is dominating this blog with some seriously crappy smack talk. I know AK said the smack talk is allowed, but you can't even count what that little boy is doing as smack talk. I know fifth graders who talk better smack than this clown. I could go down to the local playground and ask around who the best player in the NBA is and how many people will say Paul Pierce? 0, that's how many. Little PP cried all the way to the locker room and the drama built while the ESPN suits and the NBA front office laughed because they knew it was all an act anyway. More Boston BS from the town that cheaters love to love and everyone else loves to hate. How many people moved from LA to Boston last year that weren't ordered to? Right, probably none, unless you count the other degenerates who can't keep a job and or live in the basement of an abandoned warehouse waiting for the bread to come through the window in the door. I think I hear someone's mommy calling from upstairs. Smack.

Please.

Houston Laker,

Got it off Youtube. Did a search, took a listen, thought it was golden.

AK