The Ins and Outs of Jordan Farmar
Posted by Ben Taylor -
After a stellar sophomore campaign last year, it has been a season of well-documented struggles for Jordan Farmar. His scoring has dropped this year, along with his assists and rebounds. He has struggled with his shot, shooting 39 percent from the floor and a head-scratching 58 percent from the free throw line.
“In and out on a lot of them.” That's Farmar's explanation. “Probably 50 free throws missed in and out.”
He has only missed 32 times from the charity stripe this season (45-77), but to him it must feel like 50 have been down and popped back out. As Tim Brando might offer, the iron has been unkind. Even Shaq has outperformed him at the line this year, and only three guards have fared worse from the stripe than Farmar.
Thursday night Farmar sat alone in front of his locker, pivoting back and forth in a swivel chair and looking at nothing in particular while mulling over his predicament. It's a look we've seen a thousand times, when someone is shifted around or loses a coveted spot in the rotation. That night, for the first time since he was acquired from Charlotte in February, Shannon Brown was the first guard summoned off of Phil Jackson's bench, not Farmar.
He offered the perfunctory responses about Shannon Brown's increased role:
“We want everybody to be successful,” he said. “[Shannon's] playing pretty good basketball – hustling, making things happen, knocking down shots.” But still, with Farmar's minutes decreasing, the disappointment on his face was palpable.
The former UCLA star was 1-8 in the preceding game against Sacramento. He is shooting under 35 percent from the floor since the All-Star break. It's never a good sign when your field goal percentage could be mistaken for a batting average. Is Farmar's Chris Dudley-esque shooting performance mental or mechanics?
“A little bit of both. In high school nobody tried to tell me how to shoot and in college they tried to help me with my shot and here they try to help me with my shot. It's just sometimes I get caught in between shooting it the way I actually do it and the way I've been practicing. Sometimes that's all it takes.”
Any shooter, or golfer for that matter, knows the mind-games that can ensue when fighting a natural tendency with a new motion.
“Every now and then I'll be like 'man I'm going to go back to that and just shoot the ball,'" Farmar said. “It's tough, because then you miss one and you think you should do it the other way. When it hits the front rim and comes out you can't be too upset about it. In high school, I used to get every bounce. Now it's hitting the rim, going in the basket and spinning back out.”
Fair enough – with such a small sample size, ten unlucky bounces spell the difference between his current percentage and a respectable 71 percent clip.
***
Tuesday's final regular season marked the fourth consecutive contest in which Brown entered the game before Farmar. But after the win over Utah, Farmar's mood was different. He was upbeat and seemed rejuvenated. He led the cheers after one sequence during the game, high-fiving Brown when Shannon returned to the sideline. Farmar contributed a big corner three to start the fourth quarter during the run that broke the game open. After the victory, Farmar's body language and tone were decidedly more optimistic.
“[Coach Phil Jackson] likes to test people and put people in positions to be successful. Shannon's playing great basketball...As long as we keep playing like that and keep winning, it's all good.”
“It's not always going to be easy,” Farmar continued. “It's not always what you want. I just want to win, so whatever it takes for this team to win I'm willing to do it.”
How does he see his role heading into the playoffs?
“Less minutes. But whatever it is out there, I got to give all I got. Pick up full court, make it tough on other guards, wear them down a little bit, push the ball back at them, make the right extra pass and knock down shots.”
Over the last four contests, Brown has entered the game before Farmar and logged more minutes than him, but Farmar's confidence is still up.
“It's all about how you approach it, how you look at it. I'm getting an opportunity to play on a team with a chance to win a championship. I'm blessed in many areas of life. Shannon's playing good basketball right now – he's an addition to our team.”
Farmar said that Jackson doesn't talk to him about his role or any lineup changes. He just said: “be ready.” Farmar is still an explosive offensive weapon, and his number will undoubtedly be called this spring. For some players, there is no bigger challenge to overcome than inconsistent playing time. It's like trying to find an exact rhythm without a metronome – sometimes it's best not to try too hard.
“It's not always the way you have it in your mind,” Farmar said in the locker room after the finale. “But I have to do whatever I can to help this team win a championship. All my focus, energy and passion is on that.”
-BT
I don't know if I would characterize last season as "stellar". I think part of the problem is that Farmar viewed it like that, when "promising" would have been a more accurate assessment.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | April 16, 2009 at 12:43 PM
The best thing that Farmar has done all season. Accept his role and just help the team any way that he can to win a title. At least he's saying all the right things right now. Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | April 16, 2009 at 12:43 PM
Why am I posting a link to the Bill Simmons article on the KG news?
http://tinyurl.com/dz6cqa
Because he talks about what I brought up when this news "broke". That the organization has known about this for, he says, two months and have been stringing along their fans with fake progress updates. He echoes that this may be career ending and they may be screwed paying his hefty salary through 2012.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 16, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Co-sign Ex. Stellar is a bit much.
Posted by: utzworld - THE BANNER HOLDER | April 16, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Hey, everybody likes Farmar, he works hard, he's a good guy but... maybe long term, this isn't the best place for him. Certainly the system isn't the best for him.
You know where he would really shine? In NY under D'Antoni. Put the ball in Farmar's hands and let him dribble all over the court, under the basket and back out AND he wouldn't have to play any defense! I don't know what kind of trade could be worked out but THAT is where Farmar belongs. Steve Nash II, that seems fairly obvious.
Posted by: Dallas Raines' Hair | April 16, 2009 at 01:05 PM
For an off day, a lot going on
* Lakers first round schedule announced
* KG likely out for the Playoffs
* John Madden retires.
* And something I noted last week on one of the game threads has been addressed in a positive way: DirecTV is moving NBA-TV to the same Choice Xtra package to the same tier as all the other pro sports channels next season.
http://tinyurl.com/c39vcz
The games on NBA-TV will be easier to watch and that's a good thing.
And to our good friend Psyched, thanks for keeping that special D-Fish T-shirt as pure as the winning game it represents. It ranks right up there with Jon K's lucky bar stool. Go Lakers!
Posted by: Rick Friedman | April 16, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Great stuff, BT. I'm a Jordan Farmar rooter and this is exactly what I, and other Laker fans, needed.
Posted by: AnnaG | April 16, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Foxsports has a column where Mark Kriegel is disparaging Kobe
for not winning the championship last season and basically saying
that if they don't do it this season, then Kobe sucks.
I liked this particular comment, made by "L.a.gold":
"im out too.every kobe hating ####,just watch the
playoffs.if they do win it all its because of josh powell
riight.or luke walton.either one kobe will ride their back
for another ring.lol later."
When Kobe rides the backs of Walton and Powell to a championship,
then monkeys will fly out of my butt.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | April 16, 2009 at 01:28 PM
hey benicio
i hope you prepared the Farmar saga in 5 episodes
1. how to adjust my shot in my career
2. learning to pass and vision on the court- needs 3 more years
3. defending -part1
4. defending -part2
5. epilogue-NEVER
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 16, 2009 at 01:41 PM
LongTimeLakerFan,
The will just say he's riding Gasol and Bynum to an NBA championship..It won't ever end.
Posted by: zen | April 16, 2009 at 01:44 PM
ex and utz - "promising" may be more accurate, but it's splitting hairs. He had a heck of a year. 21 and 6 per 48 minutes, 37% from 3 and nine 16+ point efforts off the bench as a 21-year old.
BT
Posted by: Ben Taylor | April 16, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Phil, I don't believe in your mind games. You are a COACH, so COACH Farmar out of his slump.
You think it's the panacea for everything.
If he is playing bad = Mind games
If he is having bad behavior = Mind Games
If he is having a disease = Mind games
If he can't find his keys = Mind Games
If he wants to know who invented the telephone = Mind games
Someone would say "see, he did it again: you are a better blogger because of his mind games"
Some people think his "mind games" are the big stuff. Sell this idea around other teams and coaches, but here...
Good luck Farmar boy, you'll need it!!
GO LAKERS!!
Posted by: MrNano | April 16, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Good news from Farmar. If he were pouting and whining about playing time, I would've demanded that he be traded in the offseason. As long as he stays positive and plays within his abilities, he should contribute to our success in the playoffs.
And what the heck is wrong with KG? I really don't understand his injury. How can your knees just give out? It's hard to believe that it's career threatening.
Posted by: EJK | April 16, 2009 at 01:48 PM
When we drafted Farmar from UCLA, most of us knew that he will NEVER be a STAR player, and that at best, he might become a reliable role player. He is not athletic, and he is not physically gifted. Judging from the last few seasons, he might not even grow to become a starter on a contending team.
I think some of the LA fans have attached too high an expectation on Farmar, that is simply not fair.
Let us just be thankful that we have Shannon Brown!
GO LAKERS GO
Posted by: CanuckLakersFan | April 16, 2009 at 01:51 PM
It's all good or the Cs right?
They have Paul Pierce and he's the best player in the world. Right? He can carry that team to another title, right?
Right back to irrelevant go the Celtics. Simmons was right on about those contracts. The Lakers were smart not to give Shaq the deal he asked for. Aging big men do not go gracefully. Garnett will be retired before that contract extension is over, and the Celtics will be saddled with his bad contract and losing again.
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | April 16, 2009 at 01:53 PM
>>>And what the heck is wrong with KG? I really don't
>>>understand his injury. How can your knees just give out?
He's old. He's 32. That's like 105 in normal-person-years
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | April 16, 2009 at 02:01 PM
BREAKING NEWS!!!
In a stunning move, Kevin McHale has agreed to trade Al Jefferson back to Boston for KG. Asked for his response, McHale muttered something to the effect of "anything is possible."
Asked about his knee injury, KG said his biggest regret is that he will no longer be able to get down on all fours to taunt Jose Calderon.
In retrospect, I guess the KG trade wasn't all that bad for Minnesota.
Posted by: EJK | April 16, 2009 at 02:10 PM
I'm not quite sure it's the offense that has dropped him down the rotation. If he thinks that's the case, therein lies the problem.
Sure the slump is contributing greatly to it, but last I looked Shannon hasn't exactly been "stellar" offensively either. But he does however make the right plays and he plays consistent D.
This is a championship team, a team that is searching for that championship consistency, it has to start with defense.
Go Lakers!
Posted by: Faith | April 16, 2009 at 02:16 PM
Heck, after reading that I almost feel sorry for the guy. And for the C's. *sheepishly* Yeah, I said it.
Anytime you hear of an athlete sustaining a career ending injury (if that's what it is) it's not good. No matter who they are. Not coming back for a season is one thing - it happens. Not coming back ever? That just royally sucks.
I wish KG well in his recovery. It would be good if he could come back, at least for another year or so and then retire. It'd be worth it to him, and worth it for his fans.
Dangit! I can't stand the guy and yet that stupid article made me care. Thanks a lot, lakers_sth! Grrrrrr..
Posted by: longtimelakerlover | April 16, 2009 at 02:33 PM
Farmar is actually quite athletic. He's got blinding speed and is quite the leaper.
His problem is decision-making and trying to do too much scoring without passing to either Kobe or Sasha (the latter 2 recently corrected from what I've seen).
Posted by: Benjamin | April 16, 2009 at 02:43 PM
benjamin
let's not forget Pau who even called the little punk out for not passing.
this guy is fried as a lakers. who has the fork?!
i can't believe that while we r talking championship, we are piddling with scrubs who take out the garbage. i guess the intern got orders from the superior command.
Posted by: ouchhhhhhhhh | April 16, 2009 at 02:55 PM
ESPN just reported that Danny Ainge suffered a heart attack earlier in the day, but is reported to be resting in a hospital bed as of right now.
I know there's probably a million jokes about the correlation between this and KG, and even though he is a longtime rival, I'm glad it wasn't anything too serious.
Posted by: Rob | April 16, 2009 at 02:58 PM
BT,
"He had a heck of a year. 21 and 6 per 48 minutes, 37% from 3 and nine 16+ point efforts off the bench as a 21-year old"
Go lookup Kobe's stats or LBJs stats or CP3s at age 21 if you're trying to use adjectives such as stellar or even worse "heck of a year" ... never mind that per 48 minutes is one of those ridiculous stats, did you even notice Famar's playoff run last year ... how he completely faded in may and june? ... Urgh ... do your homework intern ...
Speaking of Farmar though, I think it's telling that his explanation is oh a lot rimmed in and out ... perharps if he was less enamored with his own talents, he'd see the need to work on improving his game ... I personally also think there's some jealousy in play when he and sasha are on the court together ... like sasha blossomed last year in the playoffs, and next thing we know he's the hardest guy to find whenever farmar is on the court with him
Having said all that I'm not anti-farmar ... playoffs are here again, it's a new season and he'll get his chance at playing hero ...
Purple and Gold ... it's what we bleed
24 + 16 + [1]7 = The Purple Tinted Golden Age
Posted by: Taliq | April 16, 2009 at 03:02 PM
Farmar hasn't got his game back from his injury. The Nate Robinson trade rumor and Shannon Brown's playing time couldn't have helped either.
He's going through some adversity, I hope he can pull through it. He adds a dimension that I think will come in handy during the playoffs.
Here's a little something that the Lakerblog might find interesting:
http://tinyurl.com/dhh3x3
I want to see some Lakerblog legends in the fantasy basketball mix next year. Because I plan on winning it next year too.
Go Lakers!
Posted by: Rocky | April 16, 2009 at 03:07 PM
http://tinyurl.com/cya4o2
Read at the end of the article....
Finger surgery permanently off? wow. Come to think of it, I was just wondering the other day why I didn't see any tape on Kobe's finger.
Posted by: Jeff | April 16, 2009 at 03:09 PM
EJK,
"As long as he stays positive and plays within his abilities, he should contribute to our success in the playoffs."
gasol, kobe, bynum, odom, fisher ... outside of that everyone else is expendable in my eyes, even ariza ... though i'd most definately like to keep sasha/ariza/sbrown/powell as lakers ... as for luke/farmar/sunyue/mbenga ... they're expendable in my books
I'm fully aware economics might cost us odom ... above is based on what i want, not necessarily what we can do ...
Posted by: Taliq | April 16, 2009 at 03:10 PM
Farmar will bounce back. I really like that kid. He just needs to clear the mental block.
Playoff time, folks. Let's take care of business.
Posted by: T-MELT | April 16, 2009 at 03:13 PM
Faith,
This is a championship team, a team that is searching for that championship consistency, it has to start with defense ... you're in for a treat this playoffs ...
y'all know how amped ariza gets, imagine what the playoffs will do to him
bynum in the post ...we didn't have that last season
kobe on a good team after a bitter loss in the finals ... we didn't have a good team after detroit
This post season ... hollywoods biggest summer blockbuster will be airing in staples ... or like TO would say, u're gonna wanna bring your popcorn for this one cuz purple and gold is gonna put on a show
24 + 16 + [1]7 = The Purple Tinted Golden Age
Posted by: Taliq | April 16, 2009 at 03:21 PM
I want KG to be run out of the league by a humiliating loss to the Lakers, not because of some lame-ass injury.
Posted by: The D | April 16, 2009 at 03:34 PM
Co-sign on Farmar being athletic. His vertical is substantial and he can get to the rack in transition.
Unfortunately, his defense is suspect. He's not big enough to body up, which means he must rely on his quickness. He's quick on offense, but not all that reactive on defense. Maybe he's not watching enough video, but it just seems as though he cannot funnel his man toward the help in time to contain him. (With the kind of checking you're allowed to do on the perimeter--almost none--it's a bit much to expect him to actually stay in front of the quicker guards.)
On offense, he's making bad decisions--mostly trying to generate offense off the dribble. Making Fisher's PUJIT-shooting seem almost Confucian by comparison. Whether it's the contested trey with 17 seconds left on the clock, or dribbling into trouble with no ball movement, it just seems like he's trying too hard. Even though he's not the ideal triangle guard, the triangle can still make things much easier than he can on his own.
Posted by: Brian Tung | April 16, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Three weeks ago I posted that the brackets are looking very favorable for the Lakers. We had at that time Dallas, Denver or Houston in the second round, and San Antonio, Utah, Portland were all in the opposite bracket.
It ended up that we will most likely have to go through, Utah, Portland, and San Antonio (even without Ginobli, they are in a weak bracket). All three instead of just one of them to make the finals.
Also three weeks ago we had the #1 seed and looked like we would have Cleveland or Boston at home in the FINALs. Well that didn't turn out too good either, as we will most likely be playing Cleveland at home to start and end the FINALs (thanks to that 76er game at Staples). Here is the place where I complain about the 2-3-2 format. Why do we still have that?? It favors the home team too much. The visiting team practically has to win those three middle games to have a decent chance. That is tough! Statistics show that the home team in the finals wins more often than a home team in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, even though you'd think that the two best teams in the world would bring those statistic down. The format was implemented back in the Boston-LA showdowns in the FINALS when travel meant a lot. They wanted to cut down on the cross-country travel not just for the teams, but more for the media. Is that really an issue anymore?? We should have a 2-2-1-1-1 Finals format again.
BUT HAVING SAID ALL THAT, I LIKE IT BETTER THIS WAY. IT WILL BE THAT MUCH MORE REWARDING AS A LAKER FAN TO OVERCOME THE TOUGHER SCHEDULE AND THE 2-3-2 FORMAT TO TAKE THIS CHAMPIONSHIP BACK WHERE IT BELONGS!!
ALL HAIL LAKERS!
Posted by: Long Live Chick | April 16, 2009 at 03:41 PM
did anybody post about Danny Ainge having a heart attack?
KG goes down, Ainge has a heart attack... go figure...
http://tinyurl.com/dxlljb
Posted by: Dallas Raines' Hair | April 16, 2009 at 03:45 PM
Ben,
His scoring per 48 was 46th among guards, but there were about 30 players below him within a point, and he was 76th among guards for Asst per 48. Playing primarily against backups, I think those are just mediocre. IMO, he has physical limitations that create a relatively low ceiling. For a small PG, he is not all that quick, and he doesn't have the size to compete physically with larger PGs. He does have good leaping ability, which is nice to have, but doesn't make the difference at PG that it would at other positions. If he improves his decision-making, and becomes a decent shooter, he can be a mediocre starter/good backup, but not much more.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | April 16, 2009 at 03:55 PM
Farmar has the physical tools to make it in this league. He has a ridiculous vertical, and is pretty quick. The problem with Farmar is he is still very immature and mentally very fragile. In last season's playoffs, he completely collapsed, after a solid regular season. Hanging out with Luke Walton every day will not help his mental strength. These two are as mentally fragile as they come, and it is no wonder they are BFFs.
Am I the only one that notices that Farmar LOVES passing the rock to Luke, but hates passing to Sasha and Kobe?
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | April 16, 2009 at 03:55 PM
Benjamin, you read my mind.
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | April 16, 2009 at 03:58 PM
This just came in Celts GM Danny Aine suffered a minor heart attack.
http://tinyurl.com/cegut8
I reckon news of KG's post-season MIA was too difficult to bear.
Rollo
Posted by: Rollo | April 16, 2009 at 03:58 PM
Look at a list of the other PGs in the league, and honestly assess where you think Farmar would be, and where he would be in 2-3 years, considering that a lot of the other players on that list will also be improving, and that there will be new talent coming in to the league each year.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | April 16, 2009 at 04:06 PM
So, I've done Deron Williams' Bio-Chrono reading.
The Bio-Chrono Weapon should work nicely against him.
I'm going to do a more thorough explanation later, but if you undermine D-Will physically and emotionally, it throws off his whole being.
The two ways to best do that is stress him out (rush him) and keep him angry (not make him angry, but KEEP him angry).
More on this soon.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | April 16, 2009 at 04:29 PM
Nice Job this season Rocky. You earned the trash talk.
I'll take a solid Silver Medal and rub it in Kobe Blitz's face.
You can have a little of that smack too LTLF. The Vujachamps were no match for The White Sausage!
If I don't hang on to Boozer's sorry you-know-what for 25 games too long, I would've won. But no matter. Until next season!
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | April 16, 2009 at 04:29 PM
Rocky,
PS
Here's a better link to the Final Standings:
http://bit.ly/13aPfl
Posted by: "Pig" Miller | April 16, 2009 at 04:32 PM
>>>I want to see some Lakerblog legends in the fantasy
>>>basketball mix next year. Because I plan on winning it
>>>next year too.
Yeah, congrats Rocky on winning the Good Times League.
I would have won the other blog league if someone hadn't drafted
two teams and combined the best players from both onto one team.
I really should have started a campaign for people to veto
the "trades" where he was shuttling all the best players from
one team onto the other for scrubs sooner. By the time I raised
a stink, he already had gotten the 2, 3, 4, and 5 seeds from
the draft and dump team to the main team. So in the finals
I basically had to square off against someone who had two sets
of starters. It sucked.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | April 16, 2009 at 04:38 PM
I wish Danny Ainge the best. I hope he is ok...
Posted by: Charles | April 16, 2009 at 04:39 PM
Farmar is just not triangle material.
Posted by: p ang | April 16, 2009 at 04:39 PM
Why is there even a thread about Farmar? Let's talk about Shannon Brown!
Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | April 16, 2009 at 04:43 PM
Pig Miller,
>>You can have a little of that smack too LTLF. The
>>>Vujachamps were no match for The White Sausage!
Yeah, well if I hadn't lost Bynum right when he was starting to
dominate, I'd be lording it over both of you.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | April 16, 2009 at 04:45 PM
Farmar is fast and can jump high that is his best attributes to his athleticism.
However he lacks great body control and he just doesn't have the crossover moves that could enhance his penetration skills. Plus he hasn't shown to be a floor leader and that does not simply racking up assists. That means running the offense/defense without the need to be as ball dominating.
His jumper may simply be not good and his free throw shooting has never been impressive. His best was his rookie year at 71% but he rarely shot free throws then. It has gone down since.
Farmar has done a good job of not being a real pain for the Lakers with his playing time going down and supporting Shannon Brown even though he does really want to play more. I don't think though that even with his fancy passing it will be enough to merit a great NBA career (as in he'll be a journey man in my opinion). His personal defense is horrible and is worst than Fish at screen and roll defense. His assists has gone down (assuming it stayed at 2.4 he would have been 29 less than it was the previous season had he played in all 82 games), rebounding, his FG% at both overall and 3pt% has gone down and his minutes decreased which is a telling sign of how poorly he plays on the court.
Jordan Farmar is nothing more than a clone of Luke Ridnour similar to how Ronny is nothing more than a dancing shot blocking version of Brian Grant.
And as much as the Celtics are very despisable, heck wish Danny Ainge a speedy recovery. After all a heart attack no matter what degree is something nobody would want.
Posted by: Kobeblitz | April 16, 2009 at 04:47 PM
Thanks Pig & LTLF. I didn't even know that the Bavarian White Sausage was Pig Miller. haha
"I really should have started a campaign for people to veto
the "trades" where he was shuttling all the best players from
one team onto the other for scrubs sooner"-LTLF
In my mind you won that league. You drafted 5 top 20 players, four top 10 players. That was impressive. Then you wasted all your adds in the beginning of the season and still dominated for the most part.
Anyways, I had a lot of fun this year and look forward to next season.
Now, it's playoff time!
Go Lakers!
Posted by: Rocky | April 16, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Yeah Pig congrats on winning fantasy even though I didn't spend time on it as much on my other league.
Was in the final four in my round and lost by 30 points oh well it was fun regardless so next time it will be funner hopefully!
Still very sad that Madden retired from broadcasting, will miss his voice during NFL games. He was really unbiased even though he was a former coach for the Raiders.
"Farmar has the physical tools to make it in this league. He has a ridiculous vertical, and is pretty quick."
Having a vertical means little if you aren't a great finisher or aren't a fantastic shooter. And Farmar is fast running he is not laterally quick hence one why his defense is horrid.
I agree with your assessment Ex, on Farmar.
p ang
I wouldn't say Farmar is a poor fit for the triangle but that he isn't confident when he doesn't have the ball in his hands which the triangle is meant to do and not have one person do everything that a usual offense would. Once you get over that you won't be leading the team in assists you could actually do well in the triangle. Hence one of the reasons why MJ won championships after years of failure of doing all the work (running the team, playmaking, assisting) and couldn't get past the Detroit Pistons despite his remarkable athleticism and skill.
Posted by: Kobeblitz | April 16, 2009 at 05:11 PM
Just got back from the Four Seasons on Doheny and who was there? None other than Shaq Diesel. Could not have been nicer. Could not have gotten out of PHX fast enough. Not enjoying being on vacation right now.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 16, 2009 at 05:23 PM
Taliq,
"I'm fully aware economics might cost us odom ... above is based on what i want, not necessarily what we can do"
I think we'll keep LO if we win the championship. I can't see another team offering $10M+ a year to LO when he is a 3rd star at best. I think his fair market value will be around $8M a year, which is fairly reasonable given what he brings to the team and the range that Mitch and Buss are looking at for LO.
If we don't win the championship and LO struggles in the playoffs, I think management will consider him expendable and let him walk.
Posted by: EJK | April 16, 2009 at 05:24 PM
Get Well Soon for Danny Ainge - from the Lakers Blog.
Your health is more important than basketball. We always chide the Celtics in the Laker nation but in reality, we're all brothers and sisters of the game we loved.
Our prayers for your early recovery.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 16, 2009 at 05:59 PM
maybe all KG needs to do to get healthier is sit on that magic wheelchair from the finals
Posted by: eevee | April 16, 2009 at 06:05 PM
LakerTruth
"Hanging out with Luke Walton every day will not help his mental strength."
That's funny and probably true.
Let's tune in, to another episode of....
The Adventures of Luke and Jordie
Luke: Hey Jordie, you want to come over and play some ping pong?
Jordie: That's sounds cool. I'll bring over one of my favorite Pizzas
Luke: Too bad Cookie and Rad aren't around any more. It was fun to chum with those guys.
Jordie: Yeah, too bad. I wonder why Mitch traded them away. They were good ping pong players.
Luke: Let's call the new guy Shannon. I bet you he would love to play. And maybe we could go to Baskin & Robins later?
Shannon: Hello
Luke: Shannon, you want to come over and play ping pong with me an Jordie? He's bringing his Pizza, the 'Jordie ...he..he..Special'
Shannon: I don't know. Coach said if you called, to just say no.
Luke: He's foolng with you. C'mon, after ping pong, we might go to Baskin n Robins, then go over to Taco Bell to ga ga at the night shift girls. Plus get this, our old friend Kwame is in town and he will meet us at Taco Bell. He's lots of fun.
Jordie: Shannon, its me on the other line. Smush just called and he said he would be right over. Almost the whole gang is back. C'mon Shannon, come hang with us. We'll teach you what it really means to be a Lakers.
Shannon: I don't know.....
To be continued.......
Posted by: Fatty | April 16, 2009 at 06:09 PM
about Danny Ainge, heard today he had a heart, previously doubted it....anyway, that's what you get from eating at the Hometown Buffet at team meals....cuz yo' team fulla fatties...
Regardless, I hope for you and your family you have a very successful recovery...better a mild one while you're young, then a major one a couple years down the road. You have a long life ahead of you, and despite the fact I hate the Celtics, get well.
Maybe they can get a group rate for him and KG at a hospital thru July...
After the Sasha-Farmar friction, I watched, they rarely tap hands or acknowledge each other between free throws or on good plays. Success will solve it.
Would love to see Mbenga straighten out then put rayray's arm into a pretzel if he dares that with a Laker....(if the Celtic's make it out of the 1st 2 rounds).,,,,then the Laker can do the "big ballz" dance down the court to prove he's still fine...
Posted by: humanomaly (aka "The Anti-Crust") | April 16, 2009 at 06:13 PM
To Canuck Laker fan, we drafted Farmar, cuz Brown was drafted the pick before. Either way, both good players with room for development, Hope we can keep both.
If you're in Vancouver, good luck come Olympic time, cuz your city is so screwed up traffic wise....you may want to consider signs that make sense. London in 2012 will be another mess, but better...they're more organized and not hurting for knowledge or intelligence or forces. I had 7 checks before I was allowed onto my plane out of Heathrow, everyone gets patted down. If you carry a backpack, get ready to be "surveyed"....
Sun Yue....will be a less flashy Pistol Pete, smooth movements, he deserves at least 2 years of looking at since the 1st year was a throwaway....
Posted by: humanomaly (aka "The Anti-Crust") | April 16, 2009 at 06:22 PM
Farmar has a good attitude about it. thats good for the team chemistry.
Posted by: ajax | April 16, 2009 at 06:25 PM
I just wanted to reply to the poster that Farmar was athletic, not unathletic.
I concur that he has other serious issues that more than cancel out the benefit of his superior athleticism.
Gasol calling him out was huge and did represent a very big problem for the second unit when Pau was on the floor.
Let's hope it comes back to him.
Posted by: Benjamin | April 16, 2009 at 06:40 PM
ABOUT JORDAN FARMAR…
It was reassuring to see Jordan graciously accept his current situation and shift focus to doing whatever he can do to help his team win the championship in the minutes he’ll have. I think it shows that Jordan really cares about winning and his teammates, even if it means sacrificing personally. There have been scores of talented headstrong young players in similar situations who became negative factors on the team to their own career detriment. I am happy to see that Jordan still has his values in proper order.
While you can criticize his brashness, Jordan’s strong self-confidence is part of why I still believe in him. Hopefully, Jordan will relax now and go out there and play well with energy. I think this might be a turning point in his career. We all know Jordan is a gym rat and hard worker but I think he let his success last year go to his head a little and didn’t work hard on the “right” things last summer. Anybody want to bet that Jordie won’t be hitting the weights hard this summer to add muscle and strength as well as working on his defense?
I also agree with Ben that Jordan’s play off the bench last year was “stellar” and really did not need the inflated 48 minutes stats to justify it. The change of pace that Jordan and the Bench Mob brought were a huge part of why the Lakers had such a successful season. Amazingly, the Lakers actually changed their offense to accommodate Jordan’s talents and abilities last year, realizing that he gave the team a different dimension. Yet, I must have read dozens of posts claiming that Jordan is a bust and will never be a starting point guard in the league. Realistically, this year just might have been an off-year for Jordan.
I find it just as easy to visualize Jordan Farmar in three years as a dynamic player who has matured and added some muscle to his frame and is starting to play at the level of a Tony Parker or Jason Terry than it is to visualize him turning into a bust that nobody wants. Not a guy who cares and works as hard as Jordan does. Imagine if Jordan Farmar could play at his best 80 or 90% of the time instead of just 20 or 30% of the time. That is what more experience can do when a player has talent and works hard. I still remember how Jordan showed up for UCLA in the NCAA Championship game against Florida. He showed me something then, a player who never quit and wanted to win as bad as a Kobe Bryant.
While there are a lot of reasons to be disappointed at Jordan’s play, it is way too early to throw him in the junk heap and discount what he has given this team in the past and what he may well give us in the future. Nor do I think that Lakers management feels this way. Like I have said before, Jordan would lucky to get any time right now if I were the coach but at the same time I would not discount the fact that he will get his game together and come back a much better player next year. He has that kind of character, even if the Farmar haters refuse to recognize it. He has a lot of Kobe Bryant as far as mind set. He just needs to figure out how to how to channel it to become a better ball player. I will be rooting hard for him to have a good playoffs and come back a new player next year.
JMNSHBO!
DNFTT!
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | April 16, 2009 at 06:46 PM
Farmar's role in the Lakers offense is clear: he's point for the second unit. This unit (Jordan, Odom, Sasha, Trevor originally) plays uptempo, a departure from the starting unit, which is more deliberate in offense. The pace of the second unit explains Odom's being a part of it; he's the speediest among the big men.
Shannon, though a better defensive player than Jordan, can't provide the go-go element for the point that Jordan theoretically can. If he manages to stay collected during the playoffs, Jordan will still play a key role.
Posted by: JOY | April 17, 2009 at 03:51 AM
>>>Just got back from the Four Seasons on Doheny and
>>>who was there? None other than Shaq Diesel.
LOL. Shaq misses the playoffs and has not one but TWO Laker
blog sightings in one day. As I said in a previous blog, I saw him
hanging out outside of ABC, so he'll probably be doing some commentary
on playoff games.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | April 17, 2009 at 08:18 AM
JOY,
>>>Farmar's role in the Lakers offense is clear: he's point for
>>> the second unit. This unit (Jordan, Odom, Sasha,
>>>Trevor originally) plays uptempo, a departure from the
>>>starting unit, which is more deliberate in offense.
That was true at the start of the season, and it's still true today.
At the beginning of the season, the starters would come out with
their slow methodical triangle and build a 5 point lead, and
then the bench mob would hit like a hurricane and build it up
to 15 points. Teams didn't know what hit them. And then the
starters would come back in and finish the kill. That's why the
Lakers started the season beating teams by 20 points a game.
Then other teams saw films of it. After that, not only did they
know it was coming, they found ways to counter it.
Farmar is particularly susceptible to attack by pick-and-roll.
And the fact that neither Bynum nor Pau is great at defending
the pick and roll didn't help.
So the emergence of Shannon Brown helps in that area.
When the opposing team has a great pick and roll guy like
Deron Williams or Chris Paul on the floor, they can bring in
Shannon Brown for a little bit more effective defense. If there
isn't a great P&R PG on the other side, then bring in Jordan
and Luke and Lamar and Ariza and bring on the shock & awe.
If the speed attack is effective, what it will likely do in the
playoffs is force the opposing coach to bring back in his starting
point guard and play his starters more minutes than he wants
to.
The effect is similar to the picadors in a bullfight. They
poke the bull with spears to get it all riled up and make it
run around and wear itself out. And then the matador comes
with his sword.
Kobe and Pau are the matadors.
Posted by: LongTimeLakerFan | April 17, 2009 at 08:46 AM
LTLF,
Well, Farmar and Fisher certainly have the "Ole!" part down.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | April 17, 2009 at 09:19 AM
First, the whole bench mob idea was great for the regular season. Gave the starters a lot of rest and allowed them the get through the grind of an 82 game season. Isn't it time to put your best foot forward, though? That would be more PT for the 8 who will get the job done. Kobe, Pau, Andrew, FIsh, and Ariza along with LO, Shannon Brown, and Sasha. That's a very strong 8 man rotation and that's all you need with at least day off between every game.
Second, Farmar really needs to work on his game during the off season... work on the things he's not very good at. Man up D, passing, midrange game, free throws, tear drop...should I go on? This is not the time to play someone to help their self esteem.
Third (and last), and this is for AK/BK, how does Adam Morrison perform during those scrimmages when Kobe, Pau, and Fish sit out? I really think he's an interesting prospect.
Posted by: bruzer | April 17, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Huh.
I never noticed that Brown and Farmar were back to back picks in the draft....amazing.
I wonder if the Cavs didnt take SB, if we would have ended up with him...draftwise.
Im glad that we have both.
Posted by: IanFountains | April 18, 2009 at 04:22 PM