LONG BEACH “”mdash; Jordan Farmar isn’t wasting any time
proving he belongs in the NBA. The new Los Angeles Lakers guard
shined in his first two professional games over the weekend at the
Long Beach Summer Pro League. In a Lakers loss to the Memphis
Grizzlies on Saturday in front of a sold-out Walter Pyramid crowd
of 5,000, Farmar wowed the Lakers-fan-dominated crowd, scoring 17
points in 30 minutes on the floor. Farmar’s follow-up game
wasn’t too shabby, either. He scored 13 points, dished out
six assists, and had four steals in a 97-69 Lakers rout of the
Mavericks. Lakers summer league coach Kurt Rambis was impressed
with what he saw of Farmar. “He has good instincts; he makes
good reads, good decisions,” Rambis said. “I appreciate
the fact that he’s out there trying to run the offense. He,
as well as anybody, has picked up the offense the quickest. He
seems like he’s been studying it or something. He knows what
he wants to do.” From the looks of the first two games, the
Lakers’ offense seems to be a great fit for Farmar, who
scored most of his points inside on drives to the basket and set up
open shots for others on similar drives. Picking up the offense has
been no problem for Farmar so far. “It’s not that
difficult,” Farmar said. “If you know how to play
basketball, its pretty basic right now. I’m sure
there’s more stuff down the road, but what we’re doing
right now is pretty easy.” Rambis, though, couldn’t
stress enough how difficult it is for young players to thrive in
the Lakers’ offense right away, when discussing some of the
Lakers’ other younger players, namely Von Wafer and undrafted
San Diego State rookie Marcus Slaughter. “It’s always
difficult for kids to come in and pick up this offense,”
Rambis said. “We’ve only had five or six practices, and
most guys don’t pick up this offense for a year or
two.” The Lakers team Farmar is playing on this summer has
three players on the roster ““ Wafer, Devin Green and Andrew
Bynum ““ who actually saw playing time last year. The other
players are mostly undrafted rookies vying for a spot at Lakers
training camp. Bynum, the Lakers’ 7-foot first-round pick in
last year’s draft, was one of Farmar’s favorite targets
this weekend. “(Farmar) has made a really good
impression,” Bynum said. “I like the way he looks to
pass to the big man. A lot of guys don’t do that. I like his
floater coming down the paint ““ it’s a really good shot
to have.” The Lakers’ summer schedule continues at the
Pyramid this week with games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday.
DRIBBLERS: Former UCLA center Michael Fey is
also on the Lakers’ summer roster. Fey played 17 minutes in
Saturday’s game as Bynum’s backup, scoring five points
and hauling in three rebounds. He saw no action in Sunday’s
game. … Farmar signed his contract with the Lakers last Thursday.
He will make $1.9 million over the next two years. … On Sunday,
former UCLA center Jelani McCoy started for the Dallas Mavericks.
McCoy, who left UCLA after his sophomore season in 1999, had nine
points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 26 minutes against the
Lakers.