LONG BEACH “”mdash; During his two years at UCLA, Lakers point
guard Jordan Farmar penetrated through the lane and controlled the
Bruins’ offense at will. Through three games of the Long
Beach Summer Pro League, Farmar experienced similar success, as he
led the Lakers in scoring as well as assists. On Saturday against
the Memphis Grizzlies in a standing-room-only crowd of 5,000,
however, Farmar found the harsh new reality of moving to the NBA.
Not only was Farmar stifled defensively by Memphis and former
Villanova guard Kyle Lowry, he also had trouble running the
Lakers’ offense, committing seven turnovers and finishing
4-12 from the field for 10 points. “He has great instincts
for the game and is very knowledgeable basketball-wise,”
Lakers summer coach Kurt Rambis said. “But he certainly
struggled a little bit today.” Farmar, the Lakers’
first-round draft pick, struggled with his outside shot, finishing
0-5 from beyond the arc, and had trouble matching up against the
Grizzlies’ taller and more physical guards Tarence Kinsey and
Junior Harrington. When asked about his struggles on Saturday,
Farmar didn’t seem too worried. “The team and I just
had an off day,” Farmar said. “It happens when you play
basketball. I’m sure the coaches will work with us on what to
improve.” Rambis envisions Farmar playing a pivotal role with
the Lakers once training camp begins in early October, but until
then he feels Farmar can improve his outside shooting and gain a
better grasp of the offense. “He has done an exceptional job
of picking up the offense so far, but there are still many things
to learn,” Rambis said. “And in terms of his jump shot,
there are some things he needs to change fundamentally.”
Farmar thus far this summer has benefited from playing with a
traditional big man in Andrew Bynum ““ an experience he never
had at UCLA ““ and from playing in an offense that adapts to
his playmaking abilities. But the summer league schedule has been
brutal, with the Lakers often playing games on back-to-back nights.
It has been quite a change for Farmar, who was used to playing only
twice a week in college. “It has taken some time to adapt,
but hasn’t been too much of a problem,” Farmar said.
“The guys just need to get their feet under them and we
should be fine.” Farmar, who said he will take a week or two
off after the summer league ends, now has two games remaining
(Tuesday against the Wizards and Wednesday, also against the
Grizzlies) to prove to Lakers management and fans that they made
the right choice in selecting the 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound point
guard. Until then, Farmar will just continue enjoying playing in
front of his home crowd and learning under the tutelage of Rambis
and Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw. And, despite his minor
struggles on the court, he is just enjoying his “dream come
true.” “To have everyone chanting my name and playing
in front of family is awesome,” Farmar said. “You
couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
FEY APPEARS: Graduated senior center Michael Fey is also playing
on the Lakers’ summer league team. Fey struggled on Saturday
during six minutes of action, committing two personal fouls and
scoring zero points. Fey wasn’t concerned, however, saying
that if he does not get picked up by an NBA team he would consider
playing in the NBA developmental league or playing overseas.
“I’m optimistic,” Fey said. “We’ll
see how things turn out in the coming weeks.”