RealGM

Going forward is Farmar always going to be reduced to a role player, or will Phil Jackson have "the talk" with him this off season, asking him to prepare for starters minutes (35+ / game) for '08-'09?

No, Farmar is not ready to start for the Lakers. Makes too many errors, bad decisions and turnovers.

However, he is doing well for being very young, he just needs to slow it down sometimes.

1st half the season farmar? yes. 2nd half of the season farmar? nope.

Farmar is not starter material yet.
He has improved tremendously from last year to this year though. You have to love that. He worked his butt off in the summer time. He became stronger. His indurance got better. He improved his outside shot. And he understands the offense better.

But he still makes mistakes which need to be corrected and has to improve his D in order to be a starter for the Lakers IMO.

First half of the season he was 6th man material. Came off the bench brought a lot of energy, could drive it in, could run the offense, could hit the 3, the things you want.

I think next season he'll shoot higher 3 percentage, get more minutes but still of the bench. And BTW I think he'll do what he did first half of the season for the whole season.

I just pray that he keeps his good work ethic without Javaris back there busting his butt.

I do think Farmar's good enough to be a starter. I think it's tough for a young player to come off the bench. Almost all players do better starting. His PER is solid, average for a starting point guard, despite coming off the bench.

Farmar's been inconsistent, and I think that's a sign of being both a young player as well as limited minutes.

If you don't think starting matters, take a look at TJ Ford and Calderon. It matters a lot, to the psychology of point guards. They need that responsibility, the trust, the consistent minutes, time to get into a rhythm, etc. and it reflects in the decreased production when coming off the bench.

Obviously Phil likes Fish starting though. Seniority, leadership, staying warm, etc.

The one major concern about Farmar is that his playmaking duties have been underutilized and might even be underdeveloped since he joined the Lakers. Not only is it a multi-guard system, his role as an off-the-bench, uptempo scorer is a role that might not be suited for the starting point guard every team.

But his talent and athleticism is there, so is his work ethic and passion for the game. He will be a starter in this league, but the more pressing question is, will he be a starter for us?

He'll have to outplay Fisher by a large margin consistently, and/or Fisher has to fade.

Otherwise, I see Phil Jackson content with using him as a sixth man scorer.

OT That exchange between Farmar and PJ Brown was AWESOME. PJB is as tough as they come, and it appears Farmar is as well. They both kept their cool under pressure, especially Farmar his face was red with anger.

It's gonna be hard to keep Sasha out of the starting lineup in the future don't you think? He could start at the 1. Sasha, Kobe, Teyshawn, Gasol, Bynum. Works for me!

DubaLakers wrote:It's gonna be hard to keep Sasha out of the starting lineup in the future don't you think? He could start at the 1. Sasha, Kobe, Teyshawn, Gasol, Bynum. Works for me!

When did we get Tayshawn? And why hasn't Phil played him dammit?

I'm starting to like the idea of The Machine starting specially alongside 7&7 next year.

You can't judge a player by their first 2 seasons...especially those that come in at the ages of 18-20.

Gotta give them at least 3 full years before you really know what you have.

Look at Sasha, Bynum, hell even Kobe.

I personally think Jordan is a starter.

Those good flashes we see a.k.a. lightning quick drives to the basket, 40% 3 point shooting, up and down floor leadership, etc. will become everyday parts of his game the way Sasha was able to turn the corner.

Keep in mind the dude's only 21.

NBA PG and Lakers PG are two different things. Which one is the poll for?

This guy has a lot of potential. He's not ready to start yet, but he's isn't extremely far either. The thing I love about Farmar is how fiesty he is. Here's a guy who looks a bit goofy and isn't someone who intimidates opposing players, yet you can tell that he believes he's as good as anyone, doesn't back down, and for the most part holds his own.

Phil's development of small guards is all right. Armstrong and Fisher both turned into dependable starters on championship teams. It seems like Farmar is heading towards that path. It'll be interesting to see if he can expand his game to mirror that of traditional PGs once Phil retires.

In a span of a season, he started shooting 40% from the 3. There's no telling what he's going to develop after an off season of training. This dude basically doesn't take a break. He could win the championship today, be on the parade, take a nap the next day and start hitting the gym the next. Work ethic never failed in this league and he's going to be solid in the future.

give him a couple more seasons

right now, hes a poor man's tony parker with better 3pt shooting

the timing between fisher's retirement and farmar's promotion will coincide perfectly

right now, theyre playing about equal minutes in the regular season with fisher getting more clutch minutes

Not yet. Although I wanted him to start when he was tearing it up in the 1st half and Fish was in his shooting slump. Soon, if he continues to improve and this long postseason run will only add to the experience and improvement.

Most likely. I think it's a must for him to be great at the driving/finishing part of his game. He has improved his shooting this season but I don't view him as a sharpshooter.

I can see a resemblance to Tony Parker's game, but you wouldn't be giving enough credit to Parker's finishing ability. Parker is ridiculous in how he finishes so well in the paint for his height.

Unless I'm mistaken Rondo was in the same draft as Farmar, and is the same age - and Rondo ran the point for the Celtics and caused a ton of trouble. So I'm not sure if the young is an excuse (btw Chris Paul, Deron Williams were just one year ahead in draft). I think with points (the really good ones) you see it fairly quickly. My sense is that Farmar will be closer to Sam Cassell, a shoot first competitive guard, that is great off the bench, good in tough times, but not a real playmaker - won't make others jobs better on O, and a gambler on D.

Erik Eleven wrote:NBA PG and Lakers PG are two different things. Which one is the poll for?

The poll question is in bold just above the radio buttons where you can enter yes or no.

more training he needs, only then will he have a better understanding of the starting role

double post, man what is it with me and star wars today