Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system is predicated on guards who can push the ball up the court, make quick decisions, and knock down shots. Steve Nash has always been the perfect point guard for the system precisely because he excels at all of those things.
This season, D’Antoni believes he has two more guards who are excellent for his system in backups Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar.
Blake had an excellent end to last season and really stepped his game up after Nash and Kobe were sidelined before succumbing to his own injuries. He is hoping to keep that momentum going this season:
For me personally, there will be a good comfort level there with what he expects. I just hope to build off of what I did personally last year and what we did as a team.
Bringing in the more athletic Jordan Farmar could prove to be an excellent move. He took less money to come to the Lakers and one of the main reasons for that was his belief that he could thrive in the system:
The ball is going to be in my hand. I’ll be making more decisions, taking more shots and being more aggressive rather than you hit the wing and go in the corner and play off of there.
With Kobe Bryant’s return uncertain, and D’Antoni wanting to keep Nash healthy and fresh, both Farmar and Blake will play large roles this season. Blake has already proven he is capable of playing the 2-guard spot so expect to see him playing with both Nash and Farmar regularly.
How D’Antoni spreads the minutes between Farmar, Blake, and Jodie Meeks, especially after Bryant returns, will be one of the most important story lines to watch. Last season injuries left the Lakers with no guards, this season, they may have too many.
——————————————————————————————-
Make sure you check out our interview with Marcus Landry
