The Los Angeles Lakers are extremely thin at the point guard position right now, after three injuries in the facilitator role have left the Lakers with zero true point guards.
Fortunately, the Lakers appear to have received good news concerning the progress of one of their floor generals with Jordan Farmar apparently close to returning to the floor earlier than anticipated according to Bill Oram of the OC Register via Twitter:
Jordan Farmar (hamstring) is “close” to returning and will be reevaluated when Lakers return to LA on Wednesday.
— Bill Oram (@bill_oram) December 16, 2013
Once veteran point guard Steve Blake went down with an elbow injury expected to keep him out six weeks, the Lakers were scrambling for a solution and the best option was to go with Kobe Bryant as the starter at point. With Steve Nash’s return date still uncertain, Bryant has had to shoulder the load over the past few games.
With the void left by Blake and the two other point guards, the Lakers front office has been considering making a move. The team currently has one roster spot open after releasing rookie forward Elias Harris last month and seemed to be considering using it to bring in a free agent.
Now that Farmar is close to making his return to the floor, the Lakers will continue to go with Bryant as the starter and Xavier Henry off the bench at the point. Although Bryant has committed a lot of turnovers after making the shift to the one spot, the veteran guard appears to be improving his passing game at the point, and should be able to shoulder the load a little while longer.
Once Farmar returns, head coach Mike D’Antoni plans to have him start via Oram:
D’Antoni said Farmar is likely to move into starting lineup when he returns.
— Bill Oram (@bill_oram) December 16, 2013
With Farmar back in the lineup as the starter, Bryant will shift back to his natural position of shooting guard. Jodie Meeks will head to the bench as a result of the shift and will likely be the first player off the bench in relief of Bryant moving forward.
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