By Lefteris Moutis / moutis@eurohoops.net
Three years after his departure from Tel Aviv Maccabi asked Jordan Farmar to return to his first European team and he responded to the call to explode the offensive pluralism of the Israelis.
After last year’s unsuccessful year, Maccabi was looking for redemption and so decided to go back to the tried and tested formula of a certain style of basketball that led them to consecutive successes in the past years. Jordan Farmar symbolizes that era and that kind of basketball and in the coming season he will be the springboard on which the team will be based in order to catapult themselves in the elite once again.
His career
The 29-year-old American of Israeli origin and passport learned how to play basketball at the renowned UCLA and after two years in college he was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers at No26 of the 2006 draft, launching his career at the highest level. He played there for four years and won two consecutive NBA championships (2009, 2010) having a steady role in the rotation with an average of 18 minutes of playing time per game.
In 2010 he moved to the New Jersey Nets to take over a more leading role and he did just fine in what was his best year in the NBA. Next year’s lockout brought him to Maccabi and he returned to Tel Aviv and his stepfather’s country of origin. He only played in seven Euroleague games, but his performances (14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists) left Israeli fans with a sweet memory.
He returned to the Nets for the remainder of the season, but in the summer of 2012 he decided to return to Europe signing a generous three-year contract with Efes amounting 15 million dollars. The year was good, but he didn’t win as much as he hoped for and the following summer he returned to the Lakers. After a year he played for the Clippers with a clear slump in his numbers. So, midway through the season he accepted Darussafaka’s excellent proposition to return to Turkey and Europe.
Prediction: Hot pair
Maccabi wanted to create once again a backcourt with a lot of talent in offense that will run and score at every opportunity. The deal with the top scorer of last year’s Euroleague, Taylor Rochestie, was the first step, and Jordan Farmar’s acquisition clearly showed the orientation of the “people’s team.” This pair is definitely among the best in Europe with regard to their offensive instincts and their contact with the basket.
Farmar can offer scoring from mid- and long-range, creation for himself and his teammates and definitely scoring on the open court. He’s a classic combo guard and he can form a pair with any of Maccabi’s other guards. Besides, the Israelis have a tendency to play with two good ball handlers in the team.
At the same time of course, Maccabi will have to find a way to make up for the weaknesses in the defense of Farmar and Rochestie and create the conditions in order to have secure solutions in offense and options in games in which the opponent will impose a set game at a low tempo.
In any case though, it is certain that Maccabi’s games will have a lot of scoring and spectacle.