Bryant plays it fast but too loose

Kobe Bryant has never been too far removed from the turnover family, but now he’s more than a distant cousin.

He has committed 26 turnovers in 102 minutes of exhibition play, a staggering 12.2 per 48 minutes.

He had seven turnovers in the first half of an exhibition Sunday against the Clippers, often forcing passes instead of distributing the ball to other teammates who had a better angle to feed the same player Bryant was trying to reach.

“He struggled a little bit [Sunday] night,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “He’s trying to make the play and [should] trust his teammates to make the plays instead of trying to be the sole playmaker out there.”

In Bryant’s defense, he is averaging 10.4 assists per 48 minutes in exhibition play, though the assists are overshadowed by the turnovers in ratio.

They are part of a trial-and-error phase, he says, as he attempts to advance the ball more quickly in his new role as a push-the-pace facilitator.

“You start experimenting a little bit, see who can do what, throw lobs that you [wouldn’t] necessarily throw during the regular season, throw passes that you normally wouldn’t throw,” said Bryant, who averaged 3.9 turnovers per 48 minutes last season. “Regular season, you just button up. Preseason, try to test things out a little bit. I’m not worried about it at all.”

Jackson was concerned enough after the Lakers’ 112-96 loss to the Clippers to think out loud about changing the up-tempo wrinkle he added to the triangle offense.

Reserve guards Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Javaris Crittenton have been adept at pressing the pace, but Jackson doesn’t like what he sees from the first team.

“We may have to find another way to play. I may not be satisfied with that first unit playing like that,” he said. “I like the second unit playing like that. They have seemed to really function well with it.”

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Farmar certainly won’t complain about the addendum to the offense that grants the players seven seconds to freelance before getting into their regular sets.

The second-year guard from UCLA had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes against the Clippers.

“I love it,” Farmar said. “It’s great for me. It was unexpected coming into training camp since they’ve done it one way for so long. But it showed me a lot from [Jackson’s] perspective that he’s trying to make changes defensively and offensively to use our talents that we have with this ballclub and let us just do what we do best. That showed me a lot when a coach has been so successful doing it one way and still has the ability and willing nature to change.”

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Luke Walton sat out practice Monday after suffering a strained right hip in Sunday’s game. He is listed as day-to-day. . . . Jackson will never be confused with someone who enjoys the exhibition season. “Oh, we’re really happy that there’s only a week left,” he said. “It’s, what do they say, kind of like kissing your sister?” . . . The Lakers open the regular season a week from today against Houston at Staples Center.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com