Thursday, February 27, 2014

SIBLING RIVALRY


Was fun seeing both the Gasol brothers
battling it out on the courts in Memphis.
Marc made 14 points for his team and
Pau made 17 for our Lakers. He is a bit
disgruntled about D'Antoni's plays that
evidently harbor upon a difference of
opinion to his. At any rate, we almost
had a tie game and was it ever fun to
see Jordan Farmar make those 3's!!
Wish we could have won but wasn't in
the cards. Score at games' end:108-103.
Was a good game with Indiana too.
One of our newcomers Kent Bazemore,
scored 23 points for us. Wesley Johnson
added another 15 points. Indiana has
the best record in the Eastern NBA 
conference. The ending score was: 118-98.
D'Antoni had wanted to obtain Nate McMillan,
former Seattle and Portland coach, to oversee
the Lakers defense. Instead, McMillan has
accepted an associate coaching position
with the Indiana Pacers. A larger salary for 
him. Coach D'Antoni envisioned McMillan 
implementing the Lakers' defensive concepts, 
a responsibility that eventually fell to Kurt Rambis. 
Right now, the Lakers rank 29th out of 30 
NBA teams in total defense following 105.9 points 
per game. Nick Young is eager to play again in
spite of his swelling with the injured bone bruise.
"I really want to play as I do not have all that
many games left" Young stated to the Daily News.
He also made a statement that he truly wants
to continue wearing the Lakers uniform.
Losing to Brooklyn was tough. Final score
was: 108-102. We played well but were hard
pressed, evidently, to become better engrossed.
Pau made 22 points and played a very good
game throughout and Nick Young played only
19 minutes but made 10 points all the same.
Knowing we are well out of the post-season 
picture but still hope to build some momentum; 
Especially so when and if Nick Young can manage
to play longer and without pain besides. Over all
apparently we need far more tension in playing.                                                         
Sure do hope that Chris Kaman's sore back heals.             
We play Sacramento at Staples on Friday Eve. 
Can we get it together fella's.?
BABS WELLS

Saturday, February 22, 2014

AND THE WINNER IS?

We won! Beat the Boston Celtics on
Friday eve. 101-92. YES!!! Two new
players on our team now..Marshon
Brooks and Kent Bazemore. Are young
with long arms, intelligent and eager.
Glad to be part of the Lakers team.
The startling information today is the
shedding of our point guard, Steve
Blake. He now has been sent up to 
Golden State and we just hate to
see him leave us. A straight arrow
and a top notch player to boot. He
will be missed by so many of us too.
We wish him and his family all the
best just the same. Looking like our
Kobe might be out of commission for 
another 10 weeks or so we're told.
Pau made it back on the courts to
play and play he did. Great job.
Nick Young has been cleared to be
able to join the team to play on Sun.
Xavier Henry is still out with injury.
A birthday we see today of an older
Basketball player being a former
Hall of Famer, namely Julius Erving.
He is turning 64 today news tells us.
Steve Nash evidently is still harboring
some of his bad back issues to contend
with. He states that he just loves the
game and wants to get on out there
to be of help for the team as he
wants to give far more before he
must be content to live a long life
without it hopefully.
We miss his plays on the courts.
Pau is thrilled to be able to remain 
with the Lakers team for another year.
Earlier we did lose to Houston, score:
134-108. Dwight Howard was boo'ed
as he came out on to the floor but he
did not let that affect his playing.
Chris Kaman has been doing a super
job in his running and playing  for us.
Our other loss to OKC was not a fun
score to see. 107-102 but Robert
Sacre was certainly a great defender.
As a team, we really did put up a good
fight against the Thunder, in remaining
competitive. Injuries hurt yet we compete.
One year ago the camp out by Lake
Elizabeth that houses terminally ill
children and their families during the
warmer months, "The Painted Turtle",
had to close down due to fires. Now it
has had to clear the air for more pure
air to circulate around the entire camp.
The Lakers have played a large contributor
for this camp and we are happy to report
that it is looking quite like it will probably
be able to once again be in operation.
Some buildings have been restored and
the flora and fauna has returned as well.
So many volunteers helped to make all
of this happen and we proudly salute them.
Now on Sunday we play another game
and this time it is against Brooklyn at 6:00.
BABS WELLS

Friday, February 14, 2014

ST.VALENTINE'S DAY APPLAUSE

We were way ahead at the game played
on Thursday evening. Played against the best 
team in the league, Oklahoma CityLakers
injured though, have been and are fighting for
a chance to show how much we truly do care.
Ahead at one time by 15 points and ahead
too at half time, we plunged on and did it
right. In fact, other than the very last 33.6
seconds it possibly might have become a
tie. OKC beat us by only 5 points. Ending
score 107-102. Proud of our players.
Pau Gasol states that he'd rather remain
a Laker and we, his fans, heartily agree.
Kupchak, can you hear us in the throng?
Granted, it does seem certain that we will
miss the playoffs for only the 6th. time in
franchise history. Playing last evening, we
ranked 14th. in the Western Conference. 
There's far less certainty, however, 
on what the Lakers will do heading into the 
Feb. 20 trade deadline, which Kupchak 
described as "pretty quiet". He feels he has 
seen the Lakers compete lauding the 
injury-ravaged team's efforts and praising 
Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni. It is clear the 
Lakers are gearing up for what Kupchak 
called a "really good draft". Steve Nash 
sat out during the game due to nerve 
irritation in his back and so Kendall
Marshall seamlessly started at point guard 
again and posted 12 points on 5-of-8
shooting and had nine assists. Still nursing
long term injuries for Kobe Bryant, Nick Young,
Jordan Farmar and Jodie Meeks, yet just for
this one night, our Lakers appeared capable
of overcoming the odds no matter how difficult.
Good going fella's and next Wednesday we
shall then see what takes place out on the court.
Babs Wells

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

STILL AT STAPLES

Not a good night last evening it seems. Although
yes, Steve Nash joined in playing with the team and
Chris Kaman did a good job making 25 points.
Sigh......it made 6 straight defeats at home though.
Coach D'Antoni had Shawne Williams playing as
power forward replacing Ryan Kelly. Upon that note,
we remember back to 1992-1993, the Lakers lost 6
consecutive games at the Forum in March of that
season. The 18-34 Lakers have been taken off
a nationally scheduled telecast for the 3rd 
time this season. Undermined all season long
by a run of injuries, the Lakers likely will miss
the post-season for only the 5th time since the
franchise relocated from Minneapolis to LA in 1960/61.
No amount of hoping and wishing can really make
bones heal faster or players be allowed to come on 
to the courts until their trainers and medical
staff give them the okay to do so. Even Kobe Bryant
has been side lined once again far longer than at
first we all thought. Jordan Farmar has also as well
as Xavier Henry and now even our tall Pau Gasol.
The uplifting personality player, our own Nick Young,
is also nursing an injury but gratefully Steve Blake
seems to be doing quite well with his previous injured
elbow, an injury usually dominated in game of tennis.
Gasol and Henry may be able to return to play after
the upcoming All-Star Weekend. A team can make
a maximum of 10 appearances on ESPN and TNT per
season, opening the possibility for ESPN, TNT and
the NBA to decide later to add a game that was not
originally planned. Nash has played only ten games
this season, leaving it possible that the Lakers could
benefit financially from his absence. Our losing score
Tuesday evening against Utah was 96-79. The upcoming
game is also being played at the Staples Center against 
Oklahoma City on Thursday evening at 7:30 Pacific time. 
Wonder how it'll go?
BABS WELLS

Monday, February 10, 2014

FACTS TO PONDER


David Stern has now stepped down from his post as
NBA Commissioner and passed the torch on to Adam
Silver. Adam joined the NBA in 1992 as special assistant.
David has been at the helm since 1984. He plans on
traveling with his wife and yet still maintaining a good
relationship with Adam. Any handover of power is not
to be taken lightly. It would be nice if the transition
could be rather simple, but simple it is not. No oath of
office will be handled as it was when David came aboard.
However as a privately held company, the NBA does
not have to deal with activist investors or manage 
quarterly earnings expectations. Its shareholders are
within the 30 franchise owners who make up the board
of governors and choose a commissioner by private
vote. Stern actually joined the NBA as general counsel
in 1978. The NBA commissioner's most public performance
comes every June in New York City during the player
draft. For the past 30 years, Stern has taken the podium,
usually at Madison Square Garden, to announce the
picks, shake hands and stand for pictures with the draftees.
David Stern is now moving away from the center of attention.
As a team known as the Lakers, we won two recent games
and happily even came close to winning again back at Staples 
Center in L.A. against the Chicago Bulls but alas it was not
to be. Winning in Cleveland and Philadelphia gave us some
needed euphoria so this last loss was hard to take,
especially so with our point guard Steve Nash agonizing
once again in pain. Hopefully it will not be long lasting.
Chris Kaman came into the game bent on doing well and
doing well, he did. He made 27 points and shot both left
and right. He is tall and a real asset for us on our team.
We play once again on Tuesday and perhaps with this
next game we can persist longer into to game to keep
our balance better and have a winning score. Hope so!
BABS WELLS

Thursday, February 6, 2014

NOW LET THE FUN BEGIN

Losing is a bummer and we felt kinda low in
losing to Charlotte and then to Minnesota.
Snow abounded in the midwest but heated
souls trying ever so hard to break that losing 
streak showed through. However inside the 
Target Center, the Timberwolves proved their
worth and scored a win with: 109-99.
Pau did not remain with the team though as he
nursed a sore groin. Kobe remained home
too and Hill and Meeks were not among the
players but Steve Nash was and he was very
much in demand out there on the floor.
We see he remained on the bench some but
played way longer than earlier anticipated.
Nash had some very encouraging words to
say about his trip up to Canada and about
his work with trainer Celebrini. He feels so
confident in his efforts to get well with the
enthusiasm Celebrini showed him and yet
he is trying hard to not hurry his wellness.
Nash tells us, "His trainer has an incredible talent
for recognizing balances and improper
movements. He's able to clean up your
movements so that you can be as efficient
athletically as is possible." Nash and Celebrini
both endorsed the star guard lying on his
back when he is not playing out on the court.
Former coach Mike Brown, back again with
the Cleveland team, found our Lakers in
a winning situation. Steve Blake back once
again helping us with his three's and Jordan
Farmar doing his level best for us to give us
that winning streak and yes!! WE WON ! 
At one point we were so far ahead it looked
like a done deal but the Cleveland team had
some surprises up their sleeves for us and
we had to re-assess our strategies.  The Cavaliers
were on top of us but we pulled through with
doing the best that our team could do and
we won, 119-108. On Friday we will be in
Philadelphia (Another stormy place) to play
at the Wells Fargo Center. Being Nick Young
suffered with a twisted left knee, he will be
having an MRI done and Jordan Hill stayed
out of Cleveland game due to a neck strain
but is expected to be playing in Friday's game.
Robert Sacre picked up his 6th. foul with only
3:31 left in Cleveland game, He remained in the game
because of an interesting twist in the NBA rulebook.
All NBA teams have to field  5 healthy players. So
Sacre stayed in the game, aware he would pick up
a technical foul for each ensuing foul he collected.
And so, seems we're victorious for now.Onward we
go to Pennsylvania to play Friday's game.
BABS WELLS

Sunday, February 2, 2014

POINT GUARDS ALERT

Even with Kendall Marshall giving us some
relief for point guard, the game was waning.
Granted, coach D'Antoni has not allowed
negativity to enter often in the locker room.
The call to "Just play hard" is noted and
even with points made, the game at 48
minutes seems far too great a task for so
many of our players. Very soon, we will
be getting our point guards back to play.
Losing to Indiana with score of:104-92
was difficult to swallow, certainly. Losing
Kobe Bryant for such a lengthy time out
is nasty and then Steve Blake, Steve Nash,
Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar as well,
has cost us games as we all realize, yet
so much credit still goes for those on the
floor. Pau Gasol has astonished us all
each and every game he has played
Even with upper respiratory problems
and other grievances, he has stuck it out.
His points made are in the 20's.... often.
And Kendall Marshall has proven to us
that he is far more than just a stop-gap
player. As the team's only point guard,
the last 12 games, Marshall has averaged
12 points and 11.5 assists per game and
has logged almost 40 minutes a game over
14 games. Not a slacker, he takes pride in
his playing and always is trying hard to win.
Nash turns 40 this coming Feb. 7th. & has
appeared in only 56 of the Lakers 128
regular season's games since they acquired
him from the Phoenix Suns during the 2012
off season. Nash states this is the hardest thing
he has ever had to deal with during his
entire career. He says that hopefully after
he is able to come back to the courts to play
that perhaps then he will arise to become a
better person. Brandishing a groin sprain,
Pau has continued to play but has had to
learn to compensate, while Jodie Meeks
was complaining about having a sore right foot.
Loss of our last two games played at Staples
gives us worry  of course but this next game
will take place in my home state of Minnesota.
Mighty cold there too. Just spoke with an old
friend in Alexandria, MN this very morning and
the temp. right then was only 10 degrees. Oh boy!
We will be indoors however, at the Target Center
for Tuesday evenings game leaving the Bobcats
behind but try our efforts against chilly Minnesota.
Another point of interest today is that we have lost
another great Basketball player. Hall of Famer, Tom
Gola. He played back in 1954 and held the NCAA
title. In fact it still holds the Division 1 record for
career rebounds and helped the Philadelphia
Warriors win the 1956 NBA Championship. He died
last Sunday at the age of 81. Tom had led to the
1952 NIT title + a runner-up finish in the 1955 NCAA
Tournament that set the career rebounds with 2,201
and scored 2,461 points. The late UCLA Coach,
John Wooden called Gola the "greatest all-round
basketball player ever". This 5-time NBA All-Star
was a player that always concentrated on defense
and that, my readers is well worth noting in my
personal opinion. We should take heed re:defense.
BABS WELLS