MILE HIGH CITY WIN

Dallas Mavericks beat our L.A.

Lakers with score of: 102-98.

Not so with this last game

played in Colo. against the 

Denver Nuggets. Good game.

Kobe played over 30 minutes

and said his legs felt pretty

good. He showed us his stamina,

and made his second triple-double

of the season. Kobe, being so

energized, seemed to be far

more enthusiastic plus emitting a

positive development. He had 23

points on 6-of-11 shooting, 11

rebounds and 11 assists. During

his 19 plus years playing with the Lakers,

this was his 21st triple-double in

his career. He is 36 years old.

The final score was: 111-103

with our team in control having

the lead during the game almost

entirely. Bryant's pass-first

mentality also fueled a Lakers

offense that featured 5 players

cracking the double-digit scoring

mark. Carlos Boozer made 19

points, Ronnie Price had 18

with Wesley Johnson making 16

and Jordan Hill shooting 12 points.

Bryant hit 3 of 4 consecutive

free throws to secure the win.

Earlier in the game he also 

swatted away a shot from the

Nuggets 7-ft.-1 center, Timofey

Mozgov. We are now hopeful

that with the games played, perhaps

we can lift ourselves out of the

Western Conference cellar.

We actually led at one time by

23 points. It certainly did give us

cause for applause from this mile-

high city of Denver, Colorado.

I see that on Tuesday December

30th Basketball Hall of Famer,

Sandy Koufax, turned 79.

Belated Birthday Greetings,

and Happy New Year to you all.

BABS WELLS

KOBE IS BACK

And we really gave the Phoenix Suns

something for worry warts during

the first half of the Sunday game.

Sorry we could not seem to keep

up the pace even with our Star

player out on the courts for

as many minutes as was decided by 

Coach Byron Scott for our Kobe Bryant.

When the Phoenix coach put

the three playmaking guards

simultaneously out to make a

big show of deployment, even Kobe

became a bit overwhelmed.

With one on the left, one on the

right and one in the middle, there

just simply was no way to cover

them all. Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe,

and Isaiah Thomas caused some

of our Lakers some alarm. The final

minutes of their seventh win in 8 meetings

with our Lakers who then lost their

third straight despite Bryant's return.

Final score was 116-107.

At least Kobe made the statement that

his legs did feel better. Joy certainly

abounded seeing Nick Young hit four

3-pointers and scoring 21 points.

Jeremy Lin added another 19 points.

Before the game, L.A. claimed

center Tarik Black off waivers from

Houston and waived injured guard

Xavier Henry. Black is expected to

be in town Monday for a physical.

Our next game to watch will take

place in Denver when we play the 

Nuggets on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.

A former Harlem Globetrotter

has died but no reason or age

was given to us. He was the ex-

Globetrotter, Robert "Showboat"

Hall. He played back in 1948-1955.

He was succeeded by Reece

"Goose" Tatum, as the team's

primary showman. Chief Ex-

utive Harlem Globetrotters, Kurt

Schneider said in a release on

Friday that Hall's dedication

to the team and to his craft

had brought joy to families 

around the world and actually 

was matched by few people in the

history of the organization.

RIP Robert Hall.

BABS WELLS

OUR STAR, KOBE IS TIRED

Well, Kobe has stepped out of play currently and

the team went into unified mode. We had one of the

best games ever. It was crazy how the team just

decided to gel and it worked. The final score with

our play against the Golden State Warriors was:

115-105. The game took place last Tuesday

and yes, it was sure a fun game to watch.

Three pointers were taken and baskets made.

Nick Young and Ed Davis certainly entertained

us with their flare for game survival.Along with

Wesley Johnson, their orchestration out on

the court at Staples, was a winning unit.

Not so on Christmas day I am afraid.

Even with their willingness to succeed, it just

did not play out for us. The Lakers really struggled.

and even with our former Laker playing too,

we could not get that same winning streak.

Kobe was at court sideline and embraced

his friend and former team mate, Pau Gasol.

It was with mixed emotions, that we played

this game in Chicago against the Bulls with

our final losing score being:113-93.

Boozer said it felt weird playing them as

they were really like his brothers out there.

Emotions had to be put aside and the game played.

Wesley Johnson led L.A. with 19 points and

Ed Davis added another 13 points with

Jordan Hill getting 16 points. and perhaps

they all will get better when on Friday

night they play in Dallas so we shall have

to watch and see. Good luck fella's.

BABS WELLS

LAKERS MUST BE TIRED

We  Have lost the last three games. Sad but true.

Our Kobe seems worn out and has missed

shots which is not like him at all. Nick Young

did play after all ,this last game as earlier

it was up in the air whether or not he may

get penalized. Playing against OKC in the last

few seconds we lost by only one point.

Kobe missed a 17 foot jumper right before

the buzzer.The Lakers did honor Bryant before

the game for passing MIchael Jordan

and moving into third place on the NBA'S 

career scoring list during this recent road trip.

He was also joined by his wife and two daughters

on the court. Now we note that the Lakers

have lost 14 of 18 games to the Thunder.

Playing games on the road proved to not

be working all that well for our team.

Beating Minnesota Timber wolves was

fun, of course, but now this last game against

Sacramento Kings, we held our own during

the first half plus tied at times besides yet in

the last part of that game. We seemed to

have fallen apart. Coach Byron Scott is considering

resting Kobe for a game or two. The 17,317

fans that came to watch this last game at

Sleep Train Arena did see some glimpses of

our Star, Kobe's greatness, such as canning

shots from 22 and 30 feet. He did air ball one

shot however. Another time he was called for 

traveling. After facing a double team, Bryant attempted

a fade away jumper behind the basket. He threw

a jump pass to Lakers forward Jordan Hill, that

landed on his ankles. Bryant also committed

an offensive foul on Kings center DeMarcus

Cousins as the Lakers trailed 101-95 with

2:30 left to play. Nick Young has this to say,

"Kobe still goes out there every night to give

his best and we need him out there. He knows it.

But we do not want him to kill himself so that

really is why I am out there too". Our next game will

be against the Warriors on Tuesday evening.

The Lakers will make their 16th. consecutive

Christmas Day T.V. appearance next Thursday

when they face the Bulls and former Laker

player  Pau Gasol. Greetings fans!

BABS WELLS

TWICE WON!!!!

At AT&T Center, a game that resembled

our past Lakers' noticed the matching of

intensity and the games' ending. We 

won in overtime with score being: Lakers 112

and the San Antonio Spurs 110. It was a

most interesting game to see Friday night.  San

Antonio has one of the games' best coaches,

Gregg Popovich. The Texas Spurs team has

some mighty good players too, namely;

Tim Duncan, Ginobli and Parker. Their

coach was even expecting the game

to be very demanding yet was quoted

as giving remarks favorably about Kobe.

Being we were still on the road, we played

a game on Sunday in our very own

starting state of Minnesota. Lakers did not

come to California until 1960. The name

"LAKERS" derived from Minnesota as

being the land of over 10,000 lakes.

We kept the name even when coming to

L.A.  Minnesota happens to be the

home too of this writer, having moved

myself to sunny California in 1965.

We played still being on the road and then again, 

we won this game. Final score being: 100-94. 

In fact it was yet another milestone for our 

Kobe Bryant, having surpassed Michael Jordan 

in points. Yup, Kobe broke  Michael's record in points.

Kobe, a rookie at age 18, Coach  Byron Scott

well remembers him then and has been an

avid  observer all these years since.

It was a very passionate moment in

basketball history for him to now be Kobe's

coach. At games' end, they embraced and

smiles were noted just about everywhere.

Wesley Johnson, Davis, Price, Hill, Lin,

Nick Young, Sacre and Boozer each lent

their worth for the score to be as it was.

Their contributions were needed and gave

Kobe lee-way to make the points that he did.

What a 'special night it was too. Our pride

in him and the applauding fans made every

single thing great. Kobe has played since

he was age 18 and now at age 36, he has

managed to realize many of his achievements yet

one almost can hear him chant, "But I do still

want to play to  win yet another Championship".

It is possible. Suppose it might be in the offing?

We will just have to continue to cheer our

team on and hope for the best. We now will

continue seeing Kobe acting as roll model and

mentor. Nick Young, having just  ended his pre-

draft workout, feels he has one big responsibility

as he has become the teams' fun-loving player

with his constant smile and great attitude,

we shall be watching him too. See you at the

next game!

BABS WELLS 

NOT TO BE OUTDONE

Granted, we have been remiss winning

many of our games but yes, we won last

evening against the Sacramento Kings.

A fun game for us fans to watch too.

Tied more than once, we hung in there

and final score was: 98-95.

It was the return of our Kobe in clutch

time. Our defense was far better

than it actually has been. Kobe scored

9 of the final 11 points played.

He is in fact, now 32 points away

from passing Michael Jordan for third

place on the all-time NBA scoring list.

Nick Young contributed 12 vital points

off the bench for the Lakers with Wesley

Johnson and Ed Davis combining making

21 points. Carlos Boozer contributed 15

points and nine rebounds and this game

put to rest our 3-game losing streak.

The newspaper is telling us that 2015-16

will really be Kobe's last playing season.

Mitch Kupchak made this statement after

announcing that the $48.5 million contract

Lakers made with Kobe, will end after the

2015-16 season. That then will have given

us our Kobe for a marveled 20-year NBA

career. His vast resume currently entails

five NBA championships and a 4th. place

standing on the league's all-time scoring

list. Having said this, our coach, Byron

Scott expressed optimism Bryant would 

play beyond his current contract for

two seasons. Bryant himself, remains

non-committal.

The defeat last Sunday against the

New Orleans Pelicans was tough. 

Score ended as: 104-87. Scott was pretty

upset over this game saying that changes must 

be made. As a coach, he said he was not about to

stand pat and just watch it continue to be played

the way it had been going. Jeremy Lin has done

fairly well it appears,in 77 games off the bench.

Friday night we will be watching our Lakers play

the Spurs at 6:30, ESPN

I also noted that on Sunday, Basketball Hall of

Famer Larry Bird turned 58.

Tomorrow we are being told by the Weather

Bureau, in L.A. we shall once again be
experiencing that wet stuff coming down

and soaking up or plants and lawns.

Great !. Hopeful Friday's game is a good one!

BABS WELLS

END OF ROAD TRIP

Well fans, Detroit went well but D.C.

and Boston, not so well.

Sunday we will try it all again.

Back home, we will be playing the

Pelicans as the L.A. Clippers play

against them today at 7:30.

Jeremy Lin says that he and Kobe 

leave everything out there on the floor. 

Staring, he and Kobe are on the same 

page, anyway. Lin has waved his

hands in desperation when he has 

stood open while Bryant has taken

difficult shots through double

teams. Lin has also expressed

frustration the Lakers' offensive

balance has mostly tilted in Kobe's

direction. No discord however.

Sometimes they might not agree on

everything but its' not because

they are trying to be selfish or

maybe harbor any ulterior motives.

It is all about doing the right thing and

trying to give each other the lee-way

in order to have the very best chance

to win. Sadly, the Lakers rarely have

accomplished that this season.

In fact they rank last in total defense, 

allowing 111.1 points per game. They

have endured season ending injuries

re: Steve Nash (back), rookie forward

Julius Randle (right leg), and reserve

swing man Xavier Henry (left Achilles).

They opened the first month of the

season with 14 games against teams

currently slated to play in the post season.

Lin still is believing that the Lakers' will

make it being able to play in the playoffs.

He believes that many on the team feel 

likewise and perhaps God is dealing

with the team in yet just a different way.

The system he was in in New York,

the ball was in his hand 95% of the

time. With this, it seemed he was able

to run pick-and-roll, get to the basket,

and then get shots by himself.

This is really not what we have here.

Lin feels though, he is further in his 

progress as a player where he can

be effective in different ways. He is

in his 5th. NBA season.

The coach is watching closely to see

just how this all plays out as we all 

look forward  now to Sunday's game.

BABS WELLS

BRING OUT THE BIG BRASS BAND

Lakers came up short against Grizzlies and the

Timberwolves but oh what a show they did 

give us all at Staples Center on Sunday eve.

against the Toronto Raptors. Kobe Bryant

had 31 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds 

in his 20th. career triple-double and the L.A.

Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak

with a 129-122 overtime victory so we all

breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Seven players scored in double figures for

the Lakers, including all 5 starters. Nick Young

added 20 off the bench, Carlos Boozer scored

18 and Jordan Hill had 16 points with 12 rebounds.

Wesley Johnson put the Lakers ahead for good

in overtime with a 3-pointer after he blocked a 

layup at the other end. Lakers Robert Sacre

let out a huge scream after making a basket

but receiving a foul call on the play during the

second half against the Raptors.

At one point, Kobe threw a cross-court pass

to Nick Young, who hit a 3 pointer with only

1:24 yet to play. A most interesting note for us

all to remember is the Toronto game we played

back in 2006 when Kobe scored 81 points all

by himself at Staples Center that January 22nd. .

This made it only the second-highest total in NBA

history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100. He then 

averaged 30.1 in his next 13 games against

the Raptors before getting just nine through

28 minutes last December with his first game

back playing from healing  with his Achilles

surgery. Interesting footnotes down memory Lane.

This past wk. end was a fascinating one for

this writer. Flying out of L.A.X. to rainy and oh

so very cold Ore. I helped celebrate a daughter's

Birthday and attend a grandson's wedding

plus following reception, right after the big

turkey day here locally at a nephew's., this

bod grew mighty weary and exhausted yet

glad beyond measure to be bonding with so

many family members and know the excitement

and the joys that these sorts of gatherings give.

Thank you one and all for just every single thing.

BABS WELLS