HAPPY NEW YEAR...!!!!!

And what fun we had! Bring out the noise

makers, send off the fire-works. In the city

of green, we prevailed and won last evening

over the Boston Celtics and our leading

star Kobe, was applauded and given

the tribute he so deserves and it sure

did my heart good to see and hear this.

Kobe's beauty of a wife (Vanessa) along

with his two daughters, (Natalia & Gianna)

were right there too cheering their Dad & 

looking ever so proud. Along this route of

Kobe's final tour for playing in the NBA,

he showed such power and made his

first double-double of the season.  He

made 15 points and a big 3-pointer at 

the game's end. Our final score for Wed.

game was: Lakers, 112 & Celtics 104.

The Charlotte game was not as good.

We lost 108-98. The Hornets were

relentless but they still did give

our Kobe an awesome ovation.

He became the Lakers all-time

leading  scorer and a 5 time NBA

Champion. Repeatedly he always

stated that he wanted to be the best,

Well, we wrap up 2015 with his promise

fulfilled and onward we trek into yet 

another game. This one played in L.A. at

Staples Center on New Year's Day against

the Philadelphia 76'ers.. Game at 7:30.

We learned we have lost a Basketball Globe

trotters star, Meadowlark Lemon.

He played with the Harlem Globetrotters

and was known as the "Clown Prince:"

He died in AZ at age 83. R.I.P. now.

BABS WELLS

SUPPOSE MISTLETOE MIGHT HAVE HELPED?

We lost. Both games. Last two games played.

But we will try once again this Sunday with the

Grizzlies and see just how we might fare there.

The O.K.C. game had Kobe Bryant back playing

with the team. The last time playing against

them, his right shoulder was painful so he opted

 out of  playing that game . This time they beat

us by score of: 120-85.. Bryant, who equaled a season

high with 31 points Tuesday night in Lakers' win

over Denver, score of 111-107, played on con-

secutive nights for the 4th. time this season & he

finished with 19 points on 7 for 22 shooting in 27 minutes.

Consider the gift though, that keeps on giving.

Kobe Bryant playing at Staples Center against

the L.A. Clippers right on Christmas Day eve.

And did you know that Kobe surpassed Oscar

Robertson's Christmas Day points made? Kobe made

(so far) 383 in 2012 with Oscar's record of 377.

Well, the miscues came in all shapes and sizes.

The Lakers stayed out of the paint just as the

Clippers (played at Staples center) Christmas

Day eve. when our rookie point guard,

D'Angelo Russell spent (most) of his time on the

bench than out on the court and Julius Randle nursed

(forward) his bad left leg., while Nick Young earlier had

a stomach bug., hence the Lakers' struggle against 

the other L.A. team (Clippers) and so we lost 94-84.

Despite pleas from the 18,997 sellout crowd to put

Bryant back in his final Christmas Day game, he sat

out ending with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting in

26 minutes time. Also, it appeared we could not

seem to overcome shooting only 13 of 25 from

the foul line.  Kobe fired off 9 points with a trio

of 3-point baskets, in what seemed like 30

seconds in the first half of the game on Friday.

Even falling behind at one time by 28 points,

we rallied and left the games' ending loss by 10.

Wondering today just how we shall do on Sunday

when we face the Grizzlies mid day. Hope to win!

BABS WELLS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

And...Ho Ho Ho..we did it! Thank you

Kobe. Yes, during that first half of the

game, we did wonder. But playing Denver

Nuggets took a real turn for the better

(for our team) and Kobe Bryant made

31 points on 10-of-22 shooting with

five assists in 32 minutes after missing

Saturday's game against the Thunder

with Oklahoma City. This also marked

his fifth game in the last seven appearances

he scored at least 20 points. He converted

a four-point play. He made numerous

fadeaways ,including a step-back jumper

that gave the Lakers a 94-91 lead with

6:13 left on the clock. He also threw a

no-look pass to Randle for an open 

dunk. Kobe then cemented the game

with a pull-up jumper that gave the

Lakers a 107-100 edge with 32 seconds

left to play it out. It was an eager

audience watching this game that had

the aspects of a loss at first for us.

It was a challenge in over-coming

a 21 point deficit. Then the Lakers

cut the Nuggets lead to 70-68.

At that time there was 7:05 left in

the third quarter to play. By the way,

there were double digits too from

Jordan Clarkson (19 points), Lou

Williams (15), Nick Young (11)

and Larry Nance Jr. (10.)

This game final score: 111-107.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Far different game was played

by our Lakers in Oklahoma City.

We lost that game. Score:118-78.

And, the farewell tour came to

a screeching halt. Our star player,

Kobe Bryant, felt his shoulder was

not as it ought to have been so he

decided to not play after all.

He had a torn rotator-cuff 

surgery done on it last January.

Julius Randle made the statement 

that they just seemed to not be able to

play well as a team. They evidently

did not have enough steam or energy.

Perhaps the Gods will give us another

chance? We host Oklahoma City

tonight  at Staples Center.,

So we will sit tight, & watch this eve.

BABS WELLS

STAPLES & FANS ARE EVER SO HAPPY

YUP....WE....WON....!!

Really a good game for us last evening against 

the Milwaukee Bucks. Our Kobe was in such good

form and showed us once again his prowess

on the courts.  He made 22 points and it was

a sell-out crowd of 18,997 spectators while

we finally had a victory score: 113-95.

D'Angelo Russell, in his new role as the

Lakers' sixth man, scored 19 points

and delivered seven assists.

Other Lakers in double figures scoring

were Lou Williams (16), Julius Randle (14)

and 14 rebounds, Roy Hibbert and Jordan

Clarkson each scored 12, with Nick Young

making 10 points. Kobe finished with 6

assists as well. He said of the younger

players that he is more relaxed about their

plays and is enjoying seeing the team grow.

It sure did feel more like home last night.

During their previous 8 game road trip

they passed through varying time zones

and guess it rattled their souls somewhat.

It turns out that our Lakers seemed to

have everything they needed at home

to give us a winning game.

The Lakers offense hummed and this all

happened against a team that had ended 

Golden State's 24 game unbeaten streak 

just 3 days earlier. And it happened 3 days

after the Lakers concluded their 8 game,

13 day trip. In a season in which

we are starved for victories, our players

appeared (for now at least) to be very

well nourished. Bryant sank the final

foul shot as he sparked "MVP" chants.

And so, on Thursday eve (At Staples)

we will be playing against the Rockets.

Keep up the good work lads!

BABS WELLS

BACK HOME AT STAPLES CENTER AGAIN

Road trips are fun in a way and allow the

rookies out on the floor to do "their thing"

but evidently do not allow us as Lakers

to make much of a big dent for winning.

We are learning who and what works

the best and so far it has been a great

big struggle to do so. It is no offense

for coach Byron Scott as he has put

Sacre, Nick Young, Larry Nance Jr,

Julius Randle, Marcello Huertas and

D'Angelo Russell on the courts and

yet our losses keep mounting up.

When we played the San Antonio 

Spurs, Russell  logged a career

high in points of 24 & had shooting

clip 9-of-23 with 6 assists. He played

all of 36 minutes. Playing mostly with

Kobe whose willingly reduced role

also coincided with a somewhat

efficient 12 points on a 5-of-12

shooting, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kobe played 29 minutes in the game.

Although the Houston Rockets are

no where near where they want to

be, they  feel like they are getting

there, & yes, lost in TX. both in

San Antonio and in Houston.

The Rockets won 126-97 and the

Spurs won 109-87.

So you see we do still have a 

lot of work yet ahead of us going

on soon into 2016 for season's

end. Jordan Clarkson  missed

his second straight game with

a sprained ankle. The loss in

Houston closed out an 8 game

road trip, the team's longest

since a 9 game trip Jan.2007-

Feb. 2008. Nick Young finished

scoring with 13 points. There will

be a little bit of a change in the

scenery with second year

forward Tarik Black, rookie 

forward Anthony Brown, and

third year forward Ryan Kelly

assigned to their Develop-

ment League affiliate, the D-

Fenders.  All 3 played in last

Sunday's game against the Austin

Spurs at the Lakers' practice

facility in El Segundo.

I read in the newspaper that we have

lost a big man with a guard's flair.

Dolph Schayes, age 87, has died.

He gained acclaim as a Hall of

Famer forward and was one of the 

greatest players of his time with the

old Syracuse Nationals & also

among the NBA's leading scorers.

And at only age 53, we now have

lost John Williams, 6th. man with

the Cavs. He spent 13 years in the

NBA and was a popular and tough

 defensive 6th. man on the Cleveland

Cavaliers during 1988-89.

Sorry to have lost you both.

May you  now R.I.P.

And so, now on Tuesday eve. we

shall be back on our own home courts

and playing against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Would be so very nice to get a victory

BABS WELLS

Today at 2:32 PM DEJA VU ......ALL OVER AGAIN

We played in Minnesota once before against the 

Timberwolves, didn't we? And playing we lost by

one point? Well, last eve the same thing took 

place...even in overtime we played hard and

tied often, but lo and behold - right at the

game's ending - we lost by one point once more.

They played well and it was such a fun game

to watch. Also, fans from the Lakers original state

of being, gave our Kobe Bryant a love shown

and an ovation of sheer joy seeing him play.

The score for their win once before was:

112-111 and this time it was: 123-122.

Sorry about that lads, but yes, it happened.

Kobe has passed Michael Jordan on the

NBA's career scoring list at Target Center last

season & Wolves public address announcer

Rod Johnson introduced Kobe as being

"One of the greatest players of all time".

Kobe met with Bob Williams before the

game saying he was a pioneer. Bob was

the first black player with the Lakers 

back in 1955-57. He now is age 84.

In Detroit against the Pistons was also

a loss for us. Julius Randle and D'Angelo

Russell have quite a great deal to say 

about playing and even mouthed a

few comments about being on the bench.

Losses on this very long road trip have

not been fun to see but we are hopeful

always and we line up now to go & play

against the San Antonio team on Friday. 

That will be enjoyable seeing our rookies

and our Kobe launch their prowess

against  Duncan (also another long time

player) and we'll shout our lungs out for

the Lakers as we tend to always do.

See you Friday then?

BABS WELLS

ROAD TRIPS SOMETIMES TRIP US UP

In Detroit Piston game we made a great

endeavor for gain but in the long run it

did not pan out for a victory for us. Ending

score was:Pistons, 111 and Lakers: 91.

Their Public Address System though was

in fine form  as the announcer listed all

of Kobe Bryant's accomplishments in his

20 years as an NBA Laker. Once he did

get out on the court to play, he provided

some nice shots and made 5 points

while shooting 2 of 15 from the field &

1 of 6 from 3 point range in 26 minutes

before sitting out in the 4th.quarter.

His stomach had been acting up and he

felt as if he may have the flu-bug.He

 said, had it not been his last season, it is 

likely he never would have even played.

Bright spots during this game were

from Lou Williams making 21 points

and Julius Randle 15 points, 11 re-

bounds & D'Angelo Russell 12 points.

He also had 3 assists.Larry Nance Jr.

did not play in this game due to a sore

knee. In Michigan, this was not the

first game at the Palace of Auburn

Hills that Kobe had played in as in 1993, 

in the Spring, he played in Magic

Johnson's Round-ball Classic. (High

School game).

In Toronto last eve. against the Raptors,

it really did look as if we might win.

We tied more than once & sure seemed

to give it our all. Good game to see.

Sorry, but we lost this game as well.

Ending score was: Raptors 102,Lakers 93.

First starting lineup did not include either

Russell or Randle but instead Coach

Byron Scott started with Huertas & Sacre.

I (for one) was pleased seeing this but 

thought they needed Nick Young more.

On Wednesday we will be in my

homestate of Minnesota playing against

the Timberwolves. Game  begins

at 5:00 p.m. TWCN

Ron Artest (Metta World Peace)  says

now he'd  really like to become a coach.

As wreckless as he once was( plus had

quite a long absence from playing because

of it,) says now that he no longer views him-

self that way and would look forward to any 

coaching job offer he may get and that 

he feels very confident.

December 7th. Basketball Hall of Famer,

Larry Bird turned age 59.

Hope we win now in Minnesota!

BABS WELLS.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Philly and a standing ovation for our star

player, Kobe Bryant. No, that particular

game we lost but the other team and

fans showed such almost reverence

for our Kobe that is was most gratifying.

We then went on to D.C,. and.....WON..!!!

Yes, we surely did. Good game to see.

Our rookies came forth and Kobe made

31 points alone & his legs seemed as

if he might have been 20 again. Fun..!

We then flew to play Atlanta and again

it honestly did seem to me that we

were about to win one more game

on the road but last 5 minutes the

team appeared to have become

careless and we lost it.

Earlier I mentioned Philly.

That game played began a

winning streak for them after losses

of 28 games so I guess in a sort

of wondrous way, Kobe and team

sorta gave it away to them. (Not

true but......  seemingly so.

I see by newspaper that another

basketball player has died.

Jim Loscutoff, tough rebounder

for the Boston Celtics.He was age

85 and had played back in the 1950's

and 1960's. The Boston Globe reported

that Jim suffered from Parkinson's disease

and Pneumonia. He retired from the Celtics

in 1964 and he with his wife had opened

up a children's day camp in Massachusetts.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we will be still out on

the road and playing against the Pistons.

In our last game Julius Randle had 8 points

on 3-of-12 shooting and 5 rebounds.

Sorry, but this was well short of the double-

double efforts Lakers coach Byron Scott

expects from him to average. Second year

guard Jordan Clarkson did not close that game

after posting 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Lou Williams (back on court since his own

grandfather passed away), stayed in the

game because of his 18 points on a 6-of-

13 clip off the bench. Kobe felt a bit of

fatigue but will be  likely keeping up with

his minutes on the floor.  Midway through

the the third quarter, he made consecutive

3-pointers and yes, displayed bravado

afterward dismissing concerns he could

complete the 2015-16 season nursing

his current workload. Long term?..so far,

not too dissuaded.

The Atlanta Zoo named its black mamba 

after Bryant, a twist on how the Lakers'

star went by name (nickname) of the

black mamba it seems because the

snake's predator-like qualities

symbolized his on  court aggressiveness

So Sunday we'll wait it out and hope to win

.

BABS WELLS

RETIREMENT

RETIREMENT

Yes, now it is true, that our Kobe Bryant has let

us all know his wheels have pretty much fallen

off and with this current season ending, 2016

he will bid farewell after a very determined 20

years as a Laker for the NBA. He came aboard

at age 17 in 1996 and faithfully ran up and down

those courts with the fans urging him on always.

The past two seasons have not been as we'd 

wished them to be and the season we are now

in is not turning out very good either for us.

And so, retirement seems to be the popular

trend right now for Kobe and for this writer

doing this blog as well. Having just turned age

85, I too am hanging it up after this season.

I have been doing this ever since Feb. 2010

and with other missions on my plate it seems

that I feel it only right to move forward too.

We all wish Kobe the very best & yes, he

will show us all that he is still around

I am sure. I know for one thing, he is hoping

to play in the 2016 Olympics and may do so.

Losing games has become a norm and

not happily so either. Losing to the Golden State

Warriors and losing to the Portland Trailblazers

as well, set us in the ranks of non-victors.

Byron Scott (Lakers coach) made the statement

"I remember so well when we were winning

nearly every night. and I think once it's over

you look back and realize how much fun it was".

and "One thing coach Pat Riley would not

let us do is live on what we just did the night

before." And so the banter went on remembering.

Yes, our Lakers used to be in "Showtime"

and it was an era we shall not soon forget.

In fact, Kobe, at age 17, was only 13th

over-all pick back in 1996.

He went on to win 5 Championships and

has third place standing on League's

all-time scoring Lakers list. He  even won

two U.S. Olympic Gold Medals.

Thank you from our hearts Kobe for giving

us your all. They packed the stadiums just

to get the chance to see you play and we

are all the better for having you a Laker.

Now on Tuesday. we will be playing against

the '76'ers at  4:00 p.m.

Our last game we lost by only 4 points so

that in itself shows our young players are

in accord and trying hard to be more 

unified so it bodes well for us, I think.

November 24th. Basketball Hall of

Famer Oscar Robertson turned 77.

Also at age 83, former New Mexico

Basketball coach, Norm Ellenberger

has died. His demise came on Nov.

14th. so we bid him goodbye  & R.I.P.

BABS wells