AHEAD 'TIL VERY END

Sorry folks, LA loses a big lead & then was defeated

by Minnesota Timberwolves right at the end of the game. 

Score 112-111. Lakers Guard Lou Williams attempted 

a floater that hit the back of the rim as time expired.

Such a big shame too as those young players

were in good form. Williams had a 21 point 

performance on 6 of 14 shooting and a 7 of 7 mark 

from the foul line. He also made a 3 pointer moments 

earlier too. In his appearance since missing the last 3 

exhibition games because of a bruised lower left leg, 

Kobe Bryant scored a team-leading 24 points and 

3 of 13 from a 3 point range in 29 minutes.

Friday night we will be playing the Kings.

With the acquisition of 7 ft 2" Roy Hibbert

from Indiana Pacers, coach Byron Scott

has the rim protector he lacked last year.

Hibbert had a curious setback season one year

ago as his field goal percentage dropped

44.3 %. Hibbert was the 17th overall pick in

the 2008 NBA Draft out of Georgetown, and

he blossomed late in his Hoyas career. 

Our young players are going to learn mighty quick

that there are expectations and then there

are Lakers expectations. Best of luck fella's.

BABS WELLS

NOW LET US HAVE THE GAMES BEGIN

Sunday, October 25th it was NBA Hall of Famer

Bob Knight's Birthday. He turned 75.

Wonder how that feels? As of October 23rd.

this writer tuned 85! (large number!)

We have lost some folks now as well.

Flip Saunders, (Philip Daniel Saunders)

lost his life at age 60. He was coach for the

Minnesota Timberwolves (this writer's home)

He will be sorely missed. R.I.P. Flip.

Promise of talented young players like Julius

Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and D'Angelo

Russell ,a catch phrase of:"The Next Generation"

in bold letters is promising for all of us to see.

In fact, the NBA Lakers may open up their 

new season, against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That would be taking place on Wednesday evening

at Staples Center..The Lakers have devoted their

cover of the 2015-16 media guide with various

images of Kobe Bryant and his Laker 20 year

career. Nineteen seasons he donned the purple 

and gold. He represents our once great and

glorious past and so having said that, we now

have our new players to represent us for a

hopeful future. Yes, it does look as if Kobe

will play in our season opener game after all.

He has been sidelined nursing a bruised leg.

In fact, many NBA players had injuries that kept

them from top performances. Eight players of the 

most popular-selling jerseys missed at least

15% of the 82 regular season games. LeBron

James missed 13, Blake Griffin missed 15, Derrick

Rose missed 31, Russell Westbrook missed 15,

Kevin Durant missed 55, Carmelo Anthony missed

42, Dwight Howard missed 41, Paul George missed

76 and our very own Kobe Bryant missed 47 games.

In their last round of roster cuts, Lakers prioritized

defense & mentorship over scoring and potential.

Metta World Peace (Ron Artest), will be staying

on with the Lakers after all. This gives him a second

chance to revitalize his NBA career, pair up once

again with Kobe and spark nostalgia for his role

in the franchise's championship run in 2010.

But this move came at the expense of 22 year old

Jabari Brown. It was a most difficult decision

our Coach Byron Scott said. Experience won.

I guess it was,ot an easy decision but Metta

said, "no, it was not easy being a vet and trying

to get back into the league."  And our other

Vet, Kobe Bryant still dreams of a sixth ring.

He laughed at former coach Phil Jackson's

speculation he could pursue his thoughts

on jewelry elsewhere next year when his lavish

Lakers contract runs out.

Well, mates, we shall all wait it out & see.

BABS WELLS

ON HOME GROUND

Although our Kobe did manage to get in a tad of

practice, he opted to remain out of the playing

during our last 2 pre-season games. We played

at Staples Center against the Portland, OR

Trail Blazers and even tied often during the

game and then at games' end, tied once more.

There was but 3 seconds left on the clock when

Ryan Kelly made a basket! Talk about happy faces!

The final score was 104-102. Our next game will

take place in Anaheim. vs The Warriors at 7:00

p.m. at Honda Center Thursday night.

Our regular season begins on October 28th.

Swaggy Nick Young is looking to come

back strong following a tough 2014-15 season.

He was afraid he would be traded in the off-

season but no, remains a Laker and wants to 

make amends for his last sub-par year.

He states that he is ready to do what so ever

it might take to become a dependable Laker.

Coach Byron Scott tells us that as long as

we get players to understand we have

been trying to do everything in their best

interest, nothing really is difficult. Golden

State is our final preseason contender

so we shall see how it unfolds. Scott

is predicting he will be making Lakers

players cuts right before Thursday's game.

Former Laker Lamar Odom has now been

transferred to L.A. Cedar Sanai Hospital

from Nevada and is making some strides

toward recovery, having even taken a

few steps along the hallway. There is some

talk maybe down the line of his having

at home help when his dialysis is lessened.

His kidneys are in question right now.

We will all be hoping for the best for him.

BABS WELLS

NEWSWORTHY ITEMS TO SHARE

First of all, it has been reported in the media but will

add some notes here today as well. Former Lakers

Star in NBA, Lamar Odom, has been steadily

recovering from his fall from grace when found

unconscious in Nevada after having evidently

absorbed in his body heavy drugs. He could neither

talk nor see or breathe on his own. He now is awake

and even has been making some eye contact,

Dr's also have taken him off his breathing tubes.

Granted, he is far from well but is now making strides

toward more optimum health. That is good news for

us all. The Lakers felt he was actually part of their family.

He lost his mother when just age 12 and his father

was a drug addict so it wasn't an easy childhood for

him. One of his babies died at a very early age as well.

We, as basketball fans wish Lamar well and our prayers

are with him as they are too for his family. 

Kobe Bryant had an injury to his leg so opted out of

playing in San Diego on Saturday evening against

the Golden State Warriors. I for one, enjoyed seeing

Luke Walton again. He's a coach now with Warriors.

Seems the court in San Diego fell short of being

a solid surface with players skidding around, falling

down and feeling the floor quite slippery while playing.

They tried to fix the court flooring at one point during half

time but then into the third quarter it remained a problem 

and rather than risk players in pre-season to maybe

become hurt, they decided to call off the game.

Our Lakers were 15 points ahead anyway & there remained

only 15 more minutes of play left but  crowd was not happy.

Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) made the statement

"We almost killed ourselves out there" and then said

"That floor was bad. It was brutal. I am sure the building

manager will be getting a lot of criticism but hopefully 

he will not be losing his job"

Still, Jordan Clarkson posted a team-leading 17 points.

Point guard Marcelo Huertas made his NBA debut with

10 points after missing the last 5 exhibitions because

of a strained right hamstring. While there appears to be

quite a lot of hoopla over Julius Randle (and partially correct)

and also D'Angelo Russell, this writer was mighty taken

last night with Nick Young's 3 point plays. To me, it seemed

he has made a big splash in his return to play. All in all, with

the game having been shut down 5 times, the game itself

was a shocker that our team surely did so well. Lotsa fun.

BABS WELLS

MID WEEK NEWS

Former Lakers player Lamar Odom was found

unconscious in Nevada & taken to hospital.

October 13th marked NBA Allstar Paul Pierce

turning age 38. Today, this writer had her

firstborn and only son Brad way back in 1950.

In Las Vegas last evening, Kobe Bryant fell

on the court and left for the locker rooms

during the third quarter as he bruised a leg.

He actually walked off on his own accord.

They were playing the Sacramento Kings

and lost the game  by score of 107-100.

Guard Marcelo Huertas missed his 5th.

consecutive exhibition game because

of a strained hamstring. It does look as,

though, he will be playing on Saturday

against Golden State in San Diego

During last nights' game, D'Angelo 

Russell went up against 9 year veteran 

Rajon Rondo. In fact, it was actually during

a play that our Kobe got tangled up with

Rondo that caused his fall in the 3rd quarter.

Jordan Clarkson made the statement of:

"A possibility in any game is that one makes

mistakes and turns the ball over against

those guys but they are experienced so

not to forget that.". Clarkson also viewed

Russell as being a "chill dude". Some of

Russell's plays have been just the right

play and "feeling that somebody is open

to get to him no matter how you have to do

it might get ugly or look flashy but it is a must

to get them the ball  when they are open.".

Roy Hibbert (Lakers center) has been ex-

periencing some discomfort in his right knee

but has declined an MRI and Marcelo

Huertas has a strained right hamstring

but is hopeful to be able to get into

practice today.

Westgate Las Vegas sports book

director Jay Kornegay reported he thinks

our Lakers have 300/1 odds for becoming

2016 NBA Champions and 200/1 odds

to win the Pacific Division.

Would not that be great though?

BABS WELLS

BOY, IS IT EVER GOOD TO GET BACK HOME

Kobe is looking pretty good these days. According to

an anonymous NBA assistant coach, he states "I

could see Kobe consistently post 18 to 24 points

a game". He might even make 5 rebounds, 5 assists,

and a couple of steals. He will shoot well from free

throws line and he will be more in a catch and shoot

situation at small forward so his 3 point % should

go up. He just cannot be in a situation where they

throw it to him with only 6 seconds left on the shot

clock. He is not as athletic anymore and cannot

beat so many defenders as he once was able to do.

Kobe is going to play the rest of the preseason.

The Lakers had a victory at Staples Center against

the Israeli team of Maccabi Haifi Sunday night.

The game was played at home in Staples Center.

The final score says it all, 126-83. We cheered

like mad and it was fun to see our team winning.

Amid a league centered on small ball and out-

side shooting, the Lakers have a big problem

on their hands. They have 4 candidates to play

at backup center, including Robert Sacre,

Tarik Black, Robert Upshaw & Larry Nance,Jr.

Would the Lakers keep all four? Coach Byron

Scott, says he could but probably won't.

After the Lakers play Sacramento on Tuesday

in Las Vegas, Scott predicted  he would

think about probably starting to cut down.

He described Sacre and Black as guys that

understand that their roles are to go out there

and be physical. He is intrigued about Upshaw's

potential though the Lakers are cautious

after Fresno State (2012-13) & the University

of Washington (2014-15) dismissed him for

violating team rules. Scott likes Nance Jr's.

energy and he also played forward Brandon

Bass as backup center some before he missed

the past 2 games because of a bruised knee.

Tuesday night's game ought to give us far more

insight as to just how our players will handle

the ball out in 'Vegas. They certainly did

well back in L.A. playing on home court.

Two obituaries to mention here. One not a

Basketball player, but rather at age

88. Harry Gallatin, in N.Y. has died.

He played with the Knicks in 1950's.

Also at age 62, former UCLA NBA star,

Dave Meyers has passed on. He was

basketball champion in 1975 and a lone

senior in coach John Wooden's final

season . They will be sorely missed.

RIP each one of you that gave so much.

BABS WELLS

STILL TRYING OUR BEST IN PRE-SEASON

Three games so far..first over in Honolulu

against the Utah Jazz and it IS SAD even

playing in OT we seem to lose, Last night

we played the Raptors in Toronto and lost.

Randle is doing well though, as is Nick Young

and our Kobe too. Ron Artest (World Peace)

played last evening and that tall Hibbert did too.

We just have to maintain a good attitude and

try harder it would appear. D'Angelo Russell

stayed out of the game due to a fall he took which

gave him a bruised glute. Another absentee

player was Marcelo Huertas. He is finalizing

his immigration papers in Vancouver. He is

from Brazil. Brandon Bass injured his knee

on Tuesday but it evidently was not bad

enough to keep him off the courts.

Randle was doing well as I said and 

made 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting 

with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, plus 3 steals 

in Tuesday's game. There were signs of growth

during Thursdays' game with Jordan Clarkson's

continued showcasing his growth even though the

Lakers still seem to lack two things through ex-

hibition play. They have yet to pick up a win,

we already know, plus they really do need

to have a far healthier lineup. They played

against the Raptors at Citizens Business

Bank Arena in Toronto on Thursday evening.

Kobe Bryant posted 16 points on a 5 of 11

shooting with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

and 2 turnovers in 22 minutes, marking the 

latest stop in showing he can play efficiently

nine months after having season-ending

right shoulder surgery. Coach Byron Scott

said that he was feeling good about Bryant within

an 18 to 22 minute threshold. 

Keep up the good work Kobe & please, no more major injuries.

We look forward to future games & with players on the mend.

BABS WELLS

PRESEASON GAMES, ETC.

Kobe Bryant kept his shoulder iced pretty much

during games over in Honolulu but for the first

preseason game against the Utah Jazz, he did

participate in the first quarter for 5 minutes.

Mostly he seems to be a mentor for the younger

Players and sounds as if they are loving it.

D'Angelo Russell was having a bit of a problem

with a sore right foot and World Peace with a 

strained left calf while Nick Young continually

has been noticing his back spasms being a bother.

Larry Nance, Jr. seems to have been having those

back spasms also, so this is pretty much where

we stand right now. Over in  Stan Sheriff Center,

the practices kept the players working hard for

the coach Byron Scott's embracing former 

Lakers' coach Pat Riley's bold coaching

ethics with the team. With our Kobe sort of 

at the sidelines also in a coaching mode, the

players are young, true, but do seem to have the

best of both worlds in order to learn techniques.

These younger players seem to soak up Bryant's

feedback.  Julius Randle made the statement of

Kobe as being "a borderline genius". He stated

that Kobe had not been shy sharing his knowledge

and his experiences with them on and off the court.

Games played in Honolulu have been stressful

in some ways but in practices even more so.

The 9 day trip seems obvious to the tired

Laker players. No itinerary for luau's, relaxation

sitting on the beach or hiking for them.

Derrick Favors had 16 points & 9 rebounds

during the game for our preseason opener.

Guard Lou Williams (NBA Man of the Year),

(With Toronto) last season,scored 14 points

off the bench while Nick Young had 10 points.

Julius Randle started and played 21 minutes

finishing with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

So even with some injuries our rookies

are seemingly in good health mostly and

very eager to help our Lakers in future

preseason games + later for October 28 

when our regular playing season begins.

Good luck & keep the faith.

BABS WELLS

"TIS OCTOBER ALREADY

This writer is now home from her lovely little

cruise and I would urge any one that is even 

a bit inclined towards this form of a holiday

to think on it in earnest. The entire crew

treated us as if we were of Royal birth.

Totally delightful. Am back and trying hard

to get into the clutches of a more "norm".

Weather is a tad cooler which is nice as we

see the East coast is having deluge of rains.

Lakers rookie, D'Angelo Russell, is being

rest;less a bit right now but is willing to 

learn all that he can glean from Lakers

Star, Kobe Bryant. His first day at training

camp has shown him he needs to sweat,

build a rhythm and impress.

The Lakers completed two days of

training at Stan Sheriff Center.

Russell was # 2 pick and is trying to gain

the teams' trust in him. He loves playing

the game and feels challenged, averaging 11.6

points on 37.7 %, 3.5 turnovers & 3.5 assists

in summer league play. He has to prove

he can translate his outside shooting &

play-making to the NBA. The Lakers feel

he will be handling that challenge just fine.

Kobe, himself, has returned to the court

but skipped portions of practice on his

first day at camp with focus of staying

healthy all season. He actually was out on the

court one full hour before any body else showed up

for practice. A trait he has always admitted to.

Kobe did decide to skip portions of the

sprinting and team shooting drills and sat

out icing his injured shoulder, which will 

evidently be the case he will adhere to during the 

2015-16 season of play. He has played in only 41 games

in the past 2 years amid overlapping injuries

to his left Achilles tendon, left knee +right shoulder.

Hence, he participated about 10-12 minutes to each 

20 minute drill in a practice that lasted just over 3 hr's.

Playing for small successes this year, Lakers GM

Mitch Kupchak wants to build on his younger 

players performances this season. Of course, 

(he says). there will always be pressure to win

to make the playoffs & even a Championship.

Each and every year, that has been our goal

he said, but today we are more realistic with just

where we are. Now? It is about building a foundation

that will ultimately lead us to winning and we hope

it will be sooner rather than later, 

And finally, we bid goodbye to another of our U.S.

Sports Greats. Not in Basketball,, but rather Baseball.

His real name was Lawrence Peter Berra but early

on was dubbed Yogi, who always claimed that one

could never fake authenticity. Our loss is great for

the most of us who relished his words of "Yogi'isms".

He helped win 10 World Series with the N.Y.Yankees.

At age 90, he died of natural causes in his home in

New Jersey, his director of the Yogi Museum stated.

A quote that is so funny is this one" When you are

in your car and come to a fork in the road, take it".

And as he himself would have told you"It isn't over

until its' over".  RIP, Yogi, you are really missed.

And so, dear readers, as of right now," it seems like

deja-vu all over again".

BABS WELLS