88...remarkable number.

To think that one of our Lakers Dad had such a big part in this
is also remarkable to me. Luke Walton's Father, Bill Walton,
played at UCLA for that top ranked basketball team. No luck,
just perspiration, determination, preparation and planning
that met with opportunity and one after one they won!
UCLA enjoyed the winning streak from 1971-1974 & lived
to tell the tale! Bill Walton himself scored 44 points as UCLA
defeated Memphis State on March 27th.,1973.
And our Laker team won over Philadelphia 93-81 with our reserves
doing most of the damage during the fourth quarter. Kobe Bryant
scored a season low 9 points. It sure looked for a long while as if
the 76'ers were going to win that game as the Lakers kept sputtering
along until toward the very ending of the entire game. Kobe had a
sprained right pinkie when he jammed it while trying to catch a pass
from teammate Pau Gasol in the first quarter but X-rays proved it to
be alright. It did hurt Kobe though and throbbed for about 20 minutes.
Andrew Bynum played in his 3rd. game since his return to the court.
He was out for 24 games since his off season knee surgery.
Lamar Odom is in high hopes of being selected to finally get to play
in next years "All Star" game at Staples Center on February 20th.
Joe Smith is our newest Laker player but will be sitting on the bench
for awhile observing and trying to learn the rudiments of the triangle
that our team seems to really like to play, said coach Phil Jackson.
Our Lakers played in Toronto Sunday morning and won their 5th.
"on road game" where they lost only the one game. We won 120-110.
The bench itself made 57 points in this game so they certainly
can be relied upon to come to the fore when it makes a big difference.
A smidgen of soreness took place for Andrew Bynum in his knee
but he has been on the court when ever he was called upon to do so.
Losing in Chicago to the Bulls was a tough break so all of these
wins have been so nice to have. Lakers play again Tuesday night
at home with Milwaukee as our opponent and then play again on
Christmas Day so we are hopeful Santa knows where to leave his
goodies to shine upon us for another winning game!
Babs Wells

Lower Merion High School is re-naming their gym to honor Kobe Bryant who graduated from that school in suburban Philadelphia several years ago. It is good to note this as a tribute to our Laker player. The Lakers were also privvy to be congratulated by President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. on Monday. The President recognized their playing ability for winning the last NBA Championship title. They met at a boys and girls club in Washington. President Obama also recognized coach Phil Jackson but stated that he still had a soft spot in his heart for all of the titles won when Phil was coaching in Chicago. Rookie forward Derrick Caracter played his customary role as Pau Gasols' backup despite suffering a sprained left ankle during the Lakers victory over the Clippers. Andrew Bynum is back on the court to enable our team more shots at the basket as was seen during the Washington game and the Indiana game. Sasha Vujacic is being sent to the Nets, it is rumored, so he would join former Laker Jordan Farmar there. If so, then Joe Smith would maybe come to be with the Lakers instead. A veteran forward at 35 years old - the Lakers would be the 12th team he has played on within the NBA. With Andrew Bynum's seasons debut against the Washington Wizards, he had 7 points, 4 rebounds in just under 17 minutes. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 24 points and 7-13 shooting. Lamar Odom added 18 points on 6 for 8 shooting and a team leading 10 rebounds. Shannon Brown scored 16 points in a reserve role and Ron Artest scored 10. We beat the Wizards 103-89. Very similar game we played on Wednesday (back to back games) in Indiana. Having lost earlier at Staples Center to the Indiana Pacers, we put those memories aside and beat them right on their own home court. It was a stinging payback time victory when we put them away, being ahead all during the game and came out the victors with score of Lakers 109 & Indiana 94. Sweet victory. Now we play Philadelphia on Friday and Toronto on Sunday. Stay tuned. Babs Wells

Wondering if we can build on this now?

A good game with New Jersey on Sunday.
Was a fun one to watch with the scoring
tit for tat at many times during game.
Final score was Lakers 99 and Nets 92.
It was with a warm feeling seeing the now N.J.
member Jordan Farmar again (formerly
with Lakers) enjoyable all the same
to watch him on the court even though
as an opposing force to contend with.
Lakers are having a practice game today
in Washington. During Sundays' game,
Kobe Bryant scored 32 points with 9 for
19 shooting & added 4 rebounds with a
team leading 6 assists. Lamar Odom had
22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Pau Gasol had 15 points, and 11 rebounds
while Derek Fisher had 10 points.
Yes, the Nets made the Lakers work to win
Sunday's game but Lakers did find their rhythm
and propped up their defense + their offense
too in doing so. What is needed mostly is to
muster up their energy levels and motivation
in order to score ahead of their opponents more
during the minutes out on the court. To win is
a fight and you cannot just stand and watch
Kobe stated after the game on Sunday. We have
back to back games now coming up Tuesday
and Wednesday so it ought to be well worth
the viewing to see while players are on the road again
of just what will transpire. Hope we win!
Babs Wells

Running with the Bulls...

Or should I say "running from the bulls"?
Last nights' game in Chicago lent a warm
feeling for goodly portion of the game and
then our opponents got with the program
and we could never really catch up.
Their team took control and left us in
the lurch. Final score? Chicago 88,
Lakers 84. Nice game but they had
it in their pocket almost entire second half.
Our defense was lacking and they came
aboard to play some pretty good defense.
Chicago used to be where Coach Phil Jackson
called home. Earlier he had guided the Bulls to
win 6 Championships ! That was during the '90's
prior to his coming to coach the Lakers for L.A.
After playing in Chicago, Lakers still have a 5 game
trip to play away from home. Next is New Jersey,
then Washington, next Indiana, then Philadelphia
and Toronto. Grueling schedule but challenging too.
President Obama is scheduled Monday to honor
the Lakers for winning last seasons NBA Title.
We just might be fortunate enough hopefully to be
getting Andrew Bynum back on the courts with
high expectations...having had him out of the running
for so long. This tall player along with Pau Gasol
and Lamar Odom compile some nice players
that add height for our team to begin to barge
into their playing with far more confidence
along with better strategy to compete and win.
Andrew Bynum took another step showing a
lot more recovery from his surgically repaired
knee last Monday during practice when he
participated in full-length.full-contact plays.
He apparantly showed no pain or swelling.
No one has been rooting harder for Andrew's
return than Pau, whose minutes in play became
a worry somewhat for his hamstring to once
again be throwing some pain his way lately.
Twinkling lights, stars that shine, Holiday
Spirit is upon us and we are anxious to see
the road games ahead for us. God Bless.
Babs Wells

Incredible!

First our Champions can do no wrong winning
each and every game..then comes a dry spell
with losses totaling four in a row. Now, these
last two games barely struggling to make it
through the night by mere points to win.
What do you suppose ought to infuse some
enthusiasm, some willingness for more
practice? More insight as to what is the
cause for these last two games, Washington
Wizards and the L.A. Clippers, to almost win?
Tuesday it was a fluke almost with Derek Fisher
throwing the ball and within seconds of the buzzer
at games end, allowed us to win by one point!
Another brownie point for Fish..but with our Kobe
Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Shannon Brown, Ron
Artest, Steve Blake and of course Derek Fisher,
we should be winning games hands down!
True the risky lapses in points that we managed to finally
get with our defenses make a game exciting with keeping
scores close and Phil's comment about making the
other teams see our imprint upon each game in order
to indicate the opposing team will see this to become
used to our style and indeed, I guess it becomes a mind set.
Winning Tuesday against Washington with score's end 115-108
is still a far cry from Wednesday game against the Clippers with
both teams neck and neck and ending buzzer going off just
as - enter please - Derek Fisher(!) making that much needed basket
so that we could finally win over the clippers, even though behind
at half time, so our ending score was: Lakers 87 - Clippers 86.
What drama will unfold for us next game which is Friday in Chicago?!
Babs Wells

Managing time

Managing time with Derek Fisher is quite often a juggling act.
This 36 year old Laker is an elite point guard.
He also holds a most important job of collecting the
bargaining for agreement which expires June 30th.
(to avoid a lockout that would impact the 2011-12
season.) The Lakers had a day off yesterday but
are out there today for a work out for practice.
Having lost 4 games in a row, our players
were indeed quite offended and wanted to
rectify this number. This they certainly did
in spades..winning big time over the Kings.
Sacramento fell far behind us as we kept
our cool and won easily 113-80.
Pau Gasol went out for a bit with hamstring
pain but had his leg re wound so once
again came back to the court to play with
seemingly no trouble. The bench too had
a field day with Derrick Caracter, Shannon
Brown, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes strutting
their stuff giving the starters a deserved rest.
Tuesday Lakers play against the Washington
Wizards before starting on their "road" trip
against the Clippers. Looming ahead for them
though is the extended trip of the season.
A 5 game trek starting next Friday to play
the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Wizards,
Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76'ers and the
Toronto Raptors. Lakers have already beaten
the Bulls and Raptors but lost earlier to the Pacers.
So now comes the challenge. Hope we are up to it.
Babs Wells

Catch Up!

Playing "Catch-up" today and
with games behind us it is wise to finally get caught up -
at least somewhat. With 8 consecutive victories under
their belt, the Lakers looked vulnerable during losses
to the Denver Nuggets to the Phoenix Suns.
Their defense was sadly lacking in each game.
Certainly, the Nuggets and the Suns are two of
the more explosive teams in the league, but the
Lakers also have given up 110 points to the Houston
Rockets, 105 to Memphis Grizzlies and 103 to the
Toronto Raptors.....three non-playoff teams last season.
The Lakers won over Detroit 103-90 when they played
at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. Kobe Bryant,
Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol "took care of business"
as Kobe stated after the game. Andrew Bynum is still
on the mend and they really do miss this tall player
out there on the court. His rehabilitation from surgery
last summer has been slow and methodical. He has
been working with the Lakers assistant coach Chuck
Person on low post moves and with athletic performance
coordinator Alex McKenzie on strength and conditioning.
With the Thanksgiving Holiday behind us and out of state
company gone back home, helping my husband become
stronger since his debilitating illness, I am once again typing.
If anybody would want to purchase one of the nifty jackets
that the Lakers wear, look for the sleek satin zip-up Adidas.
Price is: $125 that can be found at the NBA.com, Team L.A. store.
If anybody cares to bid on Ron Artests' Championship ring,
go to: RonArtest.com, CelebritiesForCharity.org
His ring is size 11 (he actually wears a sz. 15) but he got
the ring far too small to wear so that he would not be convinced
to keep it! He is selling it to enable the mental health awareness
association to have the proceeds from the sale of said ring.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson has called out Pat Riley to hopefully
get him to become the coach for the Miami Heat team.
Such a victory the Lakers had against Golden State team.
Our final score was 117-89. The Warriors were simply outplayed.
Utah beat our team 102-96. last Friday night and we got our
"come-upn's"..We had a big early lead & then a smaller one later.
When it mattered the most, we lost our shooting touch. We also
lost a key video review and a crucial rebound out of bounds.
And to bring you up to date, we also lost to Indiana and to Memphis.
Tonight we play back to back game in Houston, so lets' hope that
this road game proves to help us gain back another winning one.
Babs Wells