BUILDING THE TEAM

Coach Byron Scott has always been about the X's and the O's.

So the fact that the game in which the Lakers lost to the

Golden State Warriors at Citizen's Business Bank Arena in Ontario

for an exhibition game was no extenuating circumstance.

He stated that he was not about to dismiss anything about the

preseason because if they are scoring then he expected a win.

Scott, himself, a 3-time NBA champion back in the '80's, has always

been of the mind that he is hopeful to establish a vigorous daily

norm for their practices. When top draft pick Julius Randle had

a tough time keeping up at the outset, Scott publicly questioned

his fitness and level of conditioning. Scott is a realist, after all.

He knows for example that 7-footer in the middle is Robert Sacre,

not Kareem Abdul-Jamar. Scott is adamant that this is the version

of a senior league team he wants to run.

In first game action since his knee injury last season, Kobe made 13

points in the game against Denver with scores of: Lakers 98, Nuggets 95.

Playing at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego represented

the first of 8 preseason games so that the roster can be sorted out.

Their following schedule reads this way: Rockets at Lakers,

October 28 at 7:30 p.m. TNT, Lakers at Suns, October 29 at

7:00 p.m. TWCS, Clippers at Lakers, October 31, 7:30 p.m., ESPM Prime.

and then on November 1st, Lakers at Golden State, 7:30 P.M.,NBATV

and TWCS. Lakers guard Steve Nash, missed his second consecutive

practice after playing only the first quarter of the Lakers' preseason

loss last Sunday, before he felt forced to go sit down. He actually

played only 15 games last season amid back and hamstring injuries.

Right now, it would seem that Scott might start either Jeremy Lin or 

Ronnie Price instead of Nash..at least as of this writing today.

Lakers forward Xavier Henry practiced this wk. for the first time

during training camp, though he is still limited with back spasms.

And so it seems our Laker team is still a work in progress.

BABS WELLS

MANY THINGS NOW TO CONSIDER

Jeremy Lin has already caught the injury bug. Seems

he was stepped on in practice and suffered an

ankle injury. His left ankle became sprained.

Depending on Lin's status, both Steve Nash

and Kobe Bryant may be called upon to play

against Golden State at Citizens Bank Arena

in Ontario. Jordan Clarkson has suffered a

strained left calf muscle. Happened last Thursday.

Xavier Henry returned to practice after missing

a week due to back spasms. Seems Henry

was unable to be available last evening, but

Byron Scott (coach) said it was encouraging

to see him go through drills and 5-on-5

workouts. I guess he was a bit rusty and it 

obviously had been awhile since being out there

on the basketball court, but he did look able.

Nick Young looked like his usual self bouncing

around Lakers practice save for the sling on

his right arm that forced him to shoot and dribble

left-handed. He had torn the radial collateral

ligament in his thumb while guarding Kobe

earlier this week. He ran sprints with the 

team following their scrimmage but was mostly

on the sidelines practicing on his own. He said

"I can't even tie my own shoelaces or put

my clothes on with out help" and that of course

could become un-nerving.

Julius Randle has exhausted his bod during training 

camp with the Lakers."It was tough" he says, "But 

I have been preparing for this throughout the summer".

Yet, the 7th overall pick from this year's Laker

draft has faced a sobering reality. No amount of

preparation can ensure a smooth transition

from posting a nation leading 24 double-doubles

in Randles lone season at the University of

Kentucky to thriving under a purple and gold

backdrop. He actually did play behind 12-year

veteran Carlos Boozer at power forward and

competing for minutes with Ed Davis.

Two other notations this time are as follows:

Basketball Hall-of-Famer, Marques O. Haynes

just had a Birthday and turned 88! Great!!

Another player and an All-American guard

at Tennessee who later worked as an

assistant coach and broadcaster for his

alma-mater, has died. He was 71..R.I.P.

And now...for me? My own Birthday

about to come around again on the 23rd.

Oh my,  (84)...age..it catches up to us all!

Babs Wells

STILL AWHILE BEFORE 28th

At 40 something, Steve Nash is telling us that he

will "hang it up" after this season is over with.

Of course this will depend on a few variables.

He seems to like the LA area as well and is

not looking to move his family elsewhere.

With all that said, Nash's post-retirement life

sounds uncertain. Nash made the statement

that if he is mobile and moving well, he thinks

he can play at a good level but will wait it out

to see and hopeful for a good run at it and will

try his best.

Nick Young, on the other hand has suffered a

torn ligament and will not be able to play it

seems for about another 6 to 8 weeks.

Byron Scott earlier had hoped that Young 

could win the NBA's sixth man of the year

award. The injury leaves the team thin at

small forward. Also Ryan Kelly has strained

his left hamstring and Xavier Henry has been

having back spasms. Scott now is leaning more

toward Wesley Johnson, a move that seems

more than likely due to Young's injury. Because

of this, it will very likely open up playing time 

for second-round draft pick Jordan Clarkson

and shooting guard Wayne Ellington.

It seems that Kobe Bryant has embraced

Clarkson, calling him "a steal of the pick".

This said after the Lakers paid $1.4 million

to the Washington Wizards to draft him

with the 46th. overall selection of this years

draft. Three months after Clarkson led the

Lakers Summer League team, averaging 

15.8 points and 5 rebounds, Bryant gushed 

about what Clark has shown with his play-

making, shooting and driving through the

first week of training camp.

Mitch Kupchak has lofty expectations

for our team. That is of course due to the

awful season just behind us. That was 

hard to handle having finished with a 25-

57 record, their worst season in L.A.

Franchise history. The injury bug really 

did a bad number on our playing up to snuff.

Plenty of work awaits, which Kupchak said 

starts with ensuring that Bryant, Nash and\

veteran forward Charles Boozer stay healthy.

And so, another season is very near.

Babs Wells

SO YES, IT IS NOW OCTOBER

Bryant-Scott bond goes back a long time.

Bryant won 5 NBA championships

and climbed to fourth place on the NBA's

all time scoring list. Scott recalls seeing "some-

thing special" in Bryant during those early-

morning workouts during the 1996-97 season.

He was much different than anyone I had

ever met, Byron Scott (Laker coach now) said

in an interview with The Daily News paper.

He was already extremely focused on what

he wanted to be in this league. So, Scott says

that they sort of gravitated toward each other.

One quality they both share is that they pave

their way working so hard to achieve and do

remain very focused in practice. They both

know full well what they want to accomplish

and therefore each one sets that tone.

In recent practices it appeared that there

has been a calming presence. Now that the

2014-15 season is nearly here there are

almost conflicting emotions. I suppose that

is because  the fact that last season, due 

to injuries, he played only a short time on court,

namely 6 games total. Granted there is excitement.

But along with that is almost a rage..something

within Kobe that states he is trying to see if he can

prove to himself that he can do the job he is so

trained to do and do it well. I think we all feel quite

optimistic regarding the upcoming games though.

Scott absolutely gushed about Bryant's shooting

accuracy and post-up moves. Also in his rebounding

and passing, even if perhaps he did not get a dunk.

Scott went on to say he is expecting Kobe to play

82 games and to play them well.

The positive vibes lasted all summer long for Steve

Nash. He has been able to train and play basketball

without nerve root irritation flare-ups in his back.

Unlike the past 2 years where he missed a combined

99 games because of root damage with his back

and his hamstrings, Nash practiced all summer un-

scathed. Yes, Nash is well aware that his positive 

spirits and health may sour as quickly as one of 

his nifty no-look passes, and yes, that  certainly

was a bad run with that nerve that he had to be

a bit cautious about but he is forecasting good plays.

More later then about some of the other players

in a future blog. Okay?

Babs Wells

Keeping On

It now is 2 months since the loss of my dear

hubby, Wesley Allen Wells. Today at my Dr.

appointment  I met another elderly man that

just turned 94 (the age Wes would have been)

and we got to talking. He had been a music

instructor in Michigan. What a kind face he

showed me and I kissed his cheek.. So now

I must continue on in my own capacity.

Next Month it is my 84th Birthday and the

beginnings of our NBA games once more.

The Lakers have signed on Keith Appling, 

Jabari Brown, Roscoe Smith and Jeremy

Tyler to their training camp roster.

It is unclear if any of these players will

make the team. None of the signings is

guaranteed, but the Lakers are creating

more depth for training camp.

This means that very likely Kobe Bryant

and Steve Nash playing will be limited

minutes in practice and in games.

Tyler marks the lone player with prior 

NBA including stints with the Golden

State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, and N.Y.

Knicks. He has averaged only 3.6 points

and 2.6 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game.

The Lakers have 18 players on their roster

and are likely to add one or two more

players before media day starts Monday.

The Lakers will have to trim to a maximum

15-player roster by their season opener

on October 28 against the Houston Rockets

at Staples Center. We shall wait it out.

Babs Wells

CHANGES

One week ago this writer lost the love of her life.

My wonderful husband, Wes, after over 33 years

of wedded bliss. This I do mean fully too. It was

an honor to be his wife, so for that I am profusely

grateful. He would edit my blogs and give me

information that maybe was a bit more pertinent.

He would indulge me but not allow me to "embroider"

on my writings being the "oh, so bright gent" he was.

And so, today we will mostly concentrate I guess

upon the Lakers Coach. It is looking more and

more like it perhaps will really be Byron Scott.

I personally hope so. He would be, I believe,

a very worthy choice for us to have now.

Byron was formerly Cleveland Cavaliers Coach.

If he indeed does fill those shoes, he will become

the 5th head coach in just over 3 years.

A very good record does follow him.

As head coach, he has been an integral part

of 13 NBA seasons, going 416-521 with the

Nets, Hornets and Cavaliers. He led New Jersey

to back to back Eastern Conference championships

in 2002 and 2003, losing the NBA finals each time.

Scott has won 3 division titles and was the NBA's coach

of the year in 2008, but he also has been fired from

each of his 3 jobs, so of course, one must not deny that.

As for some other upcoming news to relate, because of

the ongoing sorrow I am going through right now, it pains

me to have to bow out for awhile but so it is very possible

I will be on hiatus now until September. Please bear 

with me and wish me well right now. Wesley? R.I.P.

Babs Wells

SOMETIMES DIFFICULT THINGS HAPPEN

Not only did we have a very un-happy year

this past season, our Lakers had so many

injuries to boot. Now, this writer has had to

endure some of the medical trauma as well.

My hubby of 34 years, has taken a turn for

the worse. Abed as we see him now, frail,

weakened and on hospice care, we find not

a happy scene. To realize that both former

Laker Derek Fisher and former Laker

coach Phil Jackson have decided N.Y.

to make their allegiance to now, makes us

wonder what is next. Well, we see that

Pau Gasol (Lakers) has signed up with

Chicago. Will miss that tall fella lots.

Attempting to lure Carmelo Anthony

to join our Lakers team, has been met

with obstacles and seems he is going

to be staying with the Knicks after all.

We see Jordan Farmar (Lakers) has

signed up with Doc Rivers Clippers team.

And so the saga continues to give

us stops and starts in many directions.

Even the Florida Heat team is going

through a loss of their own as we

note LeBron James is returning to

his homebase in Cleveland.

To start the winning of sorts, we take

a look for the future Lakers coach.

As of this writing it looks very much

in favor of Byron Scott. He actually

used to play with the Lakers back in 

the day during the showtime era.

So far, our Lakers roster features :

Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Robert

Sacre, Julius Randle, Jeremy Lin,

Nick Young, Jordan Hill, Kendall

Marshall & Jordan Clarkson.

That leaves the Lakers' remaining

free agents in Ryan Kelly, Xavier

Henry and Wesley Johnson in

varying states of limbo.

Of course, speaking of basketball, the 

Harlem Globetrotters often comes to mind.

Red Klotz (93) was a beloved foil

for that team in years gone by. His

teams were called the Washington

Generals and also the New York

Nationals, The New Jersey Reds,

the Boston Shamrocks and more

recently the World All-Stars.

His teams managed to beat the 

Globetrotters only once when a

shot was made in the final seconds

of a 1971 game in Tennessee.

Klotz died last Saturday in New

Jersey. An interesting man that

was so noticed back in his

barnstorming days. Red, R.I.P.

Babs Wells