Up next for the Lakers: Monday at Philadelphia

By Ben Bolch

Feb. 6, 2012 12 AM PT

Where: Wells Fargo Center.

When: 4 p.m.

On the air: TV: Channel 9; Radio: 710, 1330.

Records: Lakers 14-10, 76ers 17-7.

Update: The Lakers will reach the midpoint of their season-long six-game trip after playing Philadelphia, one of the league’s biggest surprises. The young, up-tempo 76ers present a striking contrast to the older, plodding Lakers. “It’s going to be a matter of whose style of play is dominant enough to win,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. Philadelphia starting point guard Jrue Holiday, a former UCLA standout, has welcomed a former Trojan this season in rookie forward Nikola Vucevic, who is averaging 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds in 15 minutes.

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Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

Up next for the Lakers: Monday at Philadelphia

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