Here come the Rockets ! Houston is looking more and more like the team from Nor Cal in terms of their explosiveness and ability to defend. Today's NBA is all about multi-tasking players who can shoot from distance and defend. The Rockets are built do do just that. Can any team other than the Spurs continue to win without their alpha player over twenty plus games? The Pelicans are an aberration in terms of being built against the agreed on template (see paragraph above). Yet, they continue to win and lead the WC in Quality Wins. The experiment in Oklahoma City was bound to have it's ups and down. This week saw more downs than ups for the Thunder . The Thunder have nothing on the Clippers however who lost Blake Griffin for two months. As mentioned earlier, no team outside of San Antonio survives this type of loss. Combine that with the loss of Patrick Beverly, Milos Teodosic and Danilo Gallinari you are left with a team that might compete against G-League competition.  The Lake...

It's unlikely that many are surprised to see the teams rising to the top of the Western Conference rankings. The Warriors were the prohibitive favorites, the Rockets and Timberwolves improved in the off-season and the Spurs have a perpetual top spot guaranteed to them by NBA contract. Well, that an incredible coaching, good players and a system that works. After that though, the West gets murky. The LAPB is not sold on the Pelicans , but they continue to win and are tired for most Quality Wins. The Nuggets and the Blazers look to be interchangeable while the Thunder are still trying to find themselves. The Jazz and Grizzlies both started strong and are settling into where they will most likely end their season. Which leads us to the interesting part of the rankings this week. The Clippers come in at the 11 spot. Injuries have taken their toll, again, while the evolution of Blake Griffin as "the man" has seen its ups and downs. There are lots of problems with los...

Last week we talked about the possibility that the West is a two team race. Nothing in the fifth week made us think it isn't going to be. Are the Rockets really as good as their record? We are not sold at the LAPB, but you can't deny that they are the only team in the Western Conference who has yet to post a Bad Loss! That is impressive.  The fact that the Spurs are this good without their best player is frightening and telling. Frightening for the rest of the Association and telling in regards to just how good a coach Pop is. I know that's not new, but it's easy to forget. Popovich coaches a team, not a group a players. May seem like an odd distinction, but we believe that's the secret of the Spurs success. Play like a team regardless of who puts on the jersey. Not many coaches can pull that off, Pop can and Pop does. The middle tier of teams are boring.  The Clippers are hoping to claw their way back up to the boring middle tier soon. The panic button is not re...

The Lonzo Ball-ometer is new and improved. We are four weeks into the NBA season and it's becoming clear that Lonzo Ball is no ordinary player.  His impact goes beyond numbers. Win or lose, this is a player you want to watch. More importantly for the Lakers and the NBA, this is a player the casual fan knows and wants to watch. This is one unique player. The Lonzo Ball-ometer was created to monitor Ball's progress and measure it against some of the games past and present greats. The problem was apparent after the first few weeks that his numbers alone didn't tell the whole story.  It's corny and kinda scary to say that Ball is bigger than the game, because he is NOT bigger than the game, but his impact is surely felt beyond the numbers and results.  So, we should just abandon the Ball-ometer and be content with watching a unique individual play the game in our backyard. Naw. Instead, we re-vamped it. We didn't like having current players on the meter, so they are gon...

Is the Western Conference going to be a two team race? I doubt it. Although, the Rockets are making me look bad by being so good. The team from Houston moves up while the team from the Golden State is destroying teams on the regular after a slow start. I'm not sold on the Pelicans , but scoreboard does not lie. This might be the season DeMarcus Cousins gets to play his first playoff game. The Nuggets strike me as the team most likely to implode. Weird to see the Clippers come in at 8 with a 5-7 record but when you consider that they were 10-2 after twelve games last year it may not be a bad thing. The team fizzled quickly after a hot start, maybe this time they catch fire at the right time? The Lakers are 5-8 but are in most of the games the play. More important, they seem to care on the defensive end from time to time which is a huge improvement from last season. They start two pretty impressive rookies so the future is indeed bright for the Purple & Gold. The Kings will ...

As fans the LAPB know we have been ranking Lonzo Balls progress in his first NBA season in the Lonzo Ball-ometer . You can read the detailed description here if you haven't been keeping up. In short, we rank Balls performance after each game against the greats and not so greats.  Now, normally, I wouldn't be a proponent of comparing a player to someone who came before him. On top of not being particular fair, sometimes its the kiss of death. Ask Harold Minor or Greg Oden. Respectively, they were the next Michael Jordan and Bill Russell.  Um, no. Ball is unique however, in more ways than one. His dad was the first to start the comparisons when he said that to him his son was a better player than Stephen Curry. Later he shared that he was confident his son would be a better point guard than Magic Johnson. I still shutter at that statement. It's important when considering the uniqueness that is Lonzo Ball to understand how important confidence seems to be to t...

Now its getting interesting. Was anyone really worried about the Warriors ? Not the Warriors, I'm sure. They are back at the top after a rough start. In fact, we have a new leader and a new bottom-feeder as we end week 3. Rockets fans have a right to be mad. Remember though, this is all about the math. The Rockets are winning, to be sure, however its more about who they are beating that keeps them at the 4 spot. Remember that quality wins matter here. The Spurs took a tumble but the Suns look like a new team. It couldn't of been Earl Watson's fault, right? Despite the recent winning after a truly horrible start the Suns only managed to jump up one spot. The Lakers are winning and looking good doing it. Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady even feels this is a team that can beat anyone! The only problem with the purple & gold at the moment is that they are still in the Western Conference which means they come in at the 13 spot. Weren't the Kings supposed to be better tha...

For those that need a refresher, click here to read how we arrive at these rankings. This is the only non-biased, no emotion ranking system devoid of gut feel. Covering games through Saturday, October 28, 2017 Notes and observations Are the Grizzlies for real? I'm not sold, but numbers don't lie. They lead the NBA in wins and more importantly, in Quality Wins. At the start of the season the Griz were labeled a Good team, not a Quality team. Keep this up and it will be time to re-think that. How are the Spurs still good? I have been asking the s ame question every season dating back a few seasons. Smoke, mirrors and Popovich, I guess. All the Clippers had to do to take the top spot was beat a mediocre team from the East. They led against the Pistons and looked like they might be able to get a win and go into week 2 as the #1 team. Clearly the pressure of being on top of the LAPB mathematically inspired ranking system was too much for the Clips. Despite the Bad Loss they still mo...

So the Lakers have a player in Lonzo Ball who is difficult to categorize. I mean, sure, he's a point guard but beyond that things get murky. Is he as good or better a player as Stephen Curry? Is he the next coming of Magic Johnson? Can he have a career on par with Jason Kidd? Ricky Rubio?  Will his dad ever shut up? Early answers are no, no, maybe, possibly and a resounding NO! Regardless of who Lonzo Ball is or the type of player he might be, there is no denying that he is the NBA equivalent of must-see-TV.  Some watch him to be wow-ed by a no-look pass, others tune in to see his pocket picketed. Love him or hate him, you are going to watch. Which, in some way, I think was his dad's endgame. Mission accomplished Mr. Ball. I am watching too. I don't cheer when he gets punked, like he did by Patrick Beverly, but I don't mind it. It's all a part of the process he has to go through. I didn't cheer when he fell one assist shy of being the youngest player in the...

Why just the Western Conference? What about the East? You are so biased! I hate you, i hate you, I hate you!!! If your initial reaction to this post fits into the general opinion outlined in the above paragraph, please click here  for a detailed explanation. For the rest of you, please read on. Covering games through Saturday, October 22, 2017 In addition to tracking wins and losses we are going to track a Quality Win (QW) and a Bad Loss (BL). Identifying a win against a Quality win or a loss against a Bad team will help to see why the rankings play out the way they do week to week. After just a few games it really is difficult to gauge the talent of a team. Wins and losses do not lie however so after adding the numbers into our closely guarded spreadsheet, the Grizzlies officially won Week 1. Notes and observations In addition to being 2-0 they beat the defending champs which, as explained above, is a Quality win. They also beat the Pelicans who, for now, are designated ...

On the eve of the NBA season starting here in Los Angeles I wanted to take a deeper look at our two teams. Comparing the Lakers and Clippers can be a fools game of sorts. On one hand the Lakers have an incredible past filled with more NBA Championships than all but one franchise. The Clippers past, well, it's best it stays in the past. The more recent past however is kinder to the Clippers. In fact, it's a clear win for the Clips. The team that originated in Buffalo and got to Los Angeles via San Diego has been the best team over the last six years. It hasn't really been close. The Lakers in that span have been really, really bad. Don't take my word for it, listen to what the Process recently had to say. When asked by Clay Skipper of GQ if he was playing the Cavs in NBA 2k18 GM mode, Joel Embiid said " Nah, they’re too good. I gotta start with a team that sucks, like the Lakers or the Nets. I gotta make it fair." The player dubbed in the article as the futur...

There are some interesting connections between the Dodgers and the Lakers. Both came into existence in the East Coast. The Dodgers first played in Brooklyn, New York, the Lakers in Minneapolis. Both are now staples in Los Angeles. In fact, both are franchises that exemplify Los Angeles. Magic Johnson, himself a legendary Los Angeles icon, owns a small percentage of the Dodgers and is President of Basketball Operations for the Lakers These two franchises are joined at the hip. Interestingly, they may have something else in common. When it comes to Brandon Ingram, the Lakers may be harking back to a strategy the Dodgers were regularly accused of in the 80's. Back then it was common to hear some incredible hype from players in the Dodgers minor league system. I don't just mean a regurgitation of stats, no, we were told these guys were the next incarnation of Garvey, Lopes, Smith, etc.  They were next. Here in LA, as we were enjoying a period of Dodger baseball that hasn't been...

I have to begin by stating unequivocally that I know bad basketball. I used to cover the Clippers before they drafted Blake Griffin for Bleacher Report. In fact, I admit to watching the team play, and I use the term lightly, even before they landed BG.  It's true, I know bad basketball. So, please believe me when I say that tonight's game between the two powerhouse professional teams in Los Angeles was bad basketball. No really bad. The teams combined for 50 turnovers and a staggering 57 fouls. The Clippers get a pass of sorts in that they started and played players that should either still be in college, playing overseas, or not playing at all. At best the majority of the team with Clippers jerseys on tonight were G-League players. This was a group that hadn't played together and it was understandable that they looked as sloppy as they did accounting for 23 turnovers and 27 fouls. The Lakers on the other hand started the group that is likely to start when the season begi...