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...

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...

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...

It is presumptions to say I know what the Lakers are planning. Having no access to their front office, I'd even go so far as to say it's beyond presumptions. Heck, it's downright preposterous. Yet, that's what I am about to do. Not because I have access to President Johnson or General Manager Pelinka, I don't. Not because I have an all seeing crystal ball, I do but it's proven to be unreliable. Not even because I gathered the greatest minds in basketball to construct a plan based on their knowledge and expertise, I have not. No, I'm doing this because generally, history is a good indicator of the future. So, in short, let's look back in order to get a clearer picture of what may be happening in the future. In order to do that I have to start with two apologies. First, I’m sorry Minnesota. Yes, the Lakers franchise started there. Heck, that's where they got their name. It’s easy to forget for fans of the Los Angeles Lakers that five of their champions...

Welcome back NBA! It really has been too long. So much has changed since you been gone. There have been some really horrible natural disasters, a new President and Will & Grace is back. I know, it’s a lot to take in. Please know we NBA fans missed you and are excited to have you back. The NBA preseason officially kicked off with a match-up between the Lakers and the Timberwolves. While a lot has changed in general a lot has changed specifically for the Timberwolves as well. Suddenly, the team from the city the Lakers originated in are showing off some real NBA power. Jeff Teague (2015 All-Star), Jimmy Butler (3x All-Star), Andrew Wiggins (2015 ROY) and Karl Anthony-Towns (2016 ROY) are no joke and form the nucleus of a potentially very good team. The Wolves also added outstanding players to come off the bench including Jamal Crawford and Taj Gibson to join Shabazz Muhammad. In short, this team is stacked and prime to compete in the NBA’s Western Conference. But, who cares? Ok, that...