Despite the continuing story about the return of the Lakers, the LA Clippers are still the best team in Southern California -- and the best team in the NBA outside of Northern California.The Clippers (14-2) rank second in ESPNs Basketball Power Index?and?are the only team in BPIs top five offenses and defenses, and Chris Paul is having an MVP-caliber season. Paul leads the NBA in real plus-minus?and is more than two points ahead of second-place James Harden.But there is a scandal brewing that might cost the Clippers their chance at a championship -- and its name is Austin Rivers.Rivers is, by minutes per game, the second guy off the Clippers bench, but there is little evidence that he does much of anything well enough on the court to warrant being on the roster. Rivers is a guard who ranks ninth on his own team in 3-point shooting percentage, among players averaging at least one 3-point attempt a game. (Center Marreese Speights is currently hitting 3s at a higher rate.) He does not pass the ball well (his assist rate of 13.6 percent ranks 80th in the league), he ranks eighth on the Clippers in steals per 100 possessions and is the only player on the team to log more than 100 minutes with a negative box plus-minus rating on both offense and defense.Shall we go on? OK, in real plus-minus, Rivers ranks 60th among just the point guards. RPM suggests Rivers is being outplayed by such luminaries as Jonathan Gibson and Malcolm Delaney.Advanced stats are not everything, of course, and we have not measured all aspects of what a player can contribute to his team. But we have measured a lot and there is simply no evidence that Rivers has earned a prominent role on a team that wants to challenge for a championship.The response here is about the Clippers options. Maybe Rivers was the best they could get? Nope. Rivers signed a deal in July that pays him $11 million this season (fifth-highest on the team), yet the Clippers could sign Jarrett Jack today (likely for a lot less than $11 million) and improve in every statistic mentioned above. Jack has better numbers than Rivers in basically every season of his career. He passes better, shoots better, plays better defense and, given that he made $6.3 million last year, would absolutely provide better value.Signing Jack is not the Clippers only option, or likely even their best option, but he is clearly a better option than Rivers. If coach Doc Rivers does not come to grips with that basic fact regarding his sons play, the Clippers will fall short again and waste another brilliant season from Chris Paul.For more analytics content, head to ESPN.com/analytics. 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Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma has rallied to salvage what appeared to be a lost season.The Sooners entered the year with hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff, but they dropped games to Houston and Ohio State early and fell out of the Top 25. Now, No. 9 Oklahoma has won six straight to take control of the Big 12. The Sooners (7-2, 6-0 Big 12, No. 11 CFP) now must defeat their recent nemesis, No. 25 Baylor, to maintain their momentum.Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said hes impressed that the Sooners have performed so well, given the rough start and a slew of injuries to key players, including star running back Samaje Perine.Weve been resilient, Stoops said. I still think theres more. Hopefully, to finish the season, we can be stronger and better and more consistent. I think we can keep improving. But weve been a resilient, tough-minded team to have handled what we have to this point.Baylor (6-2, 3-2) is coming off a humbling 62-22 loss to TCU , but that doesnt mean much to Stoops. The Bears have the best record in the Big 12 the past three years and have won two conference titles to Oklahomas one.Baylor is trying to overcome outside distractions. Coach Art Briles was fired in May after sexual assault allegations against some of his former players. Still, the Bears still won their first six games under acting head coach Jim Grobe, climbed to No. 8 in the AP poll and appeared to be the conferences best hope for a spot in the playoff.With additional allegations made recently and assistant coaches and staff members supporting Briles on Twitter last Friday, the Bears struggled to focus. They say they are ready for Saturday.Were beaten up, but we are not going to lie down, Baylor quarterback Seth Russell said. We are going to continue to fight.Here are some things to watch Saturday:RARE SKIDThe Bears are trying to avoid their first 3-game losing streak since the middle of the 2012 season, and they are 43-10 overall since then. Its going to be a ttough task.dddddddddddd realize that for us to go to Oklahoma and have a chance, we have to play so much better than we have this year, because were playing the most talented football team that weve faced so far, and maybe the best coached, Grobe said.SOONER DOklahomas defense was ripped for 59 points and 854 yards against Texas Tech, but the Sooners bounced back with two of their best performances of the season against Kansas and Iowa State. Baylor is a different level of opponent though -- the Bears rank sixth nationally with 541.8 yards per game.Texas Tech, that was a small bump in the road, and I feel like weve gotten past that, Oklahoma safety Steven Parker said. We play better, we practice better. This game, going into it, feel like were very confident.PERINE POWERPerine is expected to play Saturday after missing three games with a pulled muscle in his right leg. The 235-pound bruiser rumbled for 166 yards and two touchdowns in Oklahomas 44-34 win at Baylor last year. In his past six November games, he has rumbled for 1,220 yards and 14 touchdowns with an average of 8.5 yards per carry.DEEP THREATOklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook has produced one of the best seasons in school history, and hes in the running to be considered for major hardware. In six Big 12 games he has 47 catches for 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has at least 105 yards and a touchdown in each league game.LINWOOD OUTGrobe suspended running back Shock Linwood for the game, citing attitude issues. Linwood is Baylors all-time rushing leader with 4,056 yards. Terence Williams, Baylors leading rusher this season with 691 yards and eight touchdowns, will have a greater role. Redshirt freshman JaMycal Hasty has posted two 100-yard rushing games.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '