Sports
Column: 'There’s no excuses for us.' Lakers' ineptitude continues, with no letup in sight
If this wasn’t rock bottom for the Lakers, if a performance that was atrocious in nearly every significant way wasn’t the worst moment of a season that’s rapidly taking on the sour stench of frustration and the annoying whine of making excuses instead of making shots, it’s difficult to imagine how much worse this can be.
But stick around. The answer could come as soon as Friday, when the now sub-.500 Lakers take a three-game losing streak into a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies, or on Sunday against the hot Clippers.
The Lakers’ stumbles and ineptitude at both ends of the floor were epic in a 110-96 loss to the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday. They got off to another slow start. They committed 22 turnovers, which the Heat turned into 22 points. They hit only four of 30 three-point attempts. “Shooting 13%, you’re not going to win those games when you do that,” a subdued Austin Reaves said with as much disgust as accuracy.
The Lakers (17-18) now have lost four of their last five games and nine of 12 since they won the NBA’s in-season tournament. Of their three victories, two were over weak opponents, San Antonio and Charlotte. Only their win at Oklahoma City on Dec. 23 can be considered a quality victory.
The sobering part is that during this stretch Anthony Davis (29 points, 17 rebounds, six assists on Wednesday) has been superb. LeBron James, though noticeably off against Miami with a six-for-18 shooting performance and 12 points, has been good — though he took a rare night off from postgame interviews. Reaves, restored to the starting lineup against the Heat, responded with a season-high 24 points and has overall been solid lately. The Lakers aren’t losing because their big guys are playing poorly or are missing due to illness or injury.
They’re losing, not because Gabe Vincent had knee surgery or Rui Hachimura had a facial fracture and more recently a calf strain, or Jarred Vanderbilt has been in and out of the lineup because of injuries. They’re losing because their roster is badly constructed, because Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince remain in the starting lineup despite being offensive liabilities: neither scored a point against Miami, with Reddish playing 18:40 and Prince 28:48.
But coach Darvin Ham, while saying no excuse is acceptable for losing, continued to offer excuses and insist that the lack of consistency in their lineup is a cause of this mess.
“We can’t find any consistency until we get healthy. It’s as simple as that. We’ve got to get healthy,” he said. “And once you get healthy, guys have got to get back in rhythm and we’ve got to find a cohesive unit, a total cohesive rotation that we can go with. You’re dealing with different guys being in and out of the lineup that frequently it’s damned near impossible to find a rhythm. That’s just being real.”
Even Davis didn’t buy that.
“I don’t think it’s a whole thing of who’s starting and who’s not. Everybody is capable of doing what we have to do to win basketball games on both ends of the floor. So the whole lineup thing is an excuse,” he said. “We have high-level-IQ guys who know what they should be doing individually and what we should be doing as a team on both ends of the floor.
“[On Wednesday] they threw a zone in and they just dared us to make shots and we didn’t. Kind of took us out of our thing, but 10 turnovers in the first quarter was kind of a recipe for disaster.”
Not kind of. It was.
“It’s a little bit of everything right now. We’re not executing,” Davis said. “That team played harder than us tonight, executed better than us tonight, more physical than us tonight. We got outworked tonight, so it’s a bit of everything right now. If we keep on this train, it’s not going to be good for us.
“It’s kind of obvious that we have to figure it out sooner than later. Guys being out is no excuse. There’s no excuses for us. Every guy in this locker room is here to win, but we just have to go out and compete.”
And if they don’t, what felt like rock bottom could turn out to be the good old days. Asked after the game if it represented the worst moment of the Lakers’ season, Reaves said he’d likely do the same soul-searching he always does after a loss.
“You replay the game in your mind and think about all of the things you could’ve done better, that we could’ve done better as a collective group. And just think about it,” he said.
“But I wouldn’t say it’s a low point of the season. I think there’s too much time left to sit here and feel sad for ourselves. We gotta figure it out. That’s the main thing. Sitting here feeling sad for ourselves isn’t gonna be the culprit to us figuring it out. We have to, like I said, figure it out. Step up and look in the mirror. If it’s you, that you can do something better, or you can speak to your teammates to do something better, then do that. But I wouldn’t call it a low moment.”
Then call it another big stumble in a season full of potholes that excuses can’t fill.
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The Las Vegas Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens made a blockbuster trade ahead of the start of NFL free agency.
Las Vegas is trading five-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens, per multiple reports.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) against the Arizona Cardinals during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium on Aug. 23, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
The Raiders will receive two first-round picks from the Ravens, including the No. 14 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft, one report said.
The 28-year-old Crosby had 10 sacks last season and has reached double digits four times in his seven seasons.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (96) and defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) celebrate during the second half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 21, 2025. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
The Raiders last appeared in the playoffs back in 2021 but have gone 7-27 over the past two seasons. They have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, which is expected to land them Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The Ravens, meanwhile, are entering a new era, after firing longtime head coach John Harbaugh and replacing him with former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders sniffs smelling salts during an NFL game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on November 20, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Two top City Section baseball teams, El Camino Real and San Fernando, faced off Friday in a pitcher’s duel that went eight innings.
Senior Ray Pelayo of San Fernando kept throwing strikes, keeping El Camino Real off balance for 7⅔ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. But then came a balk that scored the winning run in El Camino Real’s 1-0 victory.
Hudson December threw six scoreless innings for El Camino Real and Andrew Katzman struck out three in two scoreless innings.
South Torrance 4, El Segundo 3: In a battle of unbeaten Pioneer League teams, South Torrance (6-0) received a walk-off single from Owen Rhodes in the bottom of the seventh. El Segundo tied it 3-3 in the top of the seventh on a two-out, three-run home run by Chase Mattoon. Issac Orozco struck out nine in five innings and also homered for the Spartans.
Crespi 3, Saugus 2: Justin Kim had two RBIs for the Celts.
Sylmar 7, Legacy 1: Rickee Luevano threw a two-hitter with nine strikeouts.
Sierra Canyon 12, West Ranch 1: Isaias Tirado hit a three-run home run and four pitchers combined to give up five hits.
Mater Dei 15, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) 1: Ezekiel Lara had three hits and five RBIs in Texas. Earlier, the Monarchs gave up seven runs in the third inning of an 8-1 loss to Rockwall-Heath.
St. John Bosco 1, Gahr 0: Star closer Jack Champlin got a strikeout to end the game, finishing two shutout innings of relief. Champlin drove in the game’s only run with an RBI double in the sixth inning. Julian Garcia struck out six with no walks in five innings for St. John Bosco.
San Juan Hills 11, Cypress 0: Garrett Gandolfo threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Clay Riggs contributed three RBIs for San Juan Hills.
Santa Margarita 1, Damien 0: Warren Gravely IV had the only RBI in the Eagles’ win. Tyler Unter struck out six in five shutout innings.
Garfield 9, Cleveland 7: Omar Martinez had three hits and Victor Alvarez drove in three runs for Garfield. Joshua Pearlstein finished with three hits for Cleveland.
Palos Verdes 8, West Torrance 0: Kai Van Scoyoc struck out nine in five innings and Asher Friedman had a home run and a double for Palos Verdes.
Valencia 12, Chatsworth 0: An eight-run second inning helped lead the Vikings to a five-inning win.
Bishop Amat 13, Gardena Serra 2: Joaquin Ortiz finished with three hits and four RBIs.
Corona Centennial 19, Eastvale Roosevelt 3: Devin Bishop and Emiliano Castaneda each hit home runs for Centennial.
Servite 6, Anaheim Canyon 1: Mickey Cabral went three for four and Cole Grothues struck out three in 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief.
Corona Santiago 5, Crean Lutheran 4: Jonathan Thorton delivered three hits and two RBIs for the Sharks.
Fullerton 1, Chaparral 0: Garrett Wrightman threw four innings of scoreless relief and Caleb Brown had an RBI double in the third inning for Fullerton.
Edison 11, Tesoro 7: Ben Wilson hit a grand slam and finished with five RBIs for Edison.
El Dorado 10, Granada Hills 4: Lorenzo Favela hit a three-run home run to lead El Dorado.
Ayala 7, San Dimas 1: Caleb Trugman struck out nine with zero walks in a complete game.
Loyola 14, Venice 1: Wyatt Clougherty had three hits and Luca Marucci contributed three RBIs for Loyola.
Softball
Norco 5, Torrance 0: Coral Williams struck out 10 in six innings. Leighton Gray and Rae Logue hit home runs.
Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Anaheim Canyon 2: Natalia Amezquita had a two-run single for Pacifica.
Orange Lutheran 7, Perry 1: Mia Scott had four RBIs for the Lancers.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 15, Culver City 0: Ellayne Tellez-Perez had three hits and five RBIs.
Sports
Chargers’ Justin Herbert gushes over Madison Beer in heartfelt birthday tribute: ‘Changed my life forever’
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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert gushed over 27-year-old singer Madison Beer in a heartfelt birthday tribute on social media, offering fans a rare glimpse into the couple’s relationship.
The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who normally shies away from the public eye, posted a series of photos to his Instagram Stories on Thursday.
Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
“Happy birthday to my favorite person of all time,” Herbert wrote in a post that showed the couple on the sidelines of one of his NFL games. “I love you so much. You’ve changed my life forever.”
In another photo appearing to show the couple out to dinner, Herbert wrote, “I am the luckiest guy alive…”
Herbert, who turns 28 later this month, shared another photo of the “Make You Mine” artist petting goats and captioned the photo, “My goats.”
The couple was first linked together in August when they were spotted together on the set of one of Beer’s music videos in Los Angeles. Herbert and Beer were photographed in October on the sidelines of a Chargers game at SoFi Stadium, seemingly confirming the dating rumors.
Quarterback Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and singer Madison Beer attend an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The same month, Herbert went viral after blocking a rogue basketball from hitting Beer when the two sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.
Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension with the Chargers in July 2023. Despite proving himself to be one of the elite young quarterbacks in the NFL, Los Angeles’ offensive struggles have seen the team fall short in back-to-back playoff appearances.
Quarterback Justin Herbert (10) of the Los Angeles Chargers blocks a basketball from hitting Madison Beer as they attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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The team’s offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was fired in January and replaced with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in football.
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