The Sports Report: Can the in-season tournament be a boon for the Lakers?
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From Dan Woike: The idea goes something like this:
The NBA regular season is long, the top players miss too many games with injuries and the discourse around the game far too often centers solely on championships and not process, creating a system where there’s one success and 29 failures each year. So what if there was a way to add more juice to the regular season, to turn some of the 82 games into events that look and feel different from the regular season?
And with that, after years of prodding led by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, the in-season tournament was born.
The Lakers will begin their pool play Friday night in Phoenix against the Suns. They’ll later play Memphis, Utah and Portland. The team with the best record in pool play will advance to the single-elimination quarterfinals along with the other pool winners and a wild-card team from each conference.
The semifinals and finals will be held in Las Vegas, with the players on the winning team earning $500,000 each.
“I think it’s great for the league whenever you can play meaningful basketball,” Darvin Ham said. “Obviously, the money matters. The winning purses and the purses all the way down the line, that definitely matters. Any time you can get meaningful basketball this early in the season, I think it’s great for the league. I think it’s great for our fans. Guys are engaged early, focused and I think it’ll be a lot of fun. I think it’ll be a mainstay in our league.”
Lakers-Rockets takeaways: Slow starts must come to an end
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USC MEN’S BASKETBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: The announced sell-out crowd never materialized Thursday at Galen Center. But with a talent like Isaiah Collier playing, fans may soon flock downtown to catch a glimpse of the 6-foot-5 guard.
The top-ranked recruit in the country dazzled in his home college debut with 19 points, three rebounds, five assists and four steals in USC’s 85-59 blowout over Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday at Galen Center. Sophomore guard Oziyah Sellers had 16 points as USC had five double-digit scorers. Transfer forward DJ Rodman had 11 points in the first half, including three three-pointers, and finished with 15.
Senior guard Kaleb Higgins led the Roadrunners (1-1) with 19 points.
Collier fueled a 12-0 USC run to finish the first half, scoring or assisting on nine of the points as the No. 21 Trojans (2-0) took a 47-23 lead. He sank two free throws, dished an assist to Sellers on a three-pointer and poked the ball away from Bakersfield’s Naseem Gaskin before driving baseline and kissing a reverse layup off the glass that gently spun through the rim. It was just a precursor to his first-half finale.
UCLA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice scored 18 points, Lauren Betts added 14 points with 15 rebounds, and No. 4 UCLA turned a fast start into an easy 90-52 victory over UC Riverside on Thursday night.
Londynn Jones scored 15 points and Charisma Osborne had 13 points with 11 rebounds for the Bruins (2-0), who had nine players see the floor for at least 10 minutes.
The Bruins opened the game on a 20-0 run, shot 52.4% from the field, led the rebounding battle 52-22 and never saw the lead fall under 18 points after the early burst. UCLA has averaged 91.0 points per game in its two victories.
Jordan Webster scored 18 points for UC Riverside (0-2), which fell to 0-9 all time against UCLA and 0-6 on the road in the series. Matehya Bryant scored 11 points with eight rebounds for the Highlanders, who missed their first 14 shots from the field.
UCLA led by double digits four minutes into the game and went up 20-0 with 1:19 remaining in the first quarter before UC Riverside’s Jaden Sanderson made a jumper to end the Highlanders’ early drought.
UCLA was without forwards Emily Bessoir (Germany) and Angela Dugalic (Serbia), who are with their respective national teams through Sunday for FIBA Women’s Eurobasket 2025 qualifiers.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: No major moves materialized for the Dodgers at this week’s general manager meetings.
But, over three days at the Omni Scottsdale Resort just outside of Phoenix, groundwork was laid for what is expected to be a busy offseason for the team.
As expected, the Dodgers will be in on the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. They are looking for at least a couple starting pitching additions. And they’re taking stock of other ways to improve the team following a 100-win season but a sweep in the National League Division Series.
Coming out of the general manager meetings, here are five takeaways on where their offseason stands.
Julio Urías is a free agent but legal issues cloud his status
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Maybe it’s only coincidence, but the Rams’ midseason signing of Carson Wentz sure feels like 2016.
Not because of what Wentz might do — if anything — as a backup quarterback for a team that is 3-6 and suffering through a three-game losing streak. If starter Matthew Stafford returns from a right thumb injury for the Nov. 19 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Wentz might never see the field in a game for the Rams.
But you can’t mention Wentz and the Rams without thinking about the NFL draft seven years ago — and where the Rams might be heading in the 2024 draft.
History lesson: In 2016, following another 7-9 season under Jeff Fisher and with the need to make a splash in their return to Los Angeles, the Rams traded up a record 14 spots in the draft to No. 1. In the blockbuster deal, they sent the Tennessee Titans their No. 15 pick, two second-round picks, a third-round pick, and first- and third-round picks in 2017.
The Rams chose quarterback Jared Goff over Wentz, who was taken No. 2 by the Philadelphia Eagles. Before the 2017 season, the Rams hired 30-year-old Sean McVay as coach. A year later, they went to the Super Bowl.
NFL Week 10 picks: Can Chargers keep up with Lions’ offense? Jaguars a test for 49ers
USC FOOTBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Under Pete Carroll, USC famously had “Tell The Truth Mondays.” The weekly sessions were intended for unvarnished recaps of the previous weekend’s game that helped the team process the highs and lows of each performance.
For Lincoln Riley’s Trojans, that tradition is turning into Quickly Move On Mondays.
Linebacker Mason Cobb said this week the Trojans didn’t watch film of USC’s loss to Washington. Last month, safety Calen Bullock said he didn’t watch the final drive against Utah when the Trojans gave up a game-winning field goal.
The pattern of denial has forced USC to finally confront an uncomfortable truth: The Trojans are in a must-win situation against No. 6 Oregon to keep their slim Pac-12 championship hopes alive.
“It’s a one-game season right now,” quarterback Caleb Williams said.
CANDACE PARKER
From Kevin Baxter: Candace Parker has done just about everything there is to do in basketball. She’s won three WNBA titles, two most valuable player awards, made seven All-Star appearances and was the league’s rookie of the year. She also has two Olympic gold medals and in college she was a two-time national champion.
So with few peaks left to climb in the sport, she’s no longer trying to be like Mike, or even LeBron. Now she wants to emulate Jay-Z, the rapper, record producer and agent whose entrepreneurial empire spans everything from clothing lines and beverages to real estate and technology.
“He has been my North Star for sure,” Parker said during a break in last month’s espnW summit at the Ojai Valley Inn, where she was a featured speaker. “I admire his forethought in knocking down the misconceptions about what you have to be to be something. It’s similar to what women’s basketball players are thought of. I don’t think that there’s any one lane that I have to fit in.”
Parker’s latest lane change comes Sunday when “Candace Parker: Unapologetic” debuts on ESPN, then begins streaming on ESPN+. Though Parker spends all her time in the 77-minute documentary in front of the camera, the filmmaking experience has given her new ideas for expanding her own entrepreneurial empire, one that already includes broadcasting, an ownership stake in women’s soccer club Angel City FC, a production company and a shoe and clothing partnership with Adida
KINGS
After having a goal waved off in overtime, Bryan Rust quickly made sure it didn’t happen twice.
His wraparound goal with 1:17 remaining on the clock in overtime gave the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Thursday night, giving them a sweep of their California trip for the first time since 1996-97.
Rust appeared to put in his own rebound 17 seconds earlier, but the goal was waved off when he was ruled offside.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist as he became the 11th player in NHL history with 450 career multi-point games. He also extended his point streak to seven games.
Lars Eller and Jake Guentzel also had goals for the Penguins. Magnus Hellberg stopped 34 shots.
Los Angeles had a four-game winning streak snapped. Adrian Kempe extended his points streak to eight games with a second-period goal and Anze Kopitar moved into second on the Kings’ career points list with an assist on Carl Grundstrum’s first-period score.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1945 — Top-ranked Army shuts out No. 2 Notre Dame 48-0 at Yankee Stadium. Glenn Davis scores three touchdowns and Doc Blanchard scores two, while the Cadets roll up 441 yards to the Irish’s 184.
1963 — Detroit’s Gordie Howe becomes the leading career goal scorer in the NHL with his 545th in a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
1978 — Larry Holmes knocks out Alfredo Evangelista in the seventh round to retain the WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1984 — Wyoming’s Kevin Lowe rushes for 302 yards, and Rick Wegher of South Dakota State rushes for 231 to set an NCAA record for most yards gained by two opposing players. Wyoming wins 45-29.
1984 — Wild Again holds off Slew O’ Gold and Gate Dancer to capture the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park.
1984 — Maryland completes the biggest comeback in NCAA history, overcoming a 31-0 halftime deficit to beating Miami 42-40 in the Orange Bowl. Led by back-up quarterback Frank Reich, the Terrapins score on six consecutive drives in the second half and stop Hurricane running back Melvin Bratton’s two-point conversion attempt on the goal line late in the fourth quarter.
1990 — The Phoenix Suns shatter the NBA record with 107 points in the first half of a 173-143 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
1991 — Martina Navratilova beats Monica Seles for the California Virginia Slims tournament, her 157th title, equaling Chris Evert’s record for career victories.
1996 — Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino surpasses 50,000 career yards passing in a 37-13 win over Indianapolis. Marino also reaches 4,000 completions, another NFL first, with his 10th completion of the game.
2001 — San Jose State beats Nevada 64-45, setting an NCAA single-game record for total offense with 1,640 yards. San Jose State has 849 yards to Nevada’s 791, eclipsing the previous record of 1,563 yards set by Houston and TCU on Nov. 3, 1990.
2007 — San Jose center Jeremy Roenick scores his 500th NHL goal at the expense of his former team in a 4-1 win over Phoenix.
2007 — Navy and North Texas set a major-college record by combining for 136 points in the Midshipmen’s 74-62 win. The previous record for college football’s top tier of competition was 133 points in San Jose State’s 70-63 win over Rice on Oct. 2, 2004.
2007 — Notre Dame loses for the ninth time this season, a school-record, falling 41-24 to Air Force. The last time the Irish lost to two military academies in the same season was 1944.
2012 — Ka’Deem Carey of Arizona rushes for a Pac-12 record 366 yards and ties the conference record with five TDs in the Wildcats’ 56-31 rout of Colorado.
2013 — Marc Marquez becomes the first rookie in 35 years to win the MotoGP championship after protecting his points lead in the Valencia Grand Prix. Needing a top-four finish to secure the title, the 20-year-old Marquez finishes third on his Honda behind race winner and defending champion Jorge Lorenzo. The last rookie to win the title was American Kenny Roberts in 1978.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time...
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Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
