It must not be a great time to be a Los Angeles Lakers fan right now.

Granted, pre-season optimism hits followers of any NBA team, and the glass-half-full theory around the Lakers was that Darvin Ham would be able to get a tune out of a team of superstars that has flattered to deceive since 2020.

So far, that has not happened, and despite still being early in the campaign, things are already threatening to get away from them.

Monday's 139-116 defeat at the Utah Jazz took the Lakers to 2-8 from their first 10 outings, and they are about to face a Clippers side that is hitting form.

Having started their season with a 103-97 win against the Lakers before another victory in Sacramento, Tyronn Lue's team then lost four in a row as people started to question if they were going to go the same way as their neighbours.

However, back-to-back wins against the Houston Rockets followed by successes against the Spurs and the Cavaliers either side of a loss to the Jazz have the Clippers at 6-5 and in seventh place in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are just one place off bottom in the West, having lost their first five games before a brief hint of a turnaround with wins against the Nuggets and the Pelicans was extinguished by three more defeats.

LeBron James did not feature against the Jazz on Monday due to a sore foot, but reports suggest that was the result of playing the night before, so Ham may be able to call on his experience on Wednesday.

While the debates still rage about the use of Russell Westbrook, he scored 22 points in Utah with a team-leading five assists as well as three rebounds, while Anthony Davis' 29 points will likely need to be repeated if they are to have a chance against their local rivals.

Paul George will have something to say about that after his 26 points in the win against the Cavs, on a night in which the Clippers shared the wealth, with six different players reaching double figures for points.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Los Angeles Clippers – Paul George

It was not only against Cleveland that George has thrived this season, boasting an average over his first 10 outings at 25.3 points per game, with Marcus Morris Sr claiming the next highest average with 15.0.

George only scored 15 against the Lakers last month, but he has pushed on to become the league's 14th highest scoring player per game so far in a team that has struggled for high scores.

Los Angeles Lakers – Anthony Davis

Should he play, it'll probably be James again, who in spite of questions about his age is still averaging 24.3 points per game; but with uncertainty about whether he will feature, as mentioned, Davis will need to perform well either way.

The 29-year-old is currently matching his points per game from last season (23.2), with his rebound numbers slightly up so far (10.3 from 9.9).

KEY BATTLES – Clippers must find points from somewhere

The Clippers may have recovered in recent games, but they are still struggling to score points, with their average of 103.8 the lowest in the NBA by more than three (the Wizards have the next lowest with 107.0).

With Kawhi Leonard still sidelined, the onus will fall on George, but others will need to step up and help him put numbers on the board.

The saving grace is that they come up against a Lakers team averaging 116.3 points conceded this season, with just six teams in the league allowing more against per game.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Recent contests have been dominated by the Clippers, with their opening-game victory last month their eighth in a row against the Lakers, who have not beaten their rivals since July 30, 2020 during their bubble season success.

Lorenzo Musetti enjoyed a winning start at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan after seeing off Tseng Chun-hsin in straight sets on Tuesday.

The highest seed at the tournament after Holger Rune's withdrawal, world number 23 Musetti eased to a 4-2 4-2 4-2 victory in just 70 minutes at the Allianz Cloud Arena.

The home favourite is making his second appearance at the event and arrives after an impressive year on the ATP Tour that yielded titles in Hamburg and Naples.

"It was really nice," Musetti said during his on-court interview. "I remember playing here from last year. The crowd here is really amazing. They gave me extra energy. I am pretty confident and happy with the win."

Elsewhere in Red Group, third seed Jack Draper was beaten 4-3 (7-5) 4-3 (7-5) 4-3 (7-5) by Dominic Stricker, who became the first player in Next Gen Finals history to win three successive tie-breaks.

Ranked 111th, the Swiss debutant hit 14 aces on the way to overcoming the world number 41.

Meanwhile, in Green Group, San Diego champion Brandon Nakashima prevailed in an epic five-set thriller against Matteo Arnaldi 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-3 (7-4) 3-4 (4-7) 4-2.

The fourth seed is aiming to go the extra couple of steps this year, having reached the semi-finals 12 months ago.

"Right from the beginning, it was a lot of critical points, the sets were going by fast, so I just tried to adapt as quick as possible," Nakashima said. "The tie-breaks, I was kind of lucky to squeeze them out, and today I think it was just all about finding a way out here.

"He's a super tough opponent, he was playing really well, and it was just some critical points in the end that helped me get over the line."

The day's other match saw Jiri Lehecka celebrate his 21st birthday by defeating Francesco Passaro 4-1 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 in just 67 minutes on his debut.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Max Verstappen's "perfect" 2022 campaign is the most dominant he has seen during his time in Formula One.

Verstappen retained his world title with four races to spare by emerging victorious at last month's Japanese Grand Prix, and he has since posted wins in the United States and Mexico.

The Dutchman broke F1's single-season wins record – previously shared with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel – at the Mexican Grand Prix, securing his 14th race victory of 2022.

The numbers therefore back up Horner's claims this has been a season like no other for Verstappen.

Asked whether his driver had produced the best campaign in recent memory, Horner said: "There's been years of domination with Mercedes, but I think, as an individual driver, probably yes. 

"He's won the most grands prix in a year now, within 22 races. On top of that, he's won two sprint races, and he's not won all of them from pole position. He's had to fight and race for a lot of those victories.

"I think when we look back at the end of the year, it is an absolutely outstanding year that Max has driven. He hasn't put a wheel wrong. 

"He's been perfect throughout the season. It's incredible, the level of consistency that he's been able to achieve."

Last year, Verstappen became the first Red Bull driver to win the world championship since Vettel clinched the last of his four successive titles in 2013, and Horner believes he does not get the recognition he deserves. 

"They are two very different drivers, two phenomenally successful drivers," Horner said of Verstappen and Vettel.

"I think that what Sebastian has achieved in his career puts him among the greats and most successful drivers in the sport, but I think Max, what we're seeing today and this year, we're actually witnessing something very special. 

"I actually think his achievements sometimes don't receive the plaudits that they should, because I think what we've witnessed this year is an absolutely outstanding performance from a driver that is very much at the top of his game."

Eddie Jones believes England's loss to Argentina was partly down to being too focused on next year's Rugby World Cup as he accepted full responsibility for the defeat.

England were on the end of a surprise 30-29 reverse at a packed Twickenham on Sunday – only their second ever home defeat to Argentina.

The sides will meet again in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup next September, which Jones already had one eye on heading into last weekend's battle in London.

"When your team doesn't play to the potential you want, there is always something in the message that you're giving the team that's not quite clear," he said.

"We've been looking at a number of long-term strategies to get ourselves set for the World Cup. Maybe our focus wasn't tight enough on the Argentina game. 

"Maybe we were over-thinking a bit, and that's entirely my fault."

England reached the final in 2019 and are among the favourites to lift the trophy next year, alongside New Zealand, Ireland, hosts France and reigning champions South Africa.

The Red Rose endured another disappointing Six Nations campaign earlier this year, but they recovered with a battling 2-1 series win in Australia prior to losing to Argentina.

With less than a year to go before the World Cup begins, Jones is hoping to further develop his squad in time for the tournament.

"There are a cluster of teams at the top of world rugby," he said. "We want to break that cluster. To do that we have to have a number of different ways to play the game.

"This next 11 months is to get enough equipment in our armoury to play any way. 

"England rugby is traditionally about power rugby, winning the set-piece, smashing down the gain-line, but we have to learn from the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

"In the final, we came up against a side that had more power than us, and we were unable to beat them at that game."

England have made three changes to their 36-man squad for Saturday's showdown with Japan at Twickenham, which is followed by Tests against New Zealand and South Africa.

Lewis Hamilton is grateful to have been made an honorary citizen of Brazil and dedicated the achievement to boyhood idol Ayrton Senna.

The seven-time Formula One world champion received the honour during a ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia on Monday.

Hamilton delighted home spectators when holding a Brazilian flag from his Mercedes after claiming his third victory at Interlagos last year.

That is also the venue where the Briton won his first world title in 2008, and where he will return this weekend for the penultimate grand prix of 2022.

While Hamilton may still be seeking a first victory of a hugely disappointing campaign, the 37-year-old was all smiles as he received Brazil's legislative medal of merit. 

"I'd like to say a big, big thank you to everyone here, for all those who've moved mountains to make this day possible," he said. 

"It is honestly the greatest honour for me to be here receiving and accepting this citizenship. I really do feel like now I'm one of you, finally.

"The love that's grown since I arrived here in 2007, the experiences we've had and, particularly in 2021, it was one of the most special moments of my entire life. 

"I can't wait for us to continue to strive ahead."

Hamilton's seven world titles is the joint-most in F1 history, level with Michael Schumacher and four more than the late, great Senna.

"I really want to dedicate today, this honour, to Ayrton Senna – to Ayrton's family, to his friends and to his fans," Hamilton added. 

"For me, when I was five years old, I saw Ayrton race for the first time, and that was the moment I knew that I wanted to be a world champion, just like him.

"It was then that I knew and learnt about Brazil. It was then that I started to play FIFA as Brazil! 

"But really, through his eyes, I was able to see how passionate Brazilians were, and how deep it goes, the love and passion you have for your country, and how beautiful it is. 

"I'm so excited to spend some more time here."

Darvin Ham vowed "we're going to turn the corner" as "I didn't come here to lose" after the struggling Los Angeles Lakers suffered a heavy defeat against the Utah Jazz.

The Lakers' woeful start to the season took another turn for the worse when they were beaten 139-116 at Vivint Arena.

LeBron James was sidelined due to foot soreness as Los Angeles were consigned to a third straight defeat, slipping to 2-8.

Only the Houston Rockets (2-9) are keeping the Lakers off the bottom of the Western Conference, with Ham enduring a difficult start to his tenure as head coach after replacing the sacked Frank Vogel in June. 

Ham is adamant the good times will return to Los Angeles. 

He told reporters after the Lakers' latest heavy loss: "I would say this, man. And write it, quote it, however, this may be happening now at the outset of what we're trying to force to be a culture change in terms of getting us back to being highly competitive on a highly consistent basis, but it's not going to always be like this.

"We're going to turn the corner. I didn't come here to lose. They didn't bring me here to lose."

Ham believes his side can benefit from going through such a testing period.

"There is a process involved where we have to go through tough times. Like, I want to bottle this up. I want to embrace it.

"I want to have it and store it so when things are turned around and we get too comfortable and we start complaining about some problems that are not even necessarily problems – problems that winning teams go through – I want to be able to reflect on these times."

Roquan Smith saw "no weaknesses at all" as he reflected on an impressive Baltimore Ravens debut during Monday's crushing 27-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.

The Ravens defense was at its suffocating best, with Saints only mustering six points until their first touchdown came four minutes from time when the game was already beyond them.

Linebacker Smith, who was traded from the Chicago Bears last week, played a big part, making an impact early on with a tackle on Alvin Kamara to prevent a first down and force a punt.

That was one of five tackles Smith tallied over the game, though he was just one part of a defensive unit that was brutally sharp, with Justin Houston and Marlon Humphrey among the others to catch the eye.

For Smith, the game brought a realisation of just how strong the 6-3 Ravens are as AFC North leaders made it three wins on the bounce.

"It's amazing just being around so many playmakers, guys that make plays all over the field," he told NFL Network.

"I don't see no weaknesses at all. It sucks giving up that last play, that's why we've got to get better, but I'm excited about the direction we're going."

Despite the Ravens reaching an impressive points total, it was not a contest that saw the quarterbacks shine with their throwing.

The Ravens' tactic of shutting down Kamara and the Saints' rushing attack forced QB Andy Dalton to beat them from the pocket, and he largely failed in that regard, with his respectable stat-line of 19 of 29 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown arguably masking his struggles.

Similarly with the Ravens, Lamar Jackson only recorded 133 passing yards from 12 completions, but their ground attack was unstoppable and the quarterback contributed significantly to that.

With starting running backs J.K Dobbins and Gus Edwards missing through injury, Jackson looked to do a fair amount of the work himself, carrying the ball 11 times for 83 yards, and Smith felt the need to salute that effort afterwards.

"It's amazing, it's the reason that guy was the MVP before," he said.

"Man, he's special. I'm happy to be on his team, and I think it's going be a lot of great things coming forward for him and this team."

Steve Kerr hailed Steph Curry's "breath-taking" performance in the Golden State Warriors' win over the Sacramento Kings, which evoked memories of Game 4 of the NBA Finals for Draymond Green.

The Warriors were in need of some respite having lost five straight road games, making unwanted history as the first defending champions to start a season 0-6 on their travels in the process.

Curry delivered in some style at the Chase Center, putting up a season-high 47 points from 17-of-24 shooting including making 7-of-12 three-point attempts.

He also had eight assists and as many rebounds, with 17 of his points coming in the fourth quarter.

"Steph was just breath-taking," Warriors coach Kerr said. 

"He's obviously one of the greatest players of all time and he plays so well on so many nights. But this even seemed like something special for him."

For team-mate Green, while the 116-113 victory was not of the same significance as Game 4 of last season's Finals against the Boston Celtics, Curry's performance was reminiscent of his heroics that night.

On that occasion, Curry had 43 points and 10 rebounds to level a series the Warriors would go on to win 4-2.

"It was very Game 4 of the NBA Finals to me. He just wasn't going to allow us to lose," Green said. 

"Take that with a grain of salt because I'm not saying this game was as important. But you know when to get out of the way. It was one of those times where he was taking over."

The Warriors have endured defensive struggles and problems with an unproductive bench in the early stages of a season that sees them own a 4-7 record and sit 12th in the Western Conference.

Each of Curry, Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were absent against the New Orleans Pelicans las time out, but played 38, 36, 38, and 40 minutes respectively against the Kings.

Kerr accepted such volume is not viable long term but said it was a case of needs must to get a W on the board.

"It was obviously necessary," Kerr said. "But it's not sustainable. So we know we can't do this for a long time."

For Curry, there is a realisation the Warriors will go through peaks and troughs this season.

"We have to understand that [the young players] are all going to get an opportunity to perform, and there are going to be some struggles – some real high highs, and some real low lows," he said. 

"That's the story of this team. As vets, you understand every year is a little different and you are ready for that challenge. For these young guys to try and find themselves in this league and also a specific role, it's challenging."

Caroline Garcia spoke of her "giant happiness" after coming through a "big fight" to defeat Aryna Sabalenka and become the WTA Finals champion.

The 29-year-old became just the second Frenchwoman after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005 to win the season-ending tournament by coming through a bruising encounter 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Victory propels Garcia back to a joint-career high ranking of fourth, having been languishing down in the mid-70s as recently as June following a series of injuries.

"It's definitely a lot of giant happiness," Garcia said at her post-match press conference. 

"A crazy final, a lot of intensity on every point. Just really proud of the work we did through all the year. It was a great match – really went for it. I'm really happy to win my biggest title.

"Just very happy about the mindset, to be really calm at every moment. All the negative emotion doesn't affect me, and that was really a big part of taking the few opportunities I had in the tie-breaker and the first game I broke her in the second."

With the win, Garcia pockets $1.57million in prize money and 1,375 ranking points.

Her triumph in Fort Worth is the culmination of sparkling form that has seen her win every final she has played in 2022, while she has won eight of her last nine over the past six years.

It also marks a fine return to the top table. Back in 2017, 11 straight victories to win WTA 1000 events in Wuhan and Beijing saw Garcia first enter the top 10 and earn a maiden trip to the WTA Finals where she lost to Venus Williams in the semi-finals.

"Sometimes you are emotional or things don't go your way," Garcia said. 

"I mean, sometimes there is a big fight, so you have to find your way through it. Some points, where you cannot do anything. You just try to put in the return and to run as fast as you can to the other side.

"And that was one of the biggest points I improved. Today one of the most important things was to stay calm and jump on every opportunity."

Sabalenka had knocked out top seed Iga Swiatek to reach the showpiece match but hit two costly double faults in the first-set breaker – an area that she has struggled with throughout the year.

"I just dropped my level for a little bit. On the tie-break and the first game of the second set. That's it," a rueful Sabalenka reflected.

"I did my best, [but] she played unbelievable tennis."

Ben Simmons thought he was "terrible" on his return from injury in the Brooklyn Nets' defeat to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.

The point guard missed four games due to a knee problem but was back in action at American Airlines Center.

Simmons was on court for just under 16 minutes after coming off the bench, scoring two points, claiming three rebounds and providing two assists in a 96-94 loss.

The Australia star gave a frank assessment of his performance in Dallas, where the Nets slipped to 4-7.

"I'm my harshest critic, so I think terrible," Simmons said. "There's a place I want to get to. I got to keep working, I got to keep pushing myself and adapting, so I'll get there."

Simmons said coming through his comeback pain-free was the primary objective

"That was the main thing for me," Simmons said. "Just have no pain. Get up and down the floor, sprint, run, jump, so I felt good."

Nets interim coach Jacque Vaughn welcomed the opportunity to have Simmons involved again.

"Great to see him out on the floor," Vaughn said. "I put him out there with a group that could play fast, hoping to get some shooters around him.

"At that stretch, we didn't make a lot of shots. But, overall, seeing him back on the floor, he played with speed, he played with pace, which is good."

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has vehemently defended his decision to appoint Jeff Saturday as interim head coach and stated "I'm glad he doesn't have any NFL experience."

The Colts fired Frank Reich on Monday and announced that former Pro Bowl center Saturday will take over.

Saturday has no NFL or college coaching experience and had been working as a consultant for the Colts as well as an analyst for ESPN since retiring from the NFL following the 2012 season. 

Irsay revealed the 47-year-old, who played for Indianapolis from 1999-2011 before joining the Green Bay Packers, will be in charge "for eight games, hopefully more" during a press conference on Monday.

Eyebrows have been raised over the appointment of Saturday, but Irsay thinks it will prove to be a masterstroke.

"Want to bet against this guy?" Irsay said. "Put your money down. [I'd] love to see it, because I know what he's about."

He added: "I'm glad he doesn't have any NFL experience. I'm glad he hasn't learned the fear that's in this league, because it's tough for all our coaches. They're afraid. They go to analytics and it gets difficult.

"He doesn't have all that. He doesn't have that fear. And there was no other candidate. We were fortunate he was available. And he has tons of experience. He knows this game inside and out with relationships with coaches and players.

"I understand that he's fully capable of doing this."

The Colts relieved Reich of his duties after Sunday’s 26-3 defeat at the New England Patriots dropped the team to 3-5-1. Indianapolis are last in the NFL with 14.7 points per game. 

Irsay felt he had to act following a poor start to the season.

"There's no rule book that tells you, 'Now you should make a change,'" Irsay said. "It's something from being in the league 52 years. It's intuitive."

Irsay said general manager Chris Ballard, who joined him at the press conference along with Saturday, will stay on.

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry enjoyed his best game of the new season as he put up 47 points in the Golden State Warriors' 116-113 home win against the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

After posting a season-high 39 points his last time out in a loss to the Orlando Magic, Curry went even bigger, hitting 17-of-24 from the field, seven-of-12 from deep and six of his seven free throws.

The former unanimous league MVP also added eight rebounds and eight assists, boasting a plus/minus of plus 20 in his 38 minutes. That means in the 10 minutes he was on the bench, the Warriors were outscored by 17.

With Klay Thompson having an off-shooting night (six-of-18 for 16 points), Andrew Wiggins stepped up as Curry's sidekick, chipping in 25 points (10-of-17 shooting) with 10 rebounds, two steals and a block.

With his seven three-pointers, Curry is now averaging a league-leading 5.1 made threes per game, is fifth in the league in scoring (31.0 points per game) and 15th in assists (6.8 per game).

For the Kings, point guard De'Aaron Fox continued his strong start to the campaign, scoring a team-high 28 points on eight-of-17 shooting to raise his season average to 26.3 (12th in the league).

Doncic extends 30-point streak in Mavs win

Luka Doncic has now scored at least 30 points in each of the Dallas Mavericks' first nine games after putting up 36 in his side's 96-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Doncic was incredibly efficient, particularly from long range, hitting 11-of-22 from the field and five-of-nine from long range. For the season, he is shooting a career-high 52.7 per cent from the field, and that is despite a career-worst three-point percentage of 26.2.

He now owns the second-longest streak in NBA history for consecutive 30-point games to start a season, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain's streak of 23 games to start the 1962-63 campaign.

Returning from a four-game absence due to swelling in his knee, Ben Simmons came off the bench for the first time in his 282-game career, scoring two points in 16 minutes.

A.J. Griffin highlights impressive rookie performances as he hands the Bucks their first loss

The Milwaukee Bucks suffered their first loss of the season as Atlanta Hawks rookie A.J. Griffin starred off the bench.

Griffin, the 16th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft, finished with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while snatching three steals in a strong 31-minute performance.

Meanwhile, Paolo Banchero's ridiculous start to his career continued as he had his second straight 30-point game in the Orlando Magic's 134-127 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Banchero continues to justify his selection as the top pick in the draft, hitting eight-of-16 from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. He is averaging 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the first 10 games of his career.

Last year's second overall draft pick, Jalen Green, was terrific for the Rockets, scoring a game-high 34 points (12-of-18 from the field, five-of-11 from long range).