The Los Angeles Lakers won two of the past four games and then lost the other two after starting the 2022-23 NBA regular season with a 0-5 record.

Having Russell Westbrook begin off the bench enabled him to play more comfortably and more efficiently. That was one of the major reasons behind the team's two straight wins.

However, that solution didn't fix all of the purple and gold's problems, which include a lack of 3-point shooters, centers and health, especially in Anthony Davis.

If the Lakers want to trade their way out of the current difficulties, they will have to give up the team's first-round draft picks for 2027 and 2029. However, even by doing so, it's hard to imagine they will immediately become a championship contender.

On the good side, whether Westbrook leaves or not, his big contract will come due in summer 2023 and free up a lot of salary space for the Lakers.

On the bad side, LeBron James turns 38-years-old in December, and Anthony Davis has been vulnerable to injuries for a very long time, meaning it is impossible to predict where they will be in eight months.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-07/CGTN-Sports-Talk-The-LA-Lakers-made-a-change-but-there-s-more-to-do-1eLXFJqzVTy/index.html

It's rare to see the following names – Juventus, Barcelona and Manchester United – all in the UEFA Europa Champions League together, but times have changed.

The arrivals of the traditional powerhouses from the top five leagues will definitely make things interesting, but they won't necessarily win the title like going to a picnic.

For starters, anything can happen in a two-legged contest. Second, top teams are usually more distracted by domestic competition, which often come before the Europa League for them.

Moreover, since the knockout playoff games will begin in February 2023, after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November and December, the competition will become even more unpredictable when the Europa League comes back.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-04/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Will-the-Europa-League-get-even-tougher-this-season--1eGPWG0YI1O/index.html

The Philadelphia 76ers now have a .500 record after beating the Washington Wizards on Monday. It is inspiring considering that they began the 2022-23 NBA regular season with three straight losses.

Joel Embiid has faced criticism for his underperformance in the first two losses. He scored 40 points in the third game against the San Antonio Spurs but they still lost. Embiid's numbers looked more "normal" in the three games he played in the following days and the 76ers won two of them.

As for the two wins without Embiid, the 76ers counted on Tyrese Maxey as their first offensive choice. Maxey responded to the team's trust with 44 and 28 points. Fairly speaking, their offense looked a bit smoother when James Harden paired with a guard who can drive on the fastbreak, instead of a 7-footer who has an obsession with shooting jumpers in the mid-range.

The 76ers and Embiid have been "trusting the process" since the team drafted him in 2014. But how long does this process have to be?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-01/CGTN-Sports-Talk-The-76ers-are-winning-now-what--1eBSn6kPNDy/index.html

Donovan Mitchell, Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gobert were traded this offseason to new teams by the franchises they had been playing for since they were drafted into the NBA.

Mitchell leads the Cleveland Cavaliers in scoring with 31 points per game in five games, which is exactly what the team needs from him to make a deep playoff run.

Murray became the Atlanta Hawks' best backcourt defender and second playmaker, sharing some of the scoring burden with Trae Young.

Gobert immediately became Minnesota's leader in rebounds and blocks. The team needs his presence in the paint to avoid fighting until the last possession to win every game.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-30/CGTN-Sports-Talk-How-are-the-new-kids-in-school-doing--1eyurGyj2gg/index.html

Twelve clubs have qualified for the Round of 16 in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League after Group Stage games. Only three groups still have any suspense over which teams will advance to the next stage.

Group D has the most complicated situation because the leader Tottenham Hotspur are only two points above the bottom Olympique de Marseille while the two in between, Sporting CP and Eintracht Frankfurt, both have seven points. In the last round on November 1, Hotspur will challenge Marseille at Stade Velodrome while Sporting CP will host Frankfurt at Estadio Jose Alvalade. Nothing will be confirmed until both games are over.

AC Milan, which have seven points, and Red Bull Salzburg, which have six points, will play against each in the last game of Group E at Stadio San Siro on November 2 for a spot in Round of 16. The last time the two teams played against each other, it was a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena.

Red Bull Leipzig are three points above Shakhtar Donetsk in Group F, but the German club is not necessarily safe because they lost to Donetsk 4-1 at home the last time they met. Therefore, if Leipzig lose to Donetsk at Donbass Arena on November 2, they will have to go to the UEFA Europa League.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-28/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Four-knockout-stage-berths-left-in-UCL-1evbukDgCoE/index.html

Two games on Tuesday night raised the curtain for the 2022-23 NBA regular season.

The Golden State Warriors had nothing but joy as they received the championship rings for the last season, gave their young players enough time to refine themselves and smashed the opponents at Chase Center.

While the Los Angeles Lakers review their loss against the Warriors, they may also want to ask their front office what exactly their signings during the offseason do to help the franchise.

The Philadelphia 76ers had both good news and bad news in their season opener against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The good news is, James Harden's incredible performance reminded the 76ers of himself in his prime when he was in the Rockets; the bad new is the 76ers lost and Joel Embiid underperformed.

The Celtics managed to contain one of the league's top two centers even without their best defender Robert Williams III. Moreover, the team's star duo, Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum matched each other with incredible offensive performance in Tuesday's game.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-19/CGTN-Sports-Talk-2022-23-NBA-regular-season-begins-1egmRLMKEPm/index.html

When Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan were put in Group C at the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League, this group was considered by many as the "Group of Death." Back then, more expected to see Bayern and Barca to qualify for the next stage than those who believed in Inter.

After four games, Bayern are the group leader with four straight wins; Inter are second after a win and a draw against Barca; Barca are on a quick path to the UEFA Europa League.

There wasn't much criticism against Barca for losing to Bayern. Injuries understandably played their role in the club's struggling performance against Inter. However, the problems exposed of the Spanish powerhouse in the Champions League are much bigger than simply being shorthanded.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-14/CGTN-Sports-Talk-UEFA-Champions-League-Group-of-death-Not-so-much-1e7QeL6uxCU/index.html

When Kylian Mbappe inked a three-year contract extension with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in May, he became reportedly one of the most powerful players in any football powerhouse in Europe because the new deal gave him a say in how the club is run, according to The Guardian.

However, that hasn't seemed liked it has made the 23-year-old French genius happy enough to stay at the Parc des Princes, because a series of sports media outlets revealed this week that Mbappe wants to leave PSG in January 2023.

It cost PSG as much as 180 million euros (about $175.4 million) in 2018 to land him from Monaco. Real Madrid made several bids, including one that was worth 200 million euros (about $194.9 million), trying to bring him to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu during the past two years. But all of their attempts failed, including one rejected by Mbappe himself in May.

There are surely still clubs rich enough to pay a satisfactory price for PSG to let Mbappe go. But before they start writing zeros on the cheque, they better know for sure what exactly Mbappe is after.

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Josh McNally

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-14/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Why-is-Kylian-Mbappe-such-a-diva--1e7QT4kjEPu/index.html

When Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets appeared in the NBA pre-season game against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 3, he played his first formal game since June 20, 2021.

Judging by his performance against the 76ers, his defense, agility, athleticism and orchestrating were all still there. So were his problems of lacking shooting ability outside the paint.

As a 2.11-meter-tall point guard and a two-time All-Defensive First Team selection, Simmons is capable of playing a key role in the Nets where he has two top scorers Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as teammates.

As a professional player, Simmons' reputation couldn't get any worse after his behavior in the past 470 days, including passing up an open dunk in clutch Game 7 and refusing to play for the 76ers. Will the 2022-23 season in the Nets become a turning point for his career?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-11/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Can-Ben-Simmons-find-his-redemption-in-the-Nets--1e30gQCJzck/index.html

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors punched his teammate Jordan Poole during team practice on Wednesday - and himself out of the team for at least days.

The 32-year-old veteran said the clash was not about contract extensions, which both he and Poole have been negotiating over with the team. But after his behavior and the release of the related video, Green is unlikely to get the salary he wants.

It's not the first time Green has found himself at the center of domestic turmoil. The last time he was in a similar situation, Kevin Durant, who helped the Warriors win two straight NBA Championships as the Finals Most Valuable Player, left the franchise before the team went through a two-year-long rebuild.

The Warriors won the title last season during which Poole became their second scoring option. This time, Green has aged; Klay Thompson has aged; the Warriors' ace Stephen Curry, has aged as well. Should the team continue to put up with Green like they did the last time?

Host: Li Xiang

Guest: Matthew Watson

Cover designer: Feng Yuan

Chief editor: Chen Ran

Supervisor: Zhang Shilei

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-10-09/CGTN-Sports-Talk-Should-the-Warriors-get-rid-of-Draymond-Green--1dZBYhPXw3e/index.html