Despite a return home, the absence of Jimmy Butler, and Anthony Davis outdueling Bam Adebayo, the reeling Los Angeles Lakers were outclassed and, more concerningly, “outworked” by the Miami Heat, 110-96, at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.

The Lakers — down D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura — finally re-inserted Austin Reaves into the starting lineup. Reaves shined from jump (24 points, eight assists), but the Lakers committed 10 first-quarter turnovers and fell behind by double-digits before the second period, as they often do. Another season-long problem, 3-point shooting, plagued the Lakers: They shot 9-of-30 from deep against Miami's tricky zone. Los Angeles finished with 22 turnovers. Yuck.

“Our attention to detail, it's not good,” said AD, who saw another masterful performance — 29 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, three steals, five blocks — go to waste. “It's not high enough to win basketball games right now.”

The Lakers (17-18) have dropped nine of 12 and currently occupy the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. After a grueling month of travel, the Lakers were hoping the new year and a Los Angeles-heavy January slate would breathe new life into their locker room. Instead, they began 2024 with an inauspicious dud.

“Guys are disappointed,” said Darvin Ham. “Nobody wants to come out here on their home floor and get beat.”

Austin Reaves was more candid when asked about the vibes in the locker room.

“Sh*tty. We're losing … Anytime you lose, the vibes should be off. If we went in there and the vibe wasn't off with the rough stretch we've had, then I'd be concerned.” (Reaves clarified that the Lakers still personally get along.)

Everything was bad. LeBron James (12 points, 6-for-18 shooting) looked lethargic and frustrated and left the arena without speaking to reporters. Only Davis, Reaves, and Max Christie (14 points) were productive and energized.

“We got outworked tonight,” condemned AD. “It’s a little bit of everything right now and if we keep on this trend, it’s not going to be good for us … If we play how we played tonight then it's gonna go south for us really bad.”

Two starters, Taurean Prince (0-for-6 from 3) and Cam Reddish, went scoreless and were non-factors defensively. Ham, who rarely, if ever, publicly blasts his players, issued a challenge directed at unspecified offseason additions.

“We need guys to step up and play better. The reason we signed them is because we know what they can do. And so you gotta come with that confidence each and every night, and you gotta fight through it. Things not going your way, you can’t ball up in the corner somewhere and go cry about it. You gotta step up and try to see how you can best assist your team in being successful. If it's not the same thing you do, then you look for something else to do.”

The Lakers have cycled through excuses since the In-Season Tournament: Lack of continuity, injuries, illnesses, travel, replay review, opponent shooting luck, you name it. That's all, officially, ringing hollow. They're home for nine of the next 10 games. They've played nearly half a season together. They were unfocused, sloppy, and inattentive following two days off against a hyper-intense Heat squad without its best player. Inexcusable.

“We're more than talented enough to go win games,” stressed Reaves. “We have enough depth. We have enough skill. We gotta figure it out.”

There are 47 games left in the regular season. 17 until the trade deadline. It's now or never for this particular iteration of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Every game for us on this home stand should be like a must-win for us,” stated Davis.