Clearly this shows there was no ceiling - for the non-METAR reading among us - that would be Few Clouds at 1700 and
Scattered Clouds at 3800 feet.
Not necessarily a discrepancy:
a) if the Capt. saw the
whatsit we have to assume he was VMC, so the 4-5000ft figure could have been referring to the top of the undercast.
b) no guarantee the LAX WX reflects the conditions even a few miles away, particularly this time of year with frequent and variable marine-generated obscuration.