Magic Johnson Rips Lakers' 'Awful' Defense and Congratulates Anthony Edwards, Wolves
Los Angeles Lakers legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson took to social media to sound off about the Lakers' quick playoff exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In a post on X, Johnson congratulated superstar guard Anthony Edwards and the T-Wolves, while also criticizing the Lakers for playing "awful on defense" and getting "dominated" on the boards:
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves closed out the first-round series on the road Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 103-96 in Game 5 to emphatically win the series 4-1.
While the Lakers held the Timberwolves to 40.4 percent shooting in Game 5, Minnesota won the rebounding battle 54-37 thanks largely to four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's game-high 24 boards.
In order to acquire Luka Dončić as LeBron James' running mate back in February, the Lakers had to part with their best interior player by far in likely future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles attempted to replace some of what he brought to the table by trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams at the deadline, but the deal was rescinded when Williams failed a physical, leaving the Lakers without a viable center.
That was likely the biggest difference against the Timberwolves, but Minnesota was also bolstered by its 23-year-old, three-time All-Star in Edwards.
Prior to the start of the series, Johnson was prophetic in expressing concern about whether the Lakers would be able to slow Edwards down:
Not surprisingly, Edwards led the T-Wolves with 26.8 points per game during the series to go along with 8.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals.
Edwards' performance was largely expected after what he did last season in leading Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals by virtue of his 27.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder still stand out as the team to beat in the Western Conference after going an NBA-best 68-14, but the Timberwolves may be the team best equipped to take them down.
As for the Lakers, they are set to return a strong core next season provided James wants to keep playing, as he will be joined by Dončić, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
That suggests they should be a playoff team and a potential championship contender once again, but the first-round exit against Minnesota made it clear that general manager Rob Pelinka needs to bring in some legitimate interior help.
