Dallas Mavericks Sweep Los Angeles Lakers: Magic Johnson Thinks Changes Loom

Could Dwight Howard be on the horizon?

Magic Johnson thinks that the Los Angeles Lakers will need to undergo some serious changes in order to sustain success into the future.

And he's right.

After the Lakers were handed an embarrassing Game 4 loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 122-86, the two-time defending champions will have to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror to figure out their team identity.

In what is likely to be Phil Jackson's final game sitting on the sidelines, the Lakers were bounced from the 2011 postseason with very little class. Lamar Odom took a cheap shot on Dirk Nowitzki, Andrew Bynum delivered an elbow to J.J. Barea's face and the effort level was lacking all afternoon.

With their backs against the wall, the Lakers needed to come out with a sense of urgency in this game that they simply couldn't muster. Although they struggled with the Hornets in the first round, I don't think anyone saw such a dominant four-game sweep on the horizon.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of it all is that the Dallas bench scored an incredible 86 points, just as many as the entire Lakers lineup.

J.J. Barea and Peja Stojakovic combined to score 43 points.

That's the same amount as Kobe, Pau, Bynum and Odom collectively.

Perhaps the dominance shouldn't be so surprising.