(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers bowed out of the NBA playoffs last night, losing Game 5 to the Denver Nuggets on yet another Jamal Murray game-winning jumper despite maintaining a lead for most of the game.
It’s the second year in a row the Nuggets have knocked them out of the postseason and the 12th time they have lost to Denver in the last 13 games, and franchise legend Magic Johnson took to Twitter to voice his frustrations with the team’s early exit.
Johnson tweeted out that the Lakers “have nobody but themselves to blame” and that “they wouldn’t have been in the play-in game or finished as a 7th seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management.”
The Lakers have nobody but themselves to blame. They wouldn’t have been in the play-in game or finished as a 7th seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 30, 2024
It hurts to see such a casual take from one of the game’s all-time greats.
LeBron James played 71 games this season, which was the most he has played since his last year with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017-18, and Anthony Davis played 76 games, the most he has played in his entire career.
As for the rest of the team, D’Angelo Russell played 76 games, Rui Hachimura played 68, Taurean Prince played 78, Jaxson Hayes played 70, and starter Austin Reaves played all 82.
The Lakers were one of the healthiest teams in the league, so blaming load management is a baseless take.
It’s hard for many fans to wrap their heads around it because they’re one of the league’s banner franchises and feature the game’s biggest star, but the Lakers lost because the Nuggets are better than them.
Beating a team 12 out of 13 times should make that pretty clear.
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