Magic Johnson has been an integral part of the LA Lakers, who helped the franchise secure five of the NBA’s glittery championship trophies. The former guard is well known for laying down honest opinions and did the same on the Lakers’ early playoff exit. However, the NBA legend was quick to flip his statement later.
After the Denver Nuggets swept the Purple and Gold, Johnson posted on his X (formerly known as Twitter) handle, “The Lakers have nobody but themselves to blame. They wouldn’t have been in the Play-In game or finished as a seventh seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management.”
The Hall of Famer said that the Nuggets were superior in terms of mental and physical strength, which helped them with the series win. It took him two days to re-analyze his comments, and on Wednesday, he again posted: “Laker Nation, I have to apologize to the Lakers organization. It was injuries that plagued the Lakers this season, not load management.”
What changed his mind is not known, but the franchise did lose some players due to injuries, who could have made a difference to the results throughout the season.
Lakers’ injury troubles provide context to Magic Johnson’s comments
In all fairness, the Lakers did not have the best bench this season. While many will claim there were selection problems in Darvin Ham’s methods, any injury to first-team players played a detrimental role in the Los Angeles franchise’s season. Cam Reddish only appeared in 48 games for the franchise as he went down with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Jarred Vanderbilt played 29 games because of his left heel bursitis. Gabe Vincent got 11 opportunities to represent the Lakers on the hardwood and missed the entire season due to knee issues.
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Despite such setbacks, the Lakers’ favorite duo, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, did their best in 71 and 76 games, respectively, pulling the franchise to the seventh spot in the Western table. However, their efforts couldn’t save the franchise in the post-season tournament, seemingly causing Magic much stress.
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