LeBron James’ pouting with referees earns Lakers superstar deserved flak: “Truly shameless”

The Lakers gave up a disappointing blowout loss at Crypto.com Arena and LeBron James got singled out for some egregious antics.

LeBron James’ pouting with referees earns Lakers superstar deserved flak: “Truly shameless”

LeBron James and Magic Johnson

LeBron James earned his first homecourt advantage during his Lakers tenure only to promptly squander the opportunity. The 40-year-old had an iffy game 1 as the Minnesota Timberwolves put the Lakers’ defense to the sword for 96 points in the final three quarters. The final scoreline of 117-95 was quite an accurate reflection of how the game played out.

The Lakers jumped out to an early lead thanks to some enterprising offensive rebounding by Jarred Vanderbilt and co. However, their lack of shooting began to bite them as their offense stalled in the second quarter. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura were quite clearly off their games as the Wolves poured in 38 points in 12 minutes. The Lakers, by contrast, only had 20 points in the second quarter.

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Minnesota took over the game with yet another dominant quarter in the third period, stretching their 11-point lead beyond 20 points at various junctures. Though the Lakers fought to get back in the game, their progress got stalled as none of their shooters could get hot. LeBron James was a culprit of this lowered intensity in Game 1 on the defensive end. James also had some qualms with the refereeing, which he allowed to affect his output on both ends.

James believed that he got fouled on the wrist on a 3-point attempt with the score at 113-90. But after not receiving the call, the four-time NBA champion accosted the sideline referee instead of running back on defense. This callous attitude towards his responsibilities was a source of major frustration for Lakers fans.

The ridicule poured in for the four-time NBA champion for this display of unprofessionalism from all angles.

Magic Johnson calls out Lakers’ effort levels amid LeBron James’ pouting

Magic Johnson was clearly peeved by the Lakers’ effort levels in their disappointing loss on the night. The five-time NBA champion took to his Twitter fingers in a rare, unfettered expression of his feelings. Magic Johnson called out the Lakers for their uninspiring play with no holds barred.

Tonight was one of the Lakers worst performances this season. They were flat, had no energy, and they played like it was a regular season game.

Magic Johnson tweeted

Johnson’s frustration was shared by a number of Lakers fanatics, who were aggrieved by their lack of defensive intensity. Quite a few Lakers fans believed that head coach JJ Redick had figured out a way to play defense during the season. However, Johnson critiqued Redick’s lack of adjustments on a night they had two periods with only 37 combined points on offense.

JJ Redick clearly has to get back to the drawing board and find ways to counter the Wolves‘ offense. The team’s propensity to leave 3-point shooters like Naz Reid wide open was obviously counter-productive. James also needs to take a look in the mirror and raise his defensive intensity. Pouting at referees with the game on the line is not the best way to win basketball games, to say the least.