Magic Johnson praises Anthony Edwards, rattles off disappointed Lakers tweets after loss

Lakers legend Magic Johnson was in despair after Anthony Edwards pushed the Timberwolves to a rousing win in Game 4.

Magic Johnson praises Anthony Edwards, rattles off disappointed Lakers tweets after loss

Magic Johnson, Anthony Edwards

Ahead of Lakers vs. Timberwolves, Magic Johnson had predicted a 4-2 series win for his former team. However, with the Lakers losing both games at Target Center, they are now staring down the barrel of a 3-1 series deficit.

Anthony Edwards outlasted Luka Doncic and LeBron James and led the Wolves to a 32-19 fourth quarter. The Wolves were flawless in their execution on both ends during the clutch period once again.

The outcome of the game left Johnson in sheer despair as he lamented a variety of reasons for the Lakers’ loss. Johnson poured his feelings out in unusually candid fashion just minutes after the game ended. Though he normally restricts his tweets to a formal tone, Johnson’s candor following the Lakers’ loss was warranted. After all, the team entered the fourth quarter with a sizeable lead that they could and should have defended.

Johnson posted the following tweet first, congratulating Edwards on his stupendous 43-point outing. While doing so, he also pinpointed what he thought was the Lakers’ undoing offensively.

Just a brilliant performance and masterful 43 points by Anthony Edwards tonight in the Timberwolves win over the Lakers. As the old saying goes, live by the jump shot, die by the jump shot.

Magic Johnson congratulated Anthony Edwards

He expanded on this point in his subsequent post. According to him, the Lakers didn’t get enough 2-point shots converted.

What it came down to is this – the Lakers didn’t get enough 2-point shots in this game.

Magic Johnson pithily explained why the Lakers lost their 10-point lead

Johnson’s take is clearly borne out by the stats. Of the Lakers’ 80 shot attempts during the game, only 33 were 2-point shots. 47 of their field goal attempts were from behind the 3-point line.

Even though they converted 40% of those looks with 19 makes, the Timberwolves ended the game with 10 more total shot attempts at 90. 54 of Minnesota’s looks were 2-point attempts, in comparison to their 36 3-point shots. Importantly, the Lakers lost the offensive rebound battle 18 to 11.

Magic Johnson admonishes JJ Redick for not resting LeBron James and Luka Doncic

Another important observation that Johnson made was regarding the minutes played by LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Both Doncic and James played 46 of the 48 minutes and got no rest in the second half. Although this kind of workload is to be expected in the postseason, that didn’t lessen the fatigue felt by both Lakers superstars during the crucial late stretch of the game.

According to Johnson, this fatigue was the reason why James failed to register a point in the 4th quarter. The 40-year-old looked visibly gassed and looked to avoid the ball during the home stretch. Had he been more aggressive with the ball, he could have placed the Timberwolves in foul trouble even more.

I dont know if it smart to play LeBron and Luka the entire second half after only having one day of rest between Games 3 and 4. When we needed LeBron to take over in the fourth quarter he couldn’t – he scored 0 points in the fourth.

Magic Johnson tweeted

Johnson ended his Lakers tweets by noting how he didn’t expect the team to squander their halftime advantage. The Lakers entered the second half with a lead that they were able to bring up to double digits. However, their profligate minute management of their superstars led to a stagnant fourth-quarter offense.

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