
Magic Johnson leads JJ Redick criticism over LeBron James decision that burned Lakers
NY Post
There might be such a thing as too much LeBron.
Unable to trust any of his reserve players in Game 4 of a best-of-seven series against the Timberwolves, Lakers coach JJ Redick opted to play the same five players for the entire second half — rather than play any of his bench players — in a crushing 116-113 defeat to go down 3-1 in the series.
It perhaps led to a scoreless fourth for LeBron James when the Lakers needed their 40-year-old star the most.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson let Redick hear it for the decision that may have cost the Lakers their season.
“I don’t 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,” Johnson said in a post on X. “When we needed LeBron to take over in the fourth quarter he couldn’t – he scored 0 points in the fourth.”
ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins echoed similar sentiments in a post on X.

Suddenly, someone had hit a rewind button and everyone had been transported back seven months. It was early spring instead of late fall, it was broiling hot outside the arena walls and not freezing cold. Everyone was back at TD Garden. There were 19,156 frenzied fans on their feet begging for blood, poised for the kill.












