Magic Johnson Calls Out Lakers For Their ‘Lack Of Effort And No Sense Of Urgency” After Big Loss To Nuggets
After the Los Angeles Lakers’ huge loss on Saturday, Jan. 15, to the Denver Nuggets, 133 - 96, a former Lakers superstar couldn’t remain silent about what he saw.
"We as Lakers fans can accept being outplayed but we deserve more than a lack of effort and no sense of urgency," NBA legend Magic Johnson tweeted. "Owner Jeanie Buss, you deserve better."
The Los Angeles Times said the Lakers “hit rock bottom” in their loss to the Nuggets, “a reminder of how far the Lakers need to go to even be mentioned as a contender for anything other than a rebuild.”
According to ESPN, it was the second-biggest defeat of LeBron James' career. The Lakers’ forward scored 25 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, both team highs for the game. After the game, he left without speaking to reporters.
Lakers’ point guard Russell Westbrook sat in the hot seat, fielding media questions after the stunning defeat. Reporters asked him to respond to Magic’s tweet.
"I do not have a reaction. Everybody is entitled, in this world, to their opinion. Regardless of what that it is. You can either take it and run with it or you can take it and put it in one ear and out the other or you cannot respond to it,” ESPN quoted Westbrook, who scored 19 points in the match.
He continued, "Magic's entitled to his opinion. And he's not here every day. He's not around us every day. He's not aware of what's going on internally with us and trying to figure things out. But I have no response to that. ... Like I said, everyone in this world is entitled to their opinion and that's that."
With the Nuggets out-rebounding the Lakers, 51-41, Westbrook agreed with Magic’s observations.
"We just got to play hard," Westbrook said. "Sometimes, the schemes and how you play doesn't really matter. You got to just play hard sometimes. Teams are playing harder than us, simple as that."
