Magic Johnson: Lakers 'lost too many games' due to load management
Magic Johnson believes load management is partially to blame for the Los Angeles Lakers' issues this season.
Johnson shared his thoughts on the Lakers' 2023-24 campaign in a series of tweets Tuesday, saying the team could've avoided the play-in tournament with less load management.
The Lakers have nobody but themselves to blame. They wouldn’t have been in the play-in game or finished as a 7th seed this season if they hadn’t lost too many games because of load management.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 30, 2024
The Hall of Famer and former Lakers executive has spoken out against load management before, telling People's Natasha Dye last year that it "hurts the game" when fans miss out on seeing their favorite players in action.
The Lakers' season came to an end Monday night when they fell 108-106 to the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. It's the second straight year that the Nuggets eliminated the Lakers in the postseason.
Johnson wrote in another tweet Tuesday that he thinks the primary reason the Lakers can't beat the Nuggets in a seven-game series is because Denver is "mentally and physically tougher."
The 64-year-old served as Los Angeles' president of basketball operations for two years before stepping down from the role in 2019. He's now a co-owner of the NFL's Washington Commanders.