Magic Johnson puts Lakers on blast for poor defensive performance with playoffs creeping up

Denny Medley-Imagn Images

On Sunday, Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson called out the team for a poor defensive effort in Saturday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.

The Lakers allowed 146 points in a 31-point defeat to Chicago as they dropped their second game in a row. Los Angeles has now won just three of its last nine games and holds the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference after being as high as No. 2 earlier this month.

Despite the recent slide, the Lakers are in a better position than they were in the previous two seasons under Darvin Ham, as they ended up in the play-in tournament in both of those campaigns. This season, the Lakers seem poised to land a top-six seed and potentially even a top-four seed if they close things out strong.

LeBron James returned to the lineup for the Lakers on Saturday, but his presence didn’t lead to a win. James finished with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and five turnovers while shooting 7-for-16 from the field.

He was one of four Lakers in double figures against Chicago, as Jaxson Hayes (10 points), Austin Reaves (25 points) and Luka Doncic (34 points) were the Lakers’ other leading scorers.

All five starters for Chicago scored 10 or more points, and seven Bulls players overall reached double figures in Saturday’s contest. The Bulls were led by Coby White, as he finished with 36 points on 12-of-17 shooting (6-for-9 from 3).

Matas Buzelis also had a big game for Chicago, as he dropped 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting and poured in five shots from beyond the arc.

Saturday’s loss was a bit of a concerning showing from the Lakers, as Chicago is just the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference and facing an uphill battle to make the final playoff field this season. Hopefully, it will serve as a wake-up call for L.A.

While Johnson clearly wasn’t happy with the Lakers’ defensive effort in the loss, Los Angeles is still No. 13 in the NBA in defensive rating this season.

James, Doncic and the Lakers will look to get back in the win column on Monday night against the Orlando Magic. Orlando is currency fighting for play-in positioning in the Eastern Conference and has won just four of its last 12 games.