Magic Johnson ripped into Dwight Howard for the big man’s performance in Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-92 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday that culminated with an automatic ejection following a second technical foul.
Magic made his feelings known via what else? Twitter, of course. Here’s what the former Lakers legend said about Howard:
Laker Nation: Dwight Howard that was a big No, No. Your teammates and the fans were counting on you.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 29, 2013
LN: Dwight, I’ve been swept before but I never let my team down by getting kicked out of the game.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 29, 2013
Magic also directed two tweets to “Laker Nation”:
“[Laker Nation]: Dwight with an already depleted team you couldn’t afford to foul out or get kicked out. Having you on the floor was the only chance for the @Lakers.
“Laker Nation: I’m sooooooooooo happy the season is over. With the talent on this team this could go down as one of the worst seasons in Lakers’ history!”
Magic has a tendency to overreact to things. Seriously, if you go back through his Twitter timeline, you’ll see a dozen instances where he was off and back on the Lakers’ bandwaggon. He blasted the team in January, but just last week he was talking about how dangerous they would be in the playoffs. His feelings towards the Lakers are as consistent as a middle school relationship. But his inconsistent criticism doesn’t change that his comments were accurate.
Howard is going to be in LA for several years to come. He needs to learn to stop complaining to the refs, because he has a huge tendency to pick up technical fouls. He had nine during the regular season this season and last season, and he led the league with 18 three seasons ago. He still has to work on his composure so it doesn’t cost his team (not like the Lakers were coming back in Game 4 anyhow).
As if the criticism from Magic wasn’t enough, TNT mocked the big man in its postgame show. They put him in a Tin Man outfit for “Gone Fishing”:
Ouch.
