After a gut-wrenching loss in Game 4, the Lakers walked into Game 5 with everything on the line. They had just let a winnable game slip away, putting themselves in a 3-1 hole. Critics unleashed on JJ Redick after his choice of not switching players in the second half backfired. Despite the hole, hope lingered heading into Game 5. But despite all that energy and expectation, things didn’t go any differently. L.A.’s legs went limp as Minnesota’s depth overwhelmed them. They were outmatched. This time, sealing their early exit from the playoffs.

In Game 5, the Timberwolves finished what they started, taking the series 4-1 with a 103-96 win. Luka Doncic dropped 28 points and 9 assists, while LeBron added 22. But it was Rudy Gobert who stole the spotlight, grabbing 27 points and 24 rebounds—a performance that crushed the Lakers’ rhythm. The Timberwolves simply looked fresher and sharper. Despite their midseason rebuild and playoff hopes, LA just couldn’t keep up in the end.

After the game, Robert Horry didn’t hold back. Sharing clips from his Big Shot Bob Podcast, the 7-time champion ripped the coaching decisions. “That was bad basketball. Bad shot. Turnover. Three,” he said, recalling the collapse. Horry blasted JJ Redick’s static lineups, arguing fresh defenders were non‐negotiable, “You gotta give your guys some break. So I was just really disappointed on how that game was coached.” Horry believed the coaching staff failed to adjust in a must-win situation. He stressed that even legends like Kobe or MJ needed rest in crunch time. In his view, coaching cost them the series more than execution ever did.

Yet both Dončić and James publicly backed Redick. Doncic said, “Yeah, I think he’s a hell of a coach.” He continued, “Not many coaches do the stuff he did in his first year.” LeBron added his voice too, calling JJ Redick’s debut season “a hell of a rookie campaign.” He praised his accountability, saying, “I thought he just learned every single day, held us accountable. He pushed us.” Yet Dončić’s and James’s endorsements signaled unwavering locker‐room faith in Redick. Even after a first-round exit, both stars made one thing clear—the locker room believed in JJ Redick, win or lose.

Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson call out Lakers’ flaws after Game 5 exit

The Lakers’ season may be over, but the criticism from legends is just heating up. Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson didn’t hold back after LA’s season-ending loss to Minnesota. While fans clung to hope before the tip-off, two of the franchise’s icons had already seen enough.

Shaq was blunt during TNT’s postgame coverage, saying, “You’ve got two of the great players, but where are the dogs at?” Shaq decried the absence of “dogs” on the roster—role players who bring the grit and fight. He compared the current team to his championship squads, saying guys like Rick Fox and Robert Horry brought the fight every night. “I don’t see any dogs on that team,” he repeated. “Might as well pack up and get ready for next year.”

Magic Johnson echoed that frustration with his own sharp analysis. He had been backing the Lakers all season long, and the loss seems to have hit him hard. “The reason the Lakers lost was because they played awful on defense, they were too small, and the Timberwolves dominated them in the paint.” His point was starkly illustrated by Rudy Gobert’s 27/24—painting a picture of how Minnesota exploited L.A.’s lack of size. Magic’s assessment echoed advanced stats showing the Lakers ranked dead last in paint points scored and third-worst in paint points allowed in the playoffs.

Beyond Gobert’s dominance, the Lakers’ bench was outpaced 47–30 by Minnesota’s reserves, further highlighting the supporting‐cast disparity. Shaq’s “dawgs” comment targeted precisely this lack of bench tenacity, while Magic’s small-ball critique pointed to Jaxson Hayes’s irregular minutes and the team’s reluctance to deploy a true center consistently.

Both legends made it clear: talent wasn’t the issue; toughness was. Haunted by Shaq’s and Magic’s scathing appraisals, the Lakers’ front office must now address these flaws head-on in the offseason. Or risk another early exit.