Lakers C Dwight Howard was ejected from the Lakers' Game 4 elimination vs. the Spurs after picking up his second technical for arguing with officials. In what was his last game in uniform for the Lakers' purple and gold this year, Howard walked through the tunnel with time remaining, yelling back in protest at the call. Not exactly a glorious exit.
And after the game, former Lakers great Magic Johnson took to Twitter to criticize 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
LN: 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.
via Magic Johnson's post "LN: Dwight with an already de..." on WhoSay.
Johnson has been openly critical of everyone in the Lakers' organization this year, from Jim Buss' management of the team, to the decision not to bring Phil Jackson back, to the decision to hire Mike D'Antoni to Mike D'Antoni's coaching, to the play of Howard and on and on.
So this isn't much in the way of surprise. It's not hard to make the argument that Howard was in fact getting fouled a lot inside, but that's the playoffs. And when Howard went high in the first half with an elbow, that's going to garner a technical every time. Howard has to know better than to loose his cool, even in a game as frustrating as an elimination blowout loss.
Was Magic right to continually carp on the team? As a self-proclaimed member of the Lakers family, is he part of the problem, or part of the solution?
