The Los Angeles Lakers’ season came to a screeching halt on Wednesday after coach Chris Finch and the Minnesota Timberwolves finished off the two teams’ first round series with a 103-96 win in Los Angeles.
The win gave the Timberwolves a 4-1 series victory over coach JJ Redick’s team, leaving fans and media scrambling to make sense of how a promising season went awry so fast.
The Timberwolves’ win was not without controversy as fans and media chimed in with their viewpoints from across the country.
NBA on TNT host Charles Barkley was among them, as the ‘Round Mound of Rebound’ lost his patience on Luka Doncic following his back injury and subpar showing.
“At some point you just can’t go out and get big guys when he (Doncic) can’t play no damn defense,” Barkley said.
“He gotta learn to play defense and get in shape,” Barkley added about Doncic, cautioning Lakers fans that adding a talented big man this season won’t necessarily punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.
Barkley’s comments echoed reported concerns from Mavericks officials prior to their trade of Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.
Some fans took issue with the comments from ‘Sir Charles.’
“Barkley is a Luka hater,” one fan said. “Might have a notebook of bad things to say about Luka and practices it in front of a mirror. That’s all he can do to try and stay ‘relevant.'”
“Charles Barkley telling other people to get in shape,” another fan said with a crying eyes emoji.
Doncic fought through a back injury to score 28 points while dishing out nine assists and seven rebounds in 40 minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the Lakers’ lack of defense, especially in the post, was exposed.
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