Magic Johnson rips former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni … again
By Josh Sanchez
Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is a huge Los Angeles Lakers homer and he seems to love the team’s new hire in Byron Scott. However, he hated former head coach Mike D’Antoni.
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Johnson was never shy about letting his dislike for D’Antoni known, and that hasn’t changed despite D’Antoni being let go from the team.
While speaking to the media, Johnson took another chance to take a shot at D’Antoni by stating his dislike for the Lakers over abundance of three-point shots.
From Eric Pincus at the Los Angeles Times:
"“The team is better than what we had last season, because we have more guys who can do more things than just shoot 3-pointers,” said Johnson. “If I don’t see another 3-pointer from a Laker team, I’ll be happy.”"
Now why would Johnson say such a thing?
Last year, under the direction of Mike D’Antoni, the Lakers threw up a franchise record 2,032 shots from three-point range.
That was part of the reason for the Lakers’ failures a season ago and it landed them in the NBA lottery with a historically bad season.
Way to go, D’Antoni.
Obviously the Lakers will need to find a way to mix in shots from all ranges this season, but Johnson will be hoping that the Scott led Lakers come in well short of 2,000 three-point attempts.