Magic Johnson believes the Celtics need to make “major changes” after landing in a 3-0 hole in the Eastern Conference finals.
After Boston’s listless 128-102 loss to the eighth-seeded Heat in Game 3 on Sunday, the Lakers legend joined Charles Barkley in ripping the second-seeded Celtics.
“In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA I never thought I’d see a Boston Celtics team, a franchise with 17 Championships, quit,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.
“I know Celtics fans all over the world must be disgusted and devastated.”
In a separate post, Johnson added: “It’s time for the Boston Celtics to make major changes.”
Miami won the first two games of the series on the road at TD Garden, before Sunday’s blowout win on their home floor at Kaseya Center.
Johnson has a deep history with the Celtics.
The Hall of Fame point guard’s Lakers beat Boston two of three times in the NBA Finals during the 1980s.
Former All-star guard Vince Carter, who joined ESPN as an analyst after retiring in 2020, also weighed in on Boston’s future during Monday’s installment of “Get Up.”
“For good reason you want to reevaluate,” Carter said, while leaning on the side of caution about potentially splitting up Boston’s stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Meanwhile, Barkley roasted the Celtics during TNT’s postgame show, when the “Inside the NBA” crew interviewed Heat guard Gabe Vincent, who finished with 29 points.
“Clearly you didn’t watch the game tonight,” Barkley replied when Vincent said he expects the Celtics to come out strong in Game 4.
“Talking about well-coached and don’t lay down? Hey, go look at the tape again.”
Game 4 is set for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Miami.
The Lakers are also down 3-0 to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, with Game 4 taking place Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.
