Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas was confident enough to bet on the Los Angeles Lakers and hop onto the “Lakers in 5” bandwagon. Unfortunately, with the Lakers being eliminated from the playoffs, Arenas had to hold up his end of the bargain and dress up as a clown.
The former NBA guard posted a picture of himself in a clown outfit after the Lakers’ loss in Game 5 as well.
After donning the clown outfit, Arenas spoke about the Lakers’ downfall in the first-round series and all the things that went wrong in an episode of “Gil’s Arena”.
He started by critiquing JJ Redick’s defensive zone strategy: “He went to college. So I don’t understand why he wouldn’t know to go 1-3-1, not 2-3, nor 3-2… First five minutes, you should know to change that s**t up.”
Arenas also addressed his comments about the Lakers winning the title in 2025: “No, no, no. I said ’26, and then when they started playing well, I’m like, ‘Oh s**t, we can sneak one this year.'”
“You can’t complain about the defense because [Minnesota] only scored 103 points. We [Lakers] couldn’t score. We have the worst fourth quarter in the NBA. Now we’ve got two of the worst fourth-quarter-type players.”
Arenas also had to address Anthony Edwards’ comments about the “Lakers in 5” statement after winning the series. He said, “Yeah, Lakers in 5. We didn’t say win or lose.”
Minnesota’s win against Los Angeles has had a lot of people backtracking. Media icons such as Shannon Sharpe, who went viral for the phrase, had his own way of ducking the situation after the Lakers lost.
The “Lakers in 5” statement became a motivating factor for the Wolves. Edwards was seen mocking the Lakers with the same after the series came to an end. Given the way the Wolves guard performed in the series, it is safe to say that he earned the right to do so.
The loss does put the Purple and Gold in a patch of trouble heading into the offseason. With an uncertain future involving LeBron James and additional concerns regarding Luka Doncic’s contract extension, the Lakers would be best served by proceeding with their plans of strengthening their roster.
The need for a big man has been acknowledged by the Lakers’ top brass, with Rob Pelinka outlining the type of center the team will be looking to acquire in the offseason. Having been linked to several players already, the Purple and Gold will need to make some key signings in the offseason to ensure a strengthened roster heading into next season.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be awaiting their opponents in the second round. With the Rockets-Warriors series reaching its climax, Minnesota will prepare to face off against the winners and keep its postseason run going.
