The Los Angeles Lakers are in an unenviable position after four games in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. After suffering a 116-113 road loss at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, the Lakers are now in a 3-1 series hole, just a loss away from being out of contention for the 2025 NBA title.

In Game 4, the Lakers put themselves in a great position to even the series up at 2-2 when they began the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead. While that advantage was not absolutely out of Minnesota's reach, the Lakers should still have taken care of that cushion, which they ultimately failed at doing, as the Timberwolves outscored Los Angeles in the final quarter, 32-19.

The lack of scoring production from James in the fourth quarter was among the reasons behind the Lakers' collapse, but for Kendrick Perkins of ESPN, it was LA head coach JJ Redick not giving the forward enough rest that hurt the team more.

“Oh, it's JJ Reddick, without a doubt,” Perkins said during Monday's edition of “First Take,” when asked about who's the culprit behind the Lakers' stunning Game 4 loss.

“Listen, you have a guy, LeBron James, who is 40 years old. Do you realize he's gonna be eligible for his pension in five years? Do you realize the short turnaround to game four, less than 48 hours, what he gave you in Game 3? And all of a sudden, you're asking the 40-year-old LeBron James, who's guarding everybody.”

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Perkins also said that the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player attempted just a couple of shots from the field in the fourth quarter, not because that was part of James' plan, but because the future Basketball Hall of Famer was simply too gassed to take a bigger role in scoring for the Lakers.

James played a total of 46 minutes in Game 4. He scored 27 points on the strength of a 15-for-18 performance from the free throw line, but was the only Laker on the court in the fourth quarter who did not score at least a point. However, he had notable plays on the other end of the floor in the period, rejecting three Timberwolves shots to go with a steal.

James and the Lakers will have two full days of rest before Game 5 at Crypto.com Arena, a must-win game for Los Angeles, which won Game 2 before dropping Games 3 and 4 in the Twin Cities.