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The Boston Celtics begin their title defense on Sunday.
The Orlando Magic knocked off the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament Tuesday night to officially claim the No. 7 seed in the East as they will travel to TD Garden to begin this series on Sunday.
The Magic took two out of three matchups from the Celtics in the regular season, but the final contest between the two teams down in Orlando doesn't mean much to Boston. The Cs were missing Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford in the contest so there isn't much one can take from that loss to apply to this series.
Before Game 1 of this series on Sunday afternoon, let's take a look at this series, including X Factors, matchups, the series schedule and a series prediction:
*if necessary
This matchup will feature Boston's No. 2 ranked offense against Orlando's No. 2 ranked defense. Both teams are excellent at what they do as the Magic have an elite defense that can slow down any offensive attack. In Orlando's 108-104 win over the Celtics in December, it slowed down a Celtics team that was missing only Tatum in the matchup. It's hard to take much from any of the three matchups between these teams due to the players missing on both sides, but the Magic have shown all season they can lock down any team and their defense travels.
With that being said, Orlando is abysmal on the offensive end, ranking 29th in the league in offensive rating. The Magic is also dead last in 3-point shooting percentage and will be without the services of Jalen Suggs, who has been ruled out for the season due to a quad issue that needed surgery. The Celtics are ranked fifth in defensive rating and shouldn't have trouble slowing down the Magic.
The two big offensive weapons for the Magic are All-Star Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who both offer great size and physicality combined with their elite offensive skill. These two carry a heavy load for Orlando's offensive attack and are tough to slow down. The Celtics will be able to throw a variety of options at them such as Brown, Holiday, maybe even Porzingis and Horford at times, but it will still be a challenge.
While Banchero and Wagner are tough to stop, the Magic don't have anybody else who will consistently score the ball. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has picked it up as of late — he's shot 44% from deep since the All-Star break — and Cole Anthony, Anthony Black and Wendell Carter Jr. are capable scorers, they aren't enough to really keep up with the Celtics.
The Celtics cruised to the the NBA Finals in 2024 with Porzingis playing only four games in the first three rounds of the postseason before he returned in the finals. Injuries are a big concern for him, as always, but if Porzingis is going to be healthy, then the Celtics will be tough to stop. He has an elite offensive game with range that stretches out way beyond the 3-point line and he is a great rim protector. His ability to neutralize Orlando's big men along with its guards will be a big factor in Boston being able to handle the Magic.
The Magic is comprised of a very tough and scrappy bunch that will make life tough at times for the Celtics, but there is virtually zero chance Boston will lose this series. The Magic do not nearly have enough offense to keep up with Boston. While Banchero and Wagner were fantastic, those two alone will not lift the Magic over the Celtics in a 7-game series. Orlando does have some proven veterans on the roster such as Caldwell-Pope, Carter, Cory Joseph and others, but the Celtics have superstars. Tatum and Brown should lead Boston to a rather easy series win.
Prediction: Celtics in 4
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics vs. Magic Round 1 preview: X Factors, schedule, prediction
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The Orlando Magic knocked off the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament Tuesday night to officially claim the No. 7 seed in the East as they will travel to TD Garden to begin this series on Sunday.
The Magic took two out of three matchups from the Celtics in the regular season, but the final contest between the two teams down in Orlando doesn't mean much to Boston. The Cs were missing Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford in the contest so there isn't much one can take from that loss to apply to this series.
Before Game 1 of this series on Sunday afternoon, let's take a look at this series, including X Factors, matchups, the series schedule and a series prediction:
Series schedule
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- Game 1: April 20, 3:30 p.m. @ TD Garden
- Game 2: April 23, 7 p.m. @ TD Garden
- Game 3: April 25, 7 p.m. @ KIA Center
- Game 4: April 27, 7 p.m. @ KIA Center
- Game 5: TBD @ TD Garden*
- Game 6: TBD @ KIA Center*
- Game 7: TBD @ TD Garden*
*if necessary
Offense vs. defense
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This matchup will feature Boston's No. 2 ranked offense against Orlando's No. 2 ranked defense. Both teams are excellent at what they do as the Magic have an elite defense that can slow down any offensive attack. In Orlando's 108-104 win over the Celtics in December, it slowed down a Celtics team that was missing only Tatum in the matchup. It's hard to take much from any of the three matchups between these teams due to the players missing on both sides, but the Magic have shown all season they can lock down any team and their defense travels.
With that being said, Orlando is abysmal on the offensive end, ranking 29th in the league in offensive rating. The Magic is also dead last in 3-point shooting percentage and will be without the services of Jalen Suggs, who has been ruled out for the season due to a quad issue that needed surgery. The Celtics are ranked fifth in defensive rating and shouldn't have trouble slowing down the Magic.
Slowing down Banchero and Wagner
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The two big offensive weapons for the Magic are All-Star Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who both offer great size and physicality combined with their elite offensive skill. These two carry a heavy load for Orlando's offensive attack and are tough to slow down. The Celtics will be able to throw a variety of options at them such as Brown, Holiday, maybe even Porzingis and Horford at times, but it will still be a challenge.
While Banchero and Wagner are tough to stop, the Magic don't have anybody else who will consistently score the ball. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has picked it up as of late — he's shot 44% from deep since the All-Star break — and Cole Anthony, Anthony Black and Wendell Carter Jr. are capable scorers, they aren't enough to really keep up with the Celtics.
X Factor: Kristaps Porzingis
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The Celtics cruised to the the NBA Finals in 2024 with Porzingis playing only four games in the first three rounds of the postseason before he returned in the finals. Injuries are a big concern for him, as always, but if Porzingis is going to be healthy, then the Celtics will be tough to stop. He has an elite offensive game with range that stretches out way beyond the 3-point line and he is a great rim protector. His ability to neutralize Orlando's big men along with its guards will be a big factor in Boston being able to handle the Magic.
Series prediction
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The Magic is comprised of a very tough and scrappy bunch that will make life tough at times for the Celtics, but there is virtually zero chance Boston will lose this series. The Magic do not nearly have enough offense to keep up with Boston. While Banchero and Wagner were fantastic, those two alone will not lift the Magic over the Celtics in a 7-game series. Orlando does have some proven veterans on the roster such as Caldwell-Pope, Carter, Cory Joseph and others, but the Celtics have superstars. Tatum and Brown should lead Boston to a rather easy series win.
Prediction: Celtics in 4
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics vs. Magic Round 1 preview: X Factors, schedule, prediction
Continue reading...
