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Among the teams that have finished their regular season strongly, we can cite the clippers and the Celtics. Boston won 19 of his 22 games and the NBA champion placed himself in perfect conditions to try to sign a “back-to-back”.
Conversely, the magic season was much more complicated. Between injuries of major players (Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, etc.) and an attack at half mast, Orlando did not play in the continuity of the beautiful exercise 2023-24. With a final assessment of 41 victories for 41 defeats, the men of Jamahl Mosley had to go through the “play-in” to arrive in the playoffs. After an authoritarian victory against the Hawks, the Magic challenges the Celtics in the hope of creating the big surprise of this first round. A stat that can make them optimistic: Paolo Banchero and his teammates dominated Boston in the regular season.
The presentation of the Celtics
Holder : J. Holiday, D. White, J. Brown, J. Tatum, K. Porzingis
Replacement : A. Horford, P. Pritchard, L. Kornet, S. Hauser, D. Peterson, N. Queta…
Absent : None
Coach : Joe Mazzulla
The strong point
The collective : Over the years, Boston has been able to build up a formidable collective led by the duo Jaylen Brown et Jayson Tatum. But behind them, we find Jrue Holiday, boss of the defense of the Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis which dominates inside, but also the duo Derrick White / Payton Pritchard. In early March, Boston's two exteriors became the first teammates in the history of the franchise to register more than 40 points on the same match. Payton Pritchard also broke the 3-point fire record scored in a season by a replacement. In short, the workforce is deep, very deep, but also experienced and very experienced, and Orlando does not have the weapons necessary to contain all the resources of Joe Mazzulla.
The weak point
Jaylen Brown's knee : Boston could have tackled the playoffs in the best possible conditions, but Jaylen Brown's right knee worries. Since early February, he has missed a dozen games and at the end of the season, he had to deal with pain. As the Playoffs approaches, he plays under infiltration to be ready to start his campaign this Sunday, but will his knee hold the shock? This is the whole question.
The presentation of the magic
Holder : C. Joseph, K. Caldwell-Pope, F. Wagner, P. Banchero, W. Carter Jr
Replacement : C. Houston, A. Black, G. Harris, J. Isaac, C. Anthony, G. Bitadze, J. Howard, T. da Silva
Absent : J. Suggs, M. Wagner
Coach : Jamahl Mosley
The strong point
Defense. The Magic has NBA's second best defense With 109.1 points collected for 100 possessions per match. Twice, Orlando managed to limit the Celtics below the 110 -point mark. The men of Jamahl Mosley concede little 3-point shots compared to the average of the league, have good circle protectors with Wendell Carter Jr And Jonathan Isaac and they force the opposing teams to take half-fate shots. To see if they will be able to repeat this same scheme against the Boston offensive armada.
The weak point
The outdoor shoot. This team from Orlando has two very distinct faces, and the very good defense masks one of the less good attacks in the league with 108.9 points registered for 100 possessions. Behind the formidable duo Paolo Banchero – Franz Wagnerthe Floridians lack shooters, and the Magic is simply the worst team of the 3-point NBA, both in volume and in address. A real contrast to the Celtics.
The key to the series
3-point defense. We come back to this external address, a key element of modern basketball, but also from this series. The Celtics are the team that takes the most 3-point shots this season in the NBA with, on average, 48 attempts per evening for 38% success. It's very simple, Boston takes more than half of his shots behind the line. At the same time, the Magic is the team that concedes the least 3-point shots with only 31 shots from afar suffered per game. If Orlando wants to have a little chance of survival in this series, the men of Jamahl Mosley have an interest in doing everything to limit the long distance game of the Celtics. Conversely, the Magic is one of the least good 3-point teams this season and faced with the very good defense of Boston, their long-distance address may drop further.
Regular season
Magic 2-1
Monday, December 23: Orlando – Boston 108-104
Friday January 17: Boston – Orlando 121 – 94
Wednesday April 9: Boston – Orlando 76 – 96
VERDICT
Celtics 4-1. If the Magic has won two of the three confrontations in the regular season, the variety of the offensive options of the Celtics and their experience should be right for the very good defense of the Magic. If Paolo Banchero can release a very beautiful series just like Franz Wagner, the problem will be to find solutions on half-terrain, without a reliable shooter to dismiss the game. Even if Jaylen Brown is decreased, Boston seems to have room.
CALENDAR
Game 1 : in Boston, Sunday April 20 at 9:30 p.m.
Game 2 : in Boston, Wednesday April 23 at 01:00 (on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday)
Game 3 : in Orlando, Friday April 25 at 01:00 (on the night of Thursday to Friday)
Game 4 : in Orlando, Sunday April 27 at 01:00 (on the night of Sunday to Monday)
Game 5* : in Boston, Tuesday April 29 (schedule to be determined)
Game 6* : in Orlando, Thursday May 1 (schedule to be determined)
Game 7* : in Boston, Saturday May 3 (schedule to be determined)
*If necessary
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