- How To Watch: TNT; truTV, MAX; FanDuel Sports Book Florida (Orlando); NBC Sports Boston (Boston)
- STREAM MAGIC-CELTICS ON FUBO TV
- How to Listen: WYGM 96.9 FM/740AM (Orlando); 98.5 The Sports Hub (Boston); NBA Audio League Pass; SiriusXM Channel 212 (Magic); SiriusXM Channel 86 (Celtics)
- FOLLOW LIVE: @OMAGICDAILY
- Tickets: $147-$1,187+ on StubHub
- Season Series: Magic 108, Celtics 104 in Orlando on Dec. 23; Celtics 121, Magic 94 in Boston on Jan. 17; Magic 96, Celtics 76 in Orlando on April 9
- Playoff Series: Game 1 - Celtics 103, Magic 86; Game 2 - Wednesday in Boston; Game 3 - Friday in Orlando; April 27 in Orlando
Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics: Stats and 3 Keys to Watch
Orlando | Playoffs | Boston |
|---|---|---|
87.0 | Pace | 87.0 |
98.9 | Off. Rtg. | 118.4 |
118.4 | Def. Rtg. | 98.9 |
48.1 | eFG% | 54.9 |
32.0 | O.Reb.% | 32.6 |
17.2 | TO% | 12.6 |
13.6 | FTR | 22.0 |
3. Finding free throws
There were several outliers that occurred during the Orlando Magic's Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics getting 26 fast-break points and the Magic giving up 26 fast-break points were two of the biggest outliers from the game.
The Magic struggled to score. Turnovers were a big part of that. But the biggest thing they were missing was their ability to get to the foul line.
Orlando was second in the league in free-throw rate during the season. The Magic made up the deficit of their poor shooting and sometimes anemic offense by getting to the foul line. It is a key part of the game.
Yet, the Magic had the worst free-throw rate of any team through the first game of each series, with a 13.6 percent free-throw rate. They had only 11 free throw attempts in the game. Considering Orlando averaged 23.0 free throw attempts per game in the regular season, this is essentially 10 points the Magic left on the board.
Boston does a good job not fouling—the team ranked first in the league with a 19.8 percent free-throw rate allowed. But the Magic must find a way to get to the foul line. It is essential to their offense.
That will be doubly important. With both teams signaling they want to be more aggressive and the Celtics saying they are upset with the hard foul Kentavious Caldwell-Pope put on Jayson Tatum that left Tatum's status uncertain, the officials are likely to have a tight whistle to nip any problems in the bud.
2. Turnovers affect everything
The Orlando Magic are the ones climbing uphill in this series. They are the ones trying to make up ground. The Boston Celtics put a lot of stress even on one of the best defenses in the league. They are going to score at times even when the Magic do things well.
So the one thing Orlando cannot do is allow mistakes to compound or to give away possessions.
The biggest factor in Game 1 then was the turnovers. The Magic failed to fore many turnovers, scoring eight points off 11 Celtics turnovers. And they turned it over 15 times for 24 Celtics points.
That affects everything because it is allows the Celtics to go up against the Magic before they can set their defense. Orlando must set its defense to have a chance to slow Boston down.
Simply put, Orlando cannot make mistakes and hand possessions to Boston to have a chance to win. The Magic must keep their turnovers down. That cost them in Game 1.
1. 3-point solution?
Three-point shooting was a concern for both teams entering the series. The Orlando Magic knew they could not afford to give up a ton of threes to the shot-happy Boston Celtics. The Celtics were trying to find a way to get three-pointers, considering the Magic give up the fewest threes in the league.
Boston won that battle in many ways in Game 1.
The Celtics made 43.2 percent of their threes and 16 3-pointers in the game. Orlando had just 10, even though the team made 37.0 percent of their threes.
Boston even solved how to get threes. The Celtics took 45.1 percent of their field goal attempts from three despite shooting only 37 attempts. Boston was at 41.9 percent of their field goal atempts as threes.
Despite the low score and low shot attempts, the Celtics found and hunted threes. Orlando lost composure in transition and a bit in the half-court to prevent these threes. The Magic will need to be better and chase the Celtics off the 3-point line and into the mid-range.
Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics: Injury Report & Projected Lineups
Orlando Magic Injury Report
- Jalen Suggs - OUT (Left Knee Trochlea Cartilage Tear)
- Moe Wagner - OUT (Left Knee Torn ACL)
Boston Celtics Injury Report
- Jayson Tatum - DOUBTFUL (Right Distal Radius Bone Bruise)
Projected Lineups
Orlando | Boston | |
|---|---|---|
Cory Joseph | PG | Jrue Holiday |
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | SG | Derrick White |
Franz Wagner | SF | Jaylen Brown |
Paolo Banchero | PF | Al Horford |
Wendell Carter | C | Kristaps Porzingis |
Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics: Prediction
Our Record: 47-37/42-42 ATS
The Boston Celtics are a challenge. Even if they are without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics still have all the firepower and 3-point shooting to cause teams problems. Not to mention excellent defense. The Celtics will still be a tough puzzle to solve.
After all, the Celtics went 8-2 in the 10 games Tatum sat this year.
Both of those losses came to the Magic. The win in December came without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and included a 17-point ceomback.
Orlando can indeed find the formula to win. With Jaylen Brown still recovering from a knee injury, the Celtics are not at full power. That is even considering both Brown and Tatum struggled in Game 1.
The question remains whether Orlando can score enough and find the assistant for its stars it needs to win. That is not a guarantee. The Magic can still struggle a ton on offense.
Orlando will need to control the tempo and score if it wants to take advantage of this opportunity. It almost feels like the Magic must win this game if Tatum is going to miss it.