The Orlando Magic know what defines them and the way they play.
That is not always typical for a team that went 41-41 and is the 7-seed in the playoffs. Then again, even Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazulla admitted before Sunday's Game 1 that this Orlando Magic team is not a 7-seed. Not when healthy, at least. Everyone seems to understand why the Magic are facing the Celtics in a first-round series rather than deeper into the playoffs.
The battle lines for this series were drawn long before they tipped off for Game 1 on Sunday afternoon. This would be a rough-and-tumble series between two top defenses determined to limit shots at the rim and versatile enough to switch on the perimeter and prevent any attacks to the basket.
Game 1 lived up to that billing with the game slowing to a crawl—87 possessions—it became a war of attrition defensively and physically. Every point felt like it was each team scraping and clawing their way and every mistake felt like a breath of air for the two offenses.
This was a fight, pure and simple.
In the first half, despite some poor shooting, the Magic were clearly the winners. They were frustrating the Celtics, and especially their two star players, with their physicality. They attacked the offensive glass and gave themselves second chances.
That all changed at halftime. It was something the Celtics talked about after the game. They saw how the game was played and decided they could answer the call. The Magic did not respond.
Suddenly, a key part of the Magic's identity was going against them. The Magic got outworked and out-physicaled in their 103-86 Game 1 loss. That is not something anyone can allow to happen again.
The Magic cannot lose this key part of what makes them work.
"I think that was probably the primary conversation at halftime," Jonathan Isaac said after practice Tuesday. "We came out ultra aggressive, ultra physical, and I think that that caught them off guard a little bit. They went in at halftime and said we need to raise our level of physicality. I don't think we continued to take it to another level, and they did. "
Knocked out of whack
That added physicality knocked the Orlando Magic back for sure. Orlando did not take its game to another level. The Boston Celtics did.
Boston outscored Orlando 55-37 in the second half, breaking free from the shackles in the first half.
The Celtics got to the line for nine free throws, going six for nine in the second half. They frustrated a Magic team that is used to going to the line often, holding them to eight free throws and 11 free throws for the game.
It was like this throughout the game. Orlando was missing key elements to their success. They were getting pushed around and trying to grab hold of a rope slipping past them.
The other area where physicality showed up was on the glass.
One of Orlando's few advantages in this series is its rebounding. The Magic finished the season 12th in offensive rebound rate at 30.2 percent compared to the Celtics' 18th at 29.1 percent. Boston still averaged 14.2 second-chance points per game compared to Orlando's 14.0 per game.
The Magic dominated the glass throughout the first half with 10 offensive rebounds but only seven second-chance points. The Celtics ended up with nine offensive rebounds in the game, but outscored the Magic 17-11 on second-chance points.
These were simply opportunities and points left on the board for the Magic. Opportunities they cannot concede.
"Boston is a really good defensive team, especially on the first side of the ball in the half court," Wendell Carter said after practice Tuesday. "You want to get as many possessions as you possibly can. Offensive rebounding is a big one. It can shift the whole momentum of a game, getting dagger threes and dunks off of them. That's something we have to continue to do for the full 48."
That is how the Celtics helped feed their offense and stunt any runs the Magic might try to make. Orlando cannot afford to give away extra opportunities just as much as they must take advantage of their extra chances.
Physicality and frustration
It is even far less about the stats and numbers but the feeling of the game.
The Orlando Magic went driving into the lane often and saw their players frustrated, looking for calls as they missed around the rim.
The officials throughout the league called the fewest fouls in several decades during Game 1s this weekend. Nobody was getting to the line. That further hurt the Magic, who rely on getting to the foul line to supplement their offense.
That was another area where the Celtics won the physical battle—finishing with 18 free throw attempts to the Magic's 11.
The Celtics hit first throughout the second half, and the Magic were the ones searching for answers.
"I think we allowed their physicality to slow us down on the offensive end," Wendell Carter said after practice Tuesday. "In the first half, the ball was popping, everyone was getting shots, and there was a good energy to the ball. In the second half, it got a little more physical, and that is what derailed us and made us not want to cut, not set a screen. We feel it, we see it, we watched the film and we'll be better next time."
Pace is one of the biggest factors in this series. The team that can move and create rotations within the defense, if not outright beating the defense down the court before they can get set, is essential to each team's success.
Physicality messes up the pace by knocking players off of comfortable positions and forcing the offense to execute further up the court than they want. Physicality is all about making other teams uncomfortable.
This is what the Magic have thrived on with their top-rated defense. This is how the Magic must find extra possessions.
Orlando's identity is all about this physicality and disruption. Jonathan Isaac said discussing the team's physicality was not even something they needed to talk about. It was a given for this team.
That they could not find that answer and succumbed to Boston in the second half was the biggest frustration from Sunday's loss.
It leaves the Magic now focused on that aspect and eager to hit back in Wednesday's Game 2.
"That's our identity," Isaac said after practice on Tuesday. "Them coming out so strong put us on our heels a little bit, and we were fighting to get back into the game the rest of the game. We know that it's a physical game. I think it is a little bit of a shock, even from playoffs in the past, that they are letting us play this much. That excites me and excites our team and we can take it to another level."
Orlando is eager to get back into a physical battle with Boston. For the Magic, this series is just starting for them.