Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley is usually very careful with his words. He dances around the line when it comes to fines and criticizing the officials. He knows his team is a challenging one to officiate and he is not looking to make any enemies (or take any fines).
The Magic were second in the league in free throw rate and put a lot of pressure on defenses simply by being a battering ram on interior defenses.
Orlando also had the worst opponent free-throw rate in the league. The Magic's defense grabs, bumps and shoves, daring the officials to call everything. That physicality is irksome to everyone and got under the Boston Celtics' skin at several points during this five-game series.
So, Mosley has to measure his words. He embraces the physicality and wants the officials to do so too.
But it was hard for him to hold his tongue too much after the Magic's 120-89 loss in Game 5. Even after a long pause to think about exactly what to say, he could not avoid the frustration that came with how Game 5 turned out.
In many ways, it felt like the Magic's chance to win was robbed from them. And they were seeking an explanation for why Paolo Banchero was called for three fouls in the first three minutes of the quarter, giving him five and effectively taking the Magic's star player out of the game.
It was a reality they needed to accept, but they are still looking for answers.
"In those moments, there is a level of frustration that can kick in when they are impeding your progress to the rim," Mosley said after Game 5. "They gave another one when it was a touch foul. Then at the same time, he goes to the rim, they are bodying him out of the way, and there is no call. They see it, we see it, but it doesn't get hit. And then he picks up his fifth foul on what could have possibly been an offensive foul. I don't know. That's where it becomes a little bit frustrating because I don't know what we're calling in that moment."
Three quick fouls
The problems for Paolo Banchero started early in the third quarter. He picked up his third foul of the game on a charge when he tried to back down Derrick White. White appeared to pull down Banchero with him as he tried to get to the basket. But that felt like a legitimate, if borderline call.
The second call came a few possessions later when Jaylen Brown attacked Paolo Banchero, initiated light contact and then flung the ball into the air. Another clear moment of contact but seemingly marginal in a physical series.
The final foul—Banchero's fifth—came in a similar play with Brown driving on Banchero. Banchero tried to lean back and avoid all contact, raising his hands to make sure there was no confusion about a reach. Brown was able to lean back into him, swinging his elbow up into Banchero's face. But Banchero was called for the charge.
The Magic's bench and Paolo Banchero were incredulous over the call. Both Mosley and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope got into crew chief Tony Brothers' (who called the final two fouls on Banchero) face.
The officials confirmed the call on review after the Magic challenged, saying Banchero did not beat Brown to his spot and impeded his progress. There was nothing more for the Magic to do. Banchero had to sit and live with the immediate explanation and the one given after the game.
"Brown is driving to the basket, Banchero walks into him and walks him up under the basket," Brothers said in a pool report following Game 5. "Brown attempts a normal shooting motion and in that normal shooting motion he makes incidental contact with Banchero’s face."
Brothers said Brown's elbow did not rise the level outside of a common foul and that anything that happened was a result of Banchero initiating contact.
That is the official explanation from one of the more veteran officials in the league. All the Magic could do is swallow that outcome and all that it meant.
Perhaps Mosley was wrong to keep Banchero in with four fouls. But Mosley has been consistent all season not fouling out his own players. He routinely kept key players in with two fouls, trusting them to defend without fouling.
With how important Banchero and Wagner are to the series, it would have been hard to imagine cutting their minutes—especially in an elimination game. But the five fouls left them no choice. Orlando was playing with one hand behind their back in the second half.
"It was tough. I never had anything like that happen before," Banchero said after Game 5. "I was trying my best not to foul. I knew I had four fouls. I felt like I stopped short of him going up. He went up with his elbows out and hit me in the face, and they called it on me. He did the same thing to Cory Joseph, and they called it on Cory. I'm not sure what that rule is. Maybe I have a misunderstanding of what the rule is. I was trying my best not to foul."
The run began
What everyone understands is the Orlando Magic did not handle the aftermath well.
Jaylen Brown sank the free throw to give the Boston Celtics the lead for good in the game. Paolo Banchero sat until the start of the fourth quarter. It was not immediate, but Boston found its rhythm and started to pull away.
The Celtics got ahead by 10 a little more than six minutes after the foul. The Magic hung tough. But it was clear that Franz Wagner, carrying the Magic throughout the game, was starting to wear down. He subbed out with the Magic down 14 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
Boston scored seven quick point with both Banchero and Wagner off the floor. By the time Banchero re-entered the game, it was over. And Orlando was in desperation mode to try to get back into the game.
"It definitely swung the series and definitely swung the game," Mosley said after Game 5. "I have no idea what the explanation was. It was he came into his path. All I saw was Paolo getting an elbow to the face and he got the foul. That was a game-changer. Your best player picks up his fifth foul in the third quarter. it becomes tough to come back from that moment. Our guys continued to fight. We missed a ton of shots. Their guys did a good job getting out on the break and hitting some big shots in that situation."
There is no changing the result. The Magic cannot get that game back. They can lament the missed shots and missed opportunities. But their season ended with a 120-89 thud Tuesday night.
Officials do not change calls like that. Even ones as serious and consequential as this one.
Orlando is still looking for an explanation. But now they must move on to the offseason.