BOSTON — Sunday afternoon, Easter Sunday, marked the start of the NBA Playoffs for the Boston Celtics. The Orlando Magic were in town for Game 1 of the first round. On one side, the defending NBA Champions looking to be the first repeat title-winners since the 2017 and 2018 Golden State Warriors. On the other, a young and hungry Magic squad that has dealt with a ton of injuries this season.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown vs. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner was the headline, but the first half didn’t take on that billing. Instead, while Bancheor and Wagner thrived in certain areas, Tatum and Brown struggled to find their footing.
That’s not a recipe for success for the Celtics. In fact, it could be the exact opposite.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown got outperformed by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in the first half of Game 1
One of the benefits of the Celtics’ roster is that their depth completely dwarfs the Magic’s. Still, if they want to give themselves the best chance to win the series, Tatum and Brown need to be the best players on the floor. In the first half of Game 1, Banchero and Wagner were the best.
In fact, Tatum and Brown weren’t even the best players on the Celtics. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White outperformed them, giving the Celtics a much-needed scoring punch.
As Banchero and Wagner dissected the Celtics’ defense, getting inside and capitalizing on Orlando’s elite offensive rebounding, Tatum and Brown looked timid on offense.
It looked as though the Magic’s physicality got to the Celtics, and Tatum and Brown were affected. Their offensive intentionality wasn’t there, they didn’t assert themselves enough, and while some of their playmaking decisions were solid, their scoring efforts were extremely lackluster.
Orlando’s offense doesn’t have a ton of juice, but when the Celtics are struggling to put up points, that doesn’t matter as much.
Tatum and Brown combined to shoot just 6-of-17 from the field in the first half, including 0-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Meanwhile, Banchero and Wagner combined to shoot 14-of-27.
Obviously, Boston’s role players kept the Celtics within striking distance, and the Magic went into half-time up by only a single point (49-48), but Tatum and Brown simply did not give the Celtics enough in the first half.
If those two continue to get outplayed by Banchero and Wagner throughout the series, things could get way more interesting than Celtics fans want them to. The Celtics have the talent to win the series, but said talent needs to perform at their best.
That didn’t happen in the first half of Game 1.