BOSTON — The Boston Celtics won 61 games in the regular season—just three games fewer than their historic 64-win regular season fun the year prior. In the midst of their campaign, there were only a handful of teams who managed to secure a winning record against them. But now, staring down the first round of the playoffs, they are set to face one of those teams: The Orlando Magic.
The Magic went 2-1 against the Celtics this year, beating them once back in December and another time less than two weeks before the start of the playoffs (in Boston’s final regular-season road game).
So, as the Celtics get set to take on one of the teams that had their number htis year, there is plenty of toom for growth. Yet at the same time, the three games these two teams played against one another come with sme very large asterisks.
In the first of the three games—a Magic win—Boston was missing Jayson Tatum. However, Orlando was without Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Wendell Carter. And they still beat the Celtics.
Fast forward to January, and the Celtics tied the season series at one apiece. And they did it with a fully healthy lineup. But the Magic were missing Wagner again.
Then, in the final showdown of the regular season, Banchero and Wagner powered their team to victory… over a Celtics team that featured Baylor Scheierman and and Torrey Craig in the starting lineup. Boston’s entire starting lineup, plus Al Horford, was sidelined.
Celtics can still learn from Magic despite injured matchups
“Regardless of whatever happened throughout the season, it's a different season,” Tatum said after Celtics practice on Wednesday. “Now it's the postseason. So, you can look back and watch film on those things, but it's an entirely new team that we're playing against, and we're a different team from then they've seen this last. So, the playoffs is different.”
While Orlando earned a winning record against the Celtics in the regular season, all three of the games were flawed from an analysis perspective. Even the first game, where the Magic picked up a short-handed victory, was led by Jalen Suggs, who won’t be available for Orlando in the postseason after a season-ending knee injury.
There is an entire season of footage to watch when it comes to dissecting what the Magic can do. They can study Banchero’s footwork, Wagner’s shot selection, and Cole Anthony’s favorite spots on the floor.
And even in the games against each other, when certain guys were out, there is still plenty to pick through.
“Of course. You could see tendencies on both sides,” Porzingis said of what they can take from those games. “The way both teams play. Some of the mistakes we make, some of the mistakes they maybe committed in those games, what they're going to correct, etc.
“So, we can definitely look at some details and and pull some some things out. But of course, maybe some guys missing, so maybe wasn't full roster against full roster, and there's always some adjustments and stuff that you make specifically for for opponents. So there is things, but not everything.”
Banchero and Wagner are slated to be healthy for the first round of the playoffs. Suggs and Mo Wagner are the only guys listed as out on Orlando’s injury report. That gives the Celtics a wide net to cast, as that’s the group the Magic were playing with for much of the back portion of the regular season.
But regardless of that, regardless of direct film of Celtics-Magic matchups, Boston is still going in with a game plan. They know who Orlando is, and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.
“They have a DNA about them,” said Joe Mazzulla. “They're well-coached. They have a lot of depth. They've won a lot of different ways, kind of similar to us, not being healthy throughout the season.
“So, there's stuff you can take from every game, and at the same time, they were missing guys in first game as well, I think Wagner was out. So, really, just focused on the DNA of what they do, who they are, when they're at their best, and kind of take it from there.”