A full day later, and it’s still hard to process everything that went down on Sunday night in the NBA. On the final day of the regular season, it seemed like everything was just about settled, but the Celtics upended everything by beating the Magic without eight of their top rotation players in a game that Orlando needed.
It was an incredible night at TD Garden when the fans came alive for the stay-ready crew, who responded with an unforgettable performance in game 82. Boston didn’t have much to play for on paper, as they had already locked up the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference, hence all the players resting, but they still gained quite a bit from their miraculous victory.
Celtics’ bench continues to earn trust
For one thing, guys who have exceeded expectations turned up the volume even higher, given a bigger opportunity. Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, and Ron Harper Jr. have all had amazing years, developing into rotation players and proving that they belong in the league.Â
Still, with the playoffs starting and the Celtics being such a deep team with a loaded top six, minutes are going to be sparse for these guys. Well, they all did their part to make one last impression on Joe Mazzulla and his staff.Â
Not that they haven’t been coming through all year, but when they were put in the spotlight, against a desperate Magic team playing all its starters, they each had one of their best performances of the season, and reminded the coaching staff that they can be trusted in big games going forward, this season or beyond.
Celtics demoralized potential first-round opponent
I mentioned the Magic needing this game, which was true for them to remain in the 7-seed and secure a home game in the 7/8 play-in. But by losing, they fell to the 8-seed and now must travel to Philadelphia and beat the 76ers on Wednesday night, or they’ll risk missing the playoffs entirely.
The Magic couldn’t even get it done against the end of the Celtics bench. How are they going to convince themselves they can compete against the best Boston has to offer? Mazzulla and his team sent a clear message to the Magic on Sunday night, and if they walk into the Garden a week later, the Celtics will be extremely confident, and it’s hard to imagine Orlando will feel the same way.
Celtics may have created easier round one matchup
Before this game, you could have talked yourself into the Magic getting healthy, peaking at the right time, and posing a threat in round one. But after seeing that, it looks like this team may be ready to quit on the coach and head to Cancun.
Suddenly, it seems that Boston may be on a collision course with a familiar nemesis, the 76ers. Philly just needs to beat that same hapless Orlando team, and they’ll be headed to Boston on Sunday, likely without Joel Embiid, who needed emergency appendix surgery and has been ruled out indefinitely.
Even with the absolute perfect circumstances, it would have been hard to see the Sixers competing with the Cs, but without Embiid, that should be a cakewalk.
Celtics made path harder for Knicks
And the final cherry on top? The Celtics actually made life harder for the Knicks. New York was looking at a cushy first-round matchup against the Raptors, whom they’ve gone 5-0 against this season, including a blowout win in the NBA Cup.
But by virtue of the Magic losing, the Raptors actually jumped the Hawks, and Atlanta will now face the Knicks in round one. The Hawks have been one of the hottest teams in the East for the past couple of months, and they’ve matched up well with New York, going 2-2 this season, and falling at the buzzer last week in a 48-minute battle.
The Hawks may not beat the Knicks, but they will wear them down with some tenacious guard defenders. They should make them work in ways that Toronto likely wouldn’t have, and could possibly take a game or two, making New York sweat more than they’d like to ahead of a likely round two showdown with the Celtics.