Boston Celtics will continue its quest to win back-to-back NBA championships on Sunday when they open the playoffs against the visiting Orlando Magic.
Celtics, who beat Dallas Mavericks in the NBA final 2023-24, is No. 2 seed in the eastern conference and tries to become the first franchise to win in a row since Golden State did it in 2017 and ’18.
Orlando beat Atlanta Hawks 120-95 in the Play-in tournament to earn No. 7 seed and set up the best-by-seven series against Boston.
“(The Magic) has a DNA about them. They are well coached, they have a lot of depth,” said Boston coach Joe Mazzulla. “They have played, they have won many different ways, as well as we are not healthy throughout the season. So there are things you can take from each game. … so really just focus on DNA for what they do, who they are, when they are at their best and kind of it takes it from there.”
Orlando won two of the three meetings between the teams during the regular season, but Celtics did not play its starters during Orlandos victory 96-76 on April 9 because they had nothing to win in the position.
Jayson Tatum, Boston’s leading goal scorer (26.8 points per match), also put out Orlandos victory 108-104 on December 23 with a disease. Celtics beat Magic 121-94 on January 17, which was the only time the team met in Boston.
“It’s another environment in Boston,” said Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley. “We know how loud it will be. We understand how these fans are and how they root and support for their team. We must be able to embrace it, but understand that we can do it along the way.”
The series matches the two best defensive teams in the NBA in allowed points per match. The magic gave up a league best 105.5 points, while Celtics was the next best at 107.2.
Orlando (41-41) relies strongly on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who both missed significant time with injuries earlier this season. Banchero was an average of 25.9 points, 7.5 returns and 4.8 assists in 46 matches with regular season, and Wagner averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 returns and 4.7 assists in 60 matches.
The series is likely to be determined at the 3-point line. Celtics (61-21) set an NBA record for 3-points made during one season (1,457) and is on average 17.8 made 3-points per match on 48.2 trials. Derrick White (265), Payton Pritchard (255) and Tatum (250) led the team in 3-point field goals.
Orlando was the best team in the league to limit 3-point attempts from opponents during the regular season (31.4 per match), but was last ranked among the NBA teams made 3-points (11.2) and 3-points percent (31.8) per competition. However, it is worth noting that Orlando shot 36.7 percent on 3-point attempts during his last 16 matches in the season.
Celtics is 7-14 this season when they were unable to make more 3 points than their opponents.
“I think there is another level for us,” said Orlandos Jonathan Isaac. “I think we will discover it in the playoffs here. But it’s fantastic. We have started shooting the ball better from late, and this is the time you want to shoot the ball better, towards the end of the year and go into the playoffs.”
The team will play Game 2 in Boston on Wednesday before the best-by-seven series shifts to Orlando on Friday.
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