After letting the Bulls take control in the 4th quarter and steal the win on Thursday, the Celtics responded in their Saturday night rematch. They led by just 7 heading in to the 3rd quarter, but thanks to a huge game by Jayson Tatum, Boston was able to seize a game high 29-point lead in the 4th, and ended up winning the game by 25. Tonight, they face a scrappy Orlando team.
The Magic will be very short handed. Their two best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, are both sidelined with torn obliques. Orlando also just lost one of their feistiest players, someone who was in the running for Sixth Man of the Year, and a former Celtic, Moritz Wagner, to a torn ACL. They could also potentially be without their starting point guard, Jalen Suggs, who has been their engine throughout the season. If he does miss the game, Orlando will be without their top four leading scorers, their next highest being Goga Bitadze who averages 9.5 points per game.
Wil Boston play with its food, or will they keep their foot on the gas pedal from the start?
While this isn’t the Celtics team of years past that consistently played down to their competition, they have had a number of games that caught them by surprise this season, and ended up being much closer than they should have been. We’ve seen close games against Washington, Toronto, and most recently, Chicago. No one expects them to win all 82 games, but their dominance last season did set high expectations against lesser teams.
Games like this can sometimes be seen as trap games, similar to the shocking loss the Celtics took against the Lakers last year while they were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. We’ve also seen Boston drop a game against Atlanta earlier this season while they were playing without Trae Young. The Magic were without Suggs for their matchup against the Miami Heat on Saturday, and in that game, Cole Anthony exploded to lead the team back from a 22-pont 4th quarter deficit to a 7-point win, stunning Miami.
One game will never define a season, but tonight’s game against a depleted Magic team could give us a good look at their mindset for this season. As of now they seem to be pacing themselves more than they were last season, but they should still be able to come out and dominate games like tonight’s.
How much of Saturday’s performance will Tatum carry over?
Jayson Tatum went nuclear against the Bulls on Saturday night, pulling out 43 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on an insane 86.4% true-shooting. Chicago isn’t a team known for its defense, though, ranked 24th in the league. The Magic are much tougher, boasting the 3rd best defensive rating in the league.
Jonathan Isaac is an underrated wing defender, and has given Tatum some trouble in the past. His big 6’10 frame, coupled with his long wingspan and solid defensive instincts makes him a tough man to beat. He’s currently second on the team in blocks per game at 1.4, and averages 0.7 steals to go along with it. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is another exceptional defender who the Magic brought in this offseason, mainly for that reason. He’s currently second on the team in steals per game at 1.6. Orlando also has a great paint presence with Goga Bitadze, who currently leads the team in blocks at 1.6 per game.
Even without Franz, Mo, Paolo, and potentially Suggs, the Magic have a formidable defense. They are extremely active on that end of the court, and will certainly be looking to contain Tatum as much as possible. We may end up seeing a game where Tatum is pushed more towards using his playmaking skills than his scoring ability.
Will the Celtics be able to re-discover their three-point rhythm?
Jayson didn’t get a whole lot of support from beyond the arc on Saturday. Excluding him, the team was a combined 6 for 30 from range, just 20%. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown were a combined 0 for 11. Kristaps Porzingis and Payton Pritchard both knocked down two a piece, and Jrue Holiday and Al Horford both knocked down one each, accounting for all 6 of the non-Tatum makes.
Each of the four only shot 33.3% from three. This comes after the team had its second lowest 3P% of the season against the Chicago on Thursday, at just 25%. Since Tatum will likely be the focus of the Orlando defense, it becomes even more important for the rest of the Celtics to step up on the offensive side and knock down open shots. That becomes especially true against a top-ranked defense that gives up the fewest threes per game in the league.
