The Boston Celtics are set to officially begin their title defense as they prepare to face the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. This series has the potential to be one of the more entertaining ones as we have superstars on each squad, two cerebral head coaches, and two teams who pride themselves on playing defense.
The Celtics will be the favorites, but they will have to be cautious and not take this Magic team lightly. Despite them earning the 7th seed, this is a very dangerous team and could become a real threat to dethrone the champs if this series goes the distance.
The tale of two coaches
One thing to pay attention to is how both head coaches will adjust during the course of this series. Will Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla continue to rely on his team to make 3-pointers? The Celtics attempted and made the most three-pointers per game during the season. When those shots from downtown start falling, the Celtics' offense can be difficult to stop.
This has to be a concern for Mosley and company because, as great as the Magic perform on the defensive end, the reality is that they were still ranked in the bottom half of the league when it came to defending the three in terms of percentage. The key for the Magic will be to try and limit the number of attempts the Celtics take. That way, they could keep the game close and keep things from getting out of hand, giving themselves a chance to win if the game goes down to the final possession.
The Celtics also have to be careful not to rely on the three-pointer as much to the point where they become one-dimensional. They are talented enough to move the ball around and score in a variety of ways with different players, but the Magic defenders will be an obstacle and a challenge that the Celtics have to get by. The Magic have one of the top perimeter defenses in the NBA, and if the threes aren't falling for the Celtics, it usually gets them in trouble.
A key strategy for Mazulla to incorporate should be attacking the rim aggressively early in each quarter in an attempt to get the Magic defenders in foul trouble. Once they are unable to play their style of defense due to foul trouble, it should open up the floor for the Celtics to do what they do best, and that's making three-pointers.
A series full of star power
This is a series that will have plenty of star power, which should make for some entertaining basketball. We have the upstart underdog Magic, led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who are both young stars looking to prove that they belong among the NBA's elite. On the other side, we have the defending champion Celtics with superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are trying to place themselves among the Celtics' greats by pursuing a 2nd title.
Even though any one of these stars can get it done on any given night, the spotlight always tends to shine the brightest on Tatum and Banchero. Not to take any credit away from Brown or Wagner, but the NBA is a league driven by star power, and what better matchup to watch in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs?
Whenever these two Duke University alumni go head to head, it's always been close, and Tatum has a 4-3 record whenever facing Banchero. It will only add another element to the storylines heading into this series.
The outcome of this series could play a part in the legacies of both these players going forward. Banchero is a young star who is trying to cement himself as one of the elite players at his position, and what better way to do it than by upsetting the Celtics in the 1st round of the playoffs?
As for Tatum, his motivation is to continue to push to have his name mentioned with all the other Celtics greats who came before him and to continue the championship standard of excellence that their franchise is known for. This will be Banchero's 2nd playoff appearance, and this is the stage where the great players separate themselves and the legends step it up to another level. Even though this is only the 1st round, this series has a "Conference Finals" type aura about it.
Both teams are mirror reflections on defense
Both of these squads pride themselves on playing defense, and they are both mirror images of each other, as the numbers suggest.
Celtics | Magic |
|---|---|
4th in Def Rating | 2nd in Def Rating |
29th in steals per game | 6th in steals per game |
5th in blocks per game | 1st in blocks per game |
2nd in opponents pts off turnovers | 13th in opponents pts off turnovers |
5th in 2nd chance points | 1st in 2nd chance points |
4th in opponents fast break points | 6th in opponents fast break points |
4th in opponents points in the paint | 3rd in opponents points in the paint |
The Magic are capable of stealing a game or two if they can have a hot shooting night and a relentless defensive effort. But will they be able to sustain that throughout a 7-game series against these Celtics? The Magic defense will occasionally force turnovers and could cause the Celtics' offense to stall for short periods of time. But the Celtics have a definite advantage because they are just as talented on the defensive end as the Magic, but they are ahead of the curve offensively.
The Magic as a whole defensively are big, tall, long, physical, and are one of the few teams capable of running the Celtics' shooters off the three-point line. During their 3 regular-season games, the Magic held the Celtics to a combined 29.2 percent from behind the arc.
This series should be a hard-fought battle between two deserving teams, but only one can advance. And it might just come down to who plays the best defense in the end.