BOSTON CELTICS VS ORLANDO MAGIC
1.73
TOTAL POINTS (INCL OVERTIME) - UNDER 207.5
The reigning champions Boston Celtics have a clear objective. It’s to win the title for the second straight year. The Celtics are squaring off with the gritty Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs Eastern Conference. Boston are the second seed in the East and Orlando the seventh seed.
Earlier in the week the Magic faced the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in. Orlando won the match and secured the seventh seed in the East. Cole Anthony and Anthony Black had great contributions off the bench. The Magic won the game 120-95. Cole had 26 points and six assists. He made four out of his nine three pointers. Black scored 16 points and was a plus 34. He made all of his three attempted shots from behind the arc. Cole had plus 32.
If the Orlando Magic are about to make some noise in Boston tonight these two need to have another great game for Orlando. The Magic is not a big volume shooting team from behind the arc. The Magic attempted 39 three pointers and only made seven of them. Four of them came from the bench. The starting big man, Wendell Carter, was awesome too with 19 points, seven boards, two blocks and plus 28 in 26 minutes of playing time. It will be a totally different environment up in Boston tonight.
The Head coach Jamahl Mosley will need Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to step up tonight against Boston if they intend to steal the first game of the series. Wagner had 13 boards and 13 points versus the Hawks while Banchero had 17 points and nine rebounds. The Magic is a very strong team on the defensive end of the floor. Just as Boston is. It’s likely that the game will be decided from behind the arc. No team puts them up like the Celtics and the Magic are best in the league when it comes to limiting three point attempts.
Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals last season. The Celtics are going for the second straight title, which no team has been able to do in the past six NBA seasons. The Celtics lost two out of three games against the Orlando Magic in the regular season. Boston’s head coach, Joe Mazzulla, has a lot of praise for Orlando: “The Magic has a lot of depth and are a very well coached team. They can play in many different ways“. Boston will have to deal and get used to the physicality of the Magic. Orlando loves to play hard. That is a big part of who they are.
Jaylen Brown is close to being fully fit and will take some painkillers before the game. He and Tatum are the soul and heart of the team. When these two are good the Celtics are a tough nut to crack. Derrick White is one of the major keys for Boston tonight. If White hits his threes Orlando will probably be in trouble. Boston’s injury report is clean.
