The Celtics are on the road for last game before their Christmas Day game. They face the Orlando Magic for the first of 3 games this season. They will meet two more times, once in Boston on January 17th and once more in Orlando on April 9. The Celtics were just 2-1 against the Magic last season, losing their lone game in the series in Orlando and winning both games in Boston.
The Celtics are 75-55 overall, all time against the Magic and they are 26-37 in games played in Orlando. The Celtics have lost their last 2 games that they played in Orlando. These 2 teams are forever linked together in their histories. The final game played at the Boston Garden was against the Orlando Magic in Game 4 of the 1995 NBA Playoffs. The Magic secured a 95-92 win, marking the end of the Boston Garden’s 67-year operation and it also marked the first time in franchise history that the Magic won a playoff series and advanced to the second round.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 2.5 games behind the first place Cavaliers. They are 4 games ahead of the 3rd place Knicks and 5 games ahead of the 4th place Magic. They are 11- at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 20-4 against Eastern Conference teams. The Magic are 4th in the East, 7.5 games out of first place and 5 games behind 2nd place Boston. They are 1.5 games ahead of 5th place Milwaukee. They are 11-2 at home and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 14-7 against Eastern Conference teams. Both teams are looking for their 2nd straight win.
After this game in Orlando, the Celtics will return home to play the Philadelphia 76ers on Christmas Day, which will be the first game of a 4 game home stand. After Philly, they will face Indian twice and Toronto. They will then head out on a 4 game Western road trip through Minnesota, Houston (and Ime Udoka), Oklahoma City and Denver. They will return home to face 2 more Western teams, Sacramento and New Orleans. They then head to Toronto before facing Orlando and Atlanta at home.
This game for the Magic is the 4th game of a 7 game road trip. They lost the first two games to the Knicks and Thunder and then beat the Heat on Saturday. They will finish the home stand against Miami, New York and Brooklyn. They will then play at Detroit and at Toronto before one game at home against Utah, one game on the road against New York and home again against Minnesota, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
The Celtics should have their starting 5 healthy. The only player on the injury report is Sam Hauser, who is questionable due to back spasms. His status will be a game time decision. For the Magic, Jalen Suggs is questionable due to an ankle injury he suffered against the Thunder on Thursday. He missed Saturday’s game against the Heat and will be a game time decision for this one. If he can’t play Anthony Black will likely get the start in his place.
Mac McClung is questionable with a leg injury and Gary Harris is questionable with a hamstring injury. Both will be a game time decision. The Magic will also be without 3 of their top players. Paolo Banchero is out with a torn right oblique. Franz Wagner is also out with a torn right oblique. Franz’ older brother, former Celtic Moritz Wagner, tore his ACL after just 2 minutes of play in Saturday’s game against the Heat and is out for the rest of the season.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Al Horford
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Sam Hauser (back) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Magic Starters
PG: Jalen Suggs
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SF: Tristan da Silva
PF: Wendell Carter, Jr
C: Goga Bitadze
Magic Reserves
Cole Anthony
Anthony Black
Caleb Houstan
Jett Howard
Jonathan Isaac
Cory Joseph
2-Way Players
Mac McClung
Trevelin Queen
Injuries/Out
Paolo Banchero (oblique) out
Franz Wagner (oblique) out
Moritz Wagner (knee) out
Gary Harris (hamstring) questionable
Mac McClung (leg) questionable
Jalen Suggs (ankle) questionable
Head Coach
Jamahl Mosley
Key Matchups
Payton Pritchard vs Cole Anthony
With both Wagners and Banchero out, Anthony has stepped up for the Magic off the bench. He is averaging 6.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He is shooting 40.4% from the field and 30.6% from beyond the arc. However, on Saturday, he finished with 35 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 52% from the field and 25% on 3s. He has had big games against the Celtics in the past and so they need to pay attention to him on defense.
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Kristaps Porzingis
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
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Goga Bitadze
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Kristaps Porzingis vs Goga Bitadze
Bitadze is averaging 9.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He is shooting 65.4% from the field and 0% from the perimeter. On Saturday, he also stepped up with their top 2 scorers out, finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks while shooting 100% from the field but didn’t take a 3. The Celtics need to draw him out to the perimeter on defense as he is a good rim protector and rebounder and they need to keep him out of the paint on offense.
Honorable Mention
Jrue Holiday vs Jalen Suggs
Suggs is averaging 16 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game. He is shooting 40.5% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc. He missed Saturday’s game after injuring his ankle in Thursday’s game. He is questionable for this game. If he can’t play, Anthony Black should get the start in his place. Black is averaging 8.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists per game while shooting 42.7% from the field and 27% from beyond the arc.
Keys to the Game
Defense – I can’t say it enough, but defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 8th the league with a defensive rating of 109.5. The Magic are 3rd in the league with a defensive rating of 106.5. The Magic are 28th in scoring at 106.8 points per game. They have been winning with their defense and if the Celtics hope to beat them, they need to play tough lock down defense themselves.
Rebound – Rebounding is also crucial if a team wants to win games. You can’t score if you don’t have the ball and the best way to get the ball is to grab rebounds to give themselves extra possessions. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and if the Celtics put the extra effort into grabbing rebounds, they usually show effort in all parts of the game. The Celtics are 14-1 when tied or out-rebounding their opponents and 8-5 when they are out-rebounded. The Celtics need to give extra effort on the boards in this game.
Don’t Underestimate – The Celtics tend to let up when they face teams that are missing stars. With both Wagners and Banchero out in this one, the Celtics may underestimate this Magic team and come out with less than 100% effort. That would be a mistake because this same short handed Magic team beat the Heat on Saturday. The Celtics need to play this team as hard as they would the top team in the league at full strength.
Stay Focused – The Celtics need to stay focused and take care of the ball. The Magic are 3rd in the league with 20.4 points off turnovers. The Celtics can’t loose focus and turn the ball over or the Magic will make them pay. They also must stay focused on playing the game the right way and not allow bad calls to get into their heads and make them lose their composure. They also have to stay focused on taking good shots and making them. If the 3s aren’t falling, they need to get into the paint.
X-Factors
Road Game and injuries– The Celtics are playing on the road. They are facing distractions of travel and playing in an unfamiliar arena in front of hostile fans. They need to shake off those distractions and keep their focus on playing the game. Usually injuries to an opponent’s best players is reason to expect an easy win, but for some reason, that tends to be an equation for the Celtics to play a lackluster game and lose to a team they should beat.
Officiating – Officiating can always be an X-Factor. In some games, you don’t even notice the referees and in other games, they seem to make the game all about them (see the first game against the Bulls). Some crews call the game tight and others let the teams play. Some crews favor one of the teams while others call it fairly. No matter how the game is called, the Celtics must adjust to the way the game is being called and not allow the officiating to take away from their focus.
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