10 takeaways from the Celtics breaking the Magic’s wall

#1 – Breaking the lines

How do you find a way through a wall? That is pretty much the question that the Boston Celtics need to answer every time they want to drive against the Orlando Magic.

As discussed during the preview, court mapping and defense manipulation will be key to finding a way to the rim. In the example below, the Celtics showed how to manage time and space to break the defensive shell.

When Jayson Tatum gets the ball on the left slot, he is in a good position to drive, but not an optimal one. But once Payton Pritchard sets a screen for Kristaps Porzingis, this takes two defensive players away from the ball and the rim.

On the back line, the two other defenders are dragged far from the paint because of the shooting threat from Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Because of the position of the ball and the players, Jayson Tatum now has space to drive left and won’t be bothered by either a stunt or help at the rim.

They had to break the defensive lines because, unlike usual, there was not a mismatch to hunt — unless Cole Anthony was on the court.

#2 – Hunting Cole

To break a wall, you can also identify the weakest spot in it and just run into it until it cracks. That’s what the Celtics did with Cole Anthony when Jamahl Mosley put him on the court. Pritchard and Anthony’s minutes were sometimes matched because of the Celtics guard’s ability to screen and force the switch.

Because Anthony cannot bother Tatum or Brown due to their large frame and offensive skill set, he makes the Orlando Magic defense less elite than usual. When he is on the court, the Magic give away more points per possession and get dominated in the paint because he can’t maintain the same level of physicality.

In this matchup, it will be interesting to see how the Orlando Magic manage his minutes. They need to be elite on defense to win, and it feels like his presence on the court doesn’t give them the best chance to do so.

#3 – Pritchard boost

As he might win the Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard has a big challenge ahead: keep impacting the game in the Playoffs. Last year, as the rounds went by, his minutes went down — mostly because he was targeted on defense and wasn’t making it up on the other side of the floor.

However, this season, the Celtics have made him a big part of their regular-season success with a lot of responsibilities and minutes. He even sometimes closes games to help the Celtics improve their spacing. His efficiency and the chaos he brings have been key for Joe Mazzulla’s offense.

Last afternoon was another great example of that. With his activity, shooting ability, and constant willingness to move and create advantages, the Celtics offense boomed when he stepped on the court. The difference in ball movement, spacing, and offensive synergy was obvious with and without him yesterday. In the first half, he played only 6 minutes, and the Celtics outscored the Magic by three points, while being outscored when he was off the floor.

Therefore, it was no surprise to see him play 18 minutes in the second half — more than any player but Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum. Because the Magic’s spacing isn’t good enough, the Celtics can easily leave Payton Pritchard on the floor and protect him with bodies in the paint.

Payton Pritchard’s off-ball creation and gravity will be one of the keys that open the door to the next round.

#4 – Derrick White two-way impact

After only the first 24 minutes, Derrick White was leading the Celtics with 16 points, two assists, one block, and one steal. The two-way impact was needed, as Orlando was able to take advantage of the lack of movement to force Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jayson Tatum to take contested shots.

His impact on defense led to transition and better opportunities — but there is more to it. Casually, he puts up 30-point performances in the Playoffs on very high efficiency. With various playcalls, the Celtics were able to free him beyond the arc. Here, you have a great exhibit of Tatum’s screening abilities: he doesn’t get the assist but creates the space for D-White.

On this play, the Celtics force a switch before getting into action. Once Al Horford has the ball, Jayson Tatum sets a flare screen for White, and his scoring gravity creates confusion — and that’s an open triple.

Overall, Derrick White was fabulous — able to finish and score the ball from three while bringing added value on defense, as usual. Another casual masterclass from Derrick.

#5 – Responding to the physicality

Sometimes, numbers speak louder than words. Joe Mazzulla mentioned how they responded to the physicality in the second half after being dominated in the first. Engagement and willingness are sometimes hard to capture in numbers, but offensive rebounds can be a great indicator of a team’s determination to fight for 50-50 balls.

Well, in the first half, the Magic grabbed 10 offensive boards on 25 missed shots. In the second, the numbers were down to three on 22 missed attempts. A drastic change that gave the Celtics better chances on both sides of the court.

#6 – Offense starts on defense

The Celtics are usually not a team that creates a lot of turnovers. However, last night, they struggled to generate offense. So, they turned it around and started on defense — like they rarely do. The Celtics, led by Jrue Holiday’s ball pressure, generated a 17% turnover rate, meaning the Magic lost the ball almost every five possessions.

What is even more impressive regarding the defensive playmaking was their ability to turn defense into offense. They turned 70% of their steals into attempts and scored 2.4 points per possession on these plays — absolutely elite.

#7 – Battle of the mid-range

There were moments when this game felt like one from a previous era. The volume of isolations and post-ups that ended in two-point jumpers and turnaround fadeaways felt higher than usual.

Overall, the Magic took 53% of their shots between four feet and the three-point line — a very old-school approach that says a lot about the Celtics defense, but also about who their stars are and how they play.

But the Celtics also shot a lot from the mid-range, led by Jayson Tatum, who tried many isolations from the post-up. This goes back to the first part of the article, where we explored how the Celtics were able to break the Magic’s defensive shell. They needed to find a way — because when they didn’t, the offense was stagnant and inefficient.

Looking forward to seeing what Joe Mazzulla and his coaching staff will do to move away from these shots.

#8 – Taking away the free-throws

While they took a lot of mid-ranges as usual, the Magic weren’t able to replicate their usual offense from the free-throw line. With Banchero and Wagner, the Magic often use their physical upside on the wings to break down the defense and get to the line to compensate for the lack of shooting and spacing.

However, the Celtics defense is the best in the NBA at taking away free-throws. Last night was a great challenge to test how good they are at it — and it was impressive. By staying disciplined and connected to one another, the Celtics crowded the driving lane. And when the Magic were able to find a way to drive, the Celtics’ defensive structure always had one of the rim protectors ready to disrupt the layup without fouling.

This ability to defend without fouling will go a long way in the Playoffs when minutes go up for the stars. No fouling means less chance for the opponent to be in the bonus, and less foul trouble for the stars. When games are won by small margins, this could be a difference-maker.

#9 – A two-headed not-so-scary monster

While the Celtics took away the free-throws, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero attempted 51 field goals out of 81. On top of that, they had nine assists and scored 59 points out of 86. The lack of offensive supporting cast is scary — and explains their lack of efficiency.

We might see more minutes from Wagner in the next game, or maybe new lineup tricks. The Magic have some depth and could try a big lineup with two centers, or they could go very small and try to stretch the Celtics defense with shooters around Banchero and Wagner. The problem with the small lineup is that it takes away the team’s identity and won’t be enough to stop the Celtics offense.

#10 – Great challenge for Porzingis

One for eight from the floor, only four free-throws, and Kristaps Porzingis was challenged defensively. Yet, this felt like a great game for the big man because of his influence on spacing and rim protection.

Depending on what you’re looking at, you could say he had a bad game or a great one — and both would make sense. His shooting threat was crucial in helping the Celtics break into the Orlando Magic’s defensive shell. Wendell Carter Jr. was forced to leave the paint, and that opened driving lanes and space for the Celtics to go around the length of the Magic’s players.

On defense, he was sometimes targeted by Franz Wagner, but he did his best to hold his ground. Off-ball, he was impressive — crowding the paint and taking away the rim without fouling. He is one of the reasons the Magic weren’t getting to the line as much as usual.

Yet, offensively, his scoring wasn’t efficient. The physicality, the size, and the length of the Magic’s defensive players were a challenge. Against those huge wings or Wendell Carter Jr., Porzingis wasn’t able to get his offense going and made only one shot. Yet, because of his structural influence on spacing and rim protection, he positively impacted the Celtics.