It’s official: the Celtics and the Orlando Magic will face off in the first round of the playoffs, set to begin on Sunday, April 20th.
That’s because the Magic defeated the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 on Tuesday night in a Play-In game match-up between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to the blowout victory, the Magic won the right to face Boston, while the Hawks will play the winner of the Play-In game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.
Joe Mazzulla said at practice on Tuesday that the Celtics had assistant coaches scouting both the Hawks and Magic all year — and the team was unsurprisingly prepared for both outcomes.
“The guys leading the charge [in preparing] are the ones who were leading the charge throughout the season,” Mazzulla said.
Joe Mazzulla says there are a group of coaches on the staff that were assigned to the Magic this season and a group that were assigned to the Hawks
Tonight, they’ll find out whose work will come into effect this week pic.twitter.com/X1lgzpemcP
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 15, 2025
Now, the coaches who prepped for the Magic, will be activated as the Celtics have four days to prepare for their first-round opponents. The team will practice again on Wednesday before an off-day on Thursday.
Cole Anthony led the way for the Magic in the Play-In victory
Cole Anthony led the Magic with 26 points off the bench on Tuesday night, while Wendell Carter Jr (19 points) and Paolo Banchero (17 points) were both key contributors.
Anthony expressed his excitement for the upcoming series postgame, and in particular, for the chance to play in Boston.
“It’s gonna be a heck of a series, man,” Anthony said, per Magic HQ reporter Brett James. I actually went to the championship game in Boston last year — I got to really see how that environment was firsthand and that is probably the craziest environment of a game I’ve seen.”
The Magic’s top scorers this season are Banchero (25.9 points per game), Franz Wagner (24.2 points), Jalen Suggs (16.2 points), and Mo Wagner (12.9 points).
But, both Suggs and Mo Wagner suffered season-ending injuries, and the Magic’s offense has struggled mightily in their absence.
The Magic blew out the Celtics when the two teams faced off last week, but that game wasn’t indicative of much, considering the Celtics rested their top six players.
It was business as usual at the Celtics’ practice on Tuesday
The Celtics look to become the first team to go back-to-back since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2017 and 2018.
And, while Al Horford won back-to-back NCAA titles in college, no one on on the roster has won back-to-back NBA championships.
Holiday is the only member of the team who’s been a part of a title defense season; his Milwaukee Bucks team won the championship in 2021, but he subsequently fell to the Celtics in the second round of the 2022 playoffs.
“We thought we had a chance of going back-to-back,” Holiday said. “But sometimes, things happen. Health is a big part of it. There’s a little bit of luck. But I think it’s about preparing for our own journey, and doing it worrying about us, worrying about the things that we can control.”
At practice Tuesday, Joe Mazzulla stressed that nothing is changing in the Celtics’ preparation as the team transitions for the regular season to the playoffs.
The players who spoke at Tuesday’s practice agreed.
“Honestly, I think it’s the same,” Holiday said of his approach entering the playoffs. “It’s mentally being prepared… physically being prepared.”
Al Horford credited the Celtics for never looking too far ahead this season — and noted that he personally appreciated and embraced every step of the journey this past year.
“Today was a good start for us,” Horford said. “We had a good practice.”
The Celtics’ title defense officially begins on Sunday, though the full first-round playoff schedule has yet to be released.
