Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?
Note: It wasn’t very fun and our players got beat up way too much for a first round matchup. However, the Celtics got the job done and advanced to the next round. Before we put Disney World in the rear view, here are a few scattered thoughts from the series.
The Orlando Magic provided an excellent early test for this group. I respect them for playing hard and not backing down from the challenge. It did get pretty chippy there for a bit but that happens in the playoffs. With only 2 viable offensive options, they needed to muck it up to have any chance. I’m not sure if I could point to any one play that felt outright dirty. It was more the cumulative effect of all the aggressively physical plays. It felt like a 90’s throwback and as much as I love that era, the basketball watching experience was challenging at times.
What is somewhat worrying is the fact that Orlando’s defense was able to get Boston out of their usual offense for long stretches of games. They didn’t have the offense to fully take advantage, but if we peak ahead to a potential matchup with the Thunder, you can expect more of the same (with an offense that could very much take advantage). But let’s get there first.
It was encouraging, however, to see our stars step up into the moment when they were needed. The Magic took away most of our best options and both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown just figured out ways to thrive and drive this team to wins.
On the other side, I’ve always enjoyed Paolo Banchero’s game, but it is hard to walk away from this series with anything but more respect for him. He just moves far faster than you would expect someone his size to move. A half step down was Franz Wagner, who dazzled with repeated off balance, leaning sideways, floating shots over our centers that somehow found the bottom of the net. He’s going to need to figure out the hitch in his jumpshot to be truly next level, but he’s a very good 2nd option. Could be an even better 3rd option if they can bring in anyone this summer. (Or I’ve seen at least one suggestion that he could be a trade piece if they bid on Giannis this summer).
I’m happy that the Celtics get a few days off to recover. Tatum missed a game with the wrist, Jrue missed a few games with the hamstring, Jaylen has his ongoing pain tolerance thing going on, and Porzingis needed more stitches than Frankenstein. Get them all some home cooking and maybe a spa day or something.
I could go on about all the great performances from Tatum, Brown, and the rest, but we cover that elsewhere on the blog. On to the next round. Where hopefully we can get back to launching a record number of 3 pointers with awesome efficiency.
