Boston Celtics will continue his search to win the NBA championship on Sunday, when they open the playoffs against visiting Orlando Magic.
Celtics, who defeated Dallas Maverix in the 2023-24 NBA final, is the number 2 seeds at the Eastern Conference and the Golden State has been trying to become the first franchise to win the titles continuously since doing so in 2017 and ’18.
Orlando defeated Atlanta Hawks 120-95 in the play-in tournament to earn the number 7 seed and set the best seven series against Boston.
Boston’s coach Joe Mazullah said, “(Magic) is a DNA about him. They are well coaches, they have great depth.” “They have played, they have won in a lot of different ways, are not healthy in the same way in us. So the goods are that you can take from every game. … So in reality just focus on what they do, who are they, when they are in their best, and take it from there.”
Orlando won two out of three meetings between the teams during the regular session, but Celtix did not make his debut during Orlando’s 96–76 victory on 9 April because they had nothing to achieve in standing.
Boston’s leading scorer (26.8 points per game), Jason Tatam also won orlando’s 108–104 win on 23 December with a disease. Celtics defeated Magic 121–94 on 17 January, which was the only time to meet teams in Boston.
“This is a different atmosphere in Boston,” said Orlando coach Jamahal Mosley. “We know how loud this is going to happen. We understand how they are fans and how they root and support for their team. We are able to embrace it, but understand that we are able to do so on the road.”
The series corresponds to the top two defensive teams in the NBA, which is allowed per game. Magic scored 105.5 points, while Celtics was the best at 107.2.
Orlando (41–41) depends a lot on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, which both missed out in a significant time with injuries this season. Banchero scored 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 in 46 regular-Seasons games, and Wagner got 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assistance in 60 games.
The possibility of the series will be determined on the 3-point line. Cultics (61-21) set NBA records for 3-pointers made in a season (1,457) and averages averaged 3-pointers made 17.8 per game on 48.2 attempts. Deric White (265), Petan Prichad (255) and Tatam (250) led the team in a 3-point field goal.
Orlando was the best team in the league in limiting 3-point efforts by opponents during the regular season (31.4 per game), but the final place was between NBA teams in 3-pointers (11.2) and 3-point percent (31.8) per competition. However, it is worth noting that Orlando shot 36.7 percent on 3-point attempts during the last 16 matches of the season.
Celtics are 7–14 in this season when they failed to create more 3-pointers than their opponents.
“I think there is still another level for us,” said Jonathan Isaac of Orlando. “I think we’re going to find this in the playoffs here. But it’s great. We have started shooting the ball better late, and this is the time when you want to shoot the ball better, going to the end of the year and in the playoffs.”
Teams will play Game 2 in Boston on Wednesday before the best seven series shifted to Orlando on Friday.
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