(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Final: Celtics 128, Magic 111 - Professional dimantling of Orlando
BOSTON CELTICS vs. ORLANDO MAGIC
7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Boston
Line: Boston -4.5
INJURIES
Boston: Kristaps Porzingis (DOUBTFUL, calf), Al Horford (OUT, rest), Luke Kornet (OUT, adductor), Dalano Banton (OUT, illness)
Orlando: Markelle Fultz (OUT, knee), Wendell Carter, Jr. (OUT, hand)
LAST TIME
Jaylen Brown took over after a frantic back and forth to score 12 first-quarter points and help Boston build an 11-point lead. Mo Wagner and Cole Anthony fueled a big second-quarter run to tie the game, but Boston went 16-8 after that to regain an eight-point halftime lead. The Magic whipped off a 17-0 run to take the lead back and hold onto it heading into the fourth. It actually got worse for Boston after that. Missed layups, missed free throws … missed everything … cost them. Their 17-point loss was the biggest of the season.
THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR
1. Dealing with their size: Boston is going to be short handed … emphasis on “short.” I don’t expect Porzingis to play, and they're already without Al Horford and Luke Kornet. That's bad news against a team this big. So, Joe Mazzulla, how do you deal with that?
“Find the advantage,” he said. “Speed, just figure it out. Just figure it out. It’s a good opportunity for us to be able to do that.”
2. How much in the tank: Boston’s on their third game in four nights. It’s a ready-made excuse for a team that hasn’t taken a bunch of those excuses this season but has in the past. Do they have enough in the tank today to play like they need to in order to win? Will there be a point later in the game where they pack it in and live to fight another day … especially with an early Sunday start?
3. Star power? This feels like a situation where the stars have to do something special in order to win. A guy like Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown can carry the team to a win every now and then. Will this be a game where that happens?
4. Mo Wagner's revenge: It's wild to me that a guy who averages single-digits goes off for 20+ every time he faces the Celtics, but here we are. Amazingly, limiting him off the bench is a big part of the plan.
Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.