Final: Celtics 109, Magic 100 - Jaylen Brown's 36 leads C's in slugfest

(1) BOSTON CELTICS vs. (7) ORLANDO MAGIC

First Round, Game 2 (BOS leads 1-0)

TD Garden, 7 p.m. - TNT/NBCS Boston

Line: Celtics -10.5

INJURIES

BOSTON

OUT: Jayson Tatum (wrist) 

ORLANDO

OUT: Jalen Suggs (knee), Mo Wagner (knee)

FOUR THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Playing fast without Tatum: Update at 6:15: Tatum is out

The Celtics were 8-2 on the year without Tatum with both losses against Orlando, which is an ominous-sounding stat. However, one of those losses was with their other five top guys out and the other was a weird game where Orlando got a big closing kick from Tristan Da Silva and Trevelin Queen. 

There's nothing to take from those two losses, so throw those away. 

The Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford lineup Boston uses without Tatum is +13.4 this season according to Cleaning The Glass. 

The Celtics play faster without Tatum on the floor. 16.1% of that non-Tatum lineup’s possessions come in transition as compared to 11.4% when Horford is replaced by Tatum. Against a team that likes to set their defense and play in the halfcourt like Orlando, a boost in the pace of play could actually work to Boston’s advantage. 

Of course, I’m not saying the Celtics will be better off without Tatum, but I am saying that the style they have to use when he sits actually works well against the Magic. 

The Celtics outscored the Magic 55-37 in the second half on Sunday by running more. They put up 44 shots in the second half after shooting 38 in the first. The Celtics have to take opportunities to play fast and create confusion.

2. Rebounding: The loss of Tatum does hurt them here. He had 12 defensive rebounds in Game 1, so it’s going to be on Horford and Porzingis to get in there, clear the boards, and get the Celtics out in transition. 

Orlando will miss shots. They hung around in the first half of Game 1 partly because they were able to crash the boards and give themselves more chances. Even though they didn’t capitalize on a lot of those, they were also extended possessions where Boston’s offense couldn't get the ball. There's value in playing keep-away, too. 

3. Getting Kristaps Porzingis going: The more I looked at that game, the more I thought Porzingis was half asleep. Some players have said they hate 3:30 starts because that's generally when they nap, so their bodies are naturally winding down at that time of day. 

Maybe this is some confirmation bias going on, but I think Porzingis fell into that category. His screens weren’t great, his decision-making seemed subpar, and he finished the game 1-8 from the field. 

This play is a good example. 

I think Porzingis should have popped into the open space, but the Celtics want him to draw two defenders and get that two-on-one that creates other advantages. He puts the ball down and loses sight of his teammates, missing what became an obvious kick-out to Horford, which then likely would have either been a 3-point attempt or a swing to the corner for a Brown 3-point attempt. 

Either way, the decision he made was poor. The Celtics need him to be more forceful with screens and more aware of his surroundings. 

Personally, I think a pregame nap will help. 

4. Will Orlando help as much?: The Magic are generally content to let their individual defenders handle things and go from there. In Game 1, they helped a lot more than anyone was expecting, which Boston welcomed. 

With Tatum out, I question whether they’ll try something different. My guess is that they’ll try blitzing Brown if he runs pick-and-roll and try to force turnovers. Outside of that, they might get back to what they usually do. 

That means a lot of switches, and without Tatum and with the ball in White’s hands more often, I’m looking for a bunch of pull-up 3-point attempts. The second anyone sees a big on a switch and he’s below the 3-point line, that shot has to go up. 

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.

Feel free to watch my latest podcast for more on the Celtics without Tatum, Boston's reaction to the hard foul that knocked him out, and Payton Pritchard winning Sixth Man of the Year.