The Boston Celtics moved one step closer in their quest to repeat, beating the Orlando Magic in round one. Although the Celtics were able to put them away in five games, the Magic gave the Celtics a run for their money with their physicality and defense.
The Magic, led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, finished the regular season second in the NBA in defensive rating, causing havoc for the Celtics’ offense. Their main strategy was to force the Celtics to take shots inside the three-point line by guarding them above the three.
This strategy worked as the Celtics averaged 30.4 three-point attempts in the series, which is way below their 48.2 attempts in the regular season. However, the Celtics' talented bunch was too much for the Magic to overcome, who were without contributions from Jalen Suggs and Moritz Wagner.
While the Celtics wait to face the winner of the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons series, let’s look at the two winners and losers from the round one win over the Magic.
Winner 1: Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum was the best player in this series. In four games, Tatum averaged 31.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. His scoring, playmaking, and rebounding were extremely crucial. When his shots weren’t falling in Game One, his game-high 14 rebounds were huge in the Game One win.
In the first game, Tatum shot a horrid 8/22 from the field and 0/4 from the line. Although he suffered a wrist injury that forced him to miss Game Two, Tatum came back with superstar performance after superstar performance.
In that three-game stretch, Tatum averaged 36 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, shooting 47.6% from the field. Tatum was aggressive on offense, drawing 12.3 free throw attempts in this stretch, hitting a perfect 37/37 from the line.
His best performance in the series was Game Four. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, the Magic tied the game at 91, going on a 5-0 run. With all the momentum on their side, Tatum silenced them, outscoring the Magic 9-7 by himself in the final 4:19 to lead the Celtics to victory.
His clutch performances throughout the series pushed the Celtics into the next round.
Winner 2: Jaylen Brown
What Jaylen Brown brings to the defensive end doesn’t get talked about enough, displaying how elite of a defender he is in the series win over the Magic. His energy and intensity sparked throughout the series, as both Banchero and Wagner were doing everything they could to get Jaylen Brown off them.
Joe Mazzulla to @JackSimoneNBA on Jaylen Brown’s impact pushing the pace:
— Bobby Krivitsky (@BobbyKrivitsky) April 30, 2025
“His defense is back to where it was throughout the season. And just his playmaking, his efficiency in this series was [off the charts].”
“I think he’s been tremendous in all areas. And again, he has the… pic.twitter.com/BiqiEtUxyE
In Game Two, without Jayson Tatum, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP took over with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. With the Celtics up three in the first half, he took over in the final half by dropping 22 points to secure the win. In Game Four with the Celtics struggling to pull away from the Magic, Brown took over in the third quarter with 11 points, setting up for a Tatum takeover in the fourth.
Although Brown is not exactly 100% as he deals with a knee injury, he’s playing like a healthy player. In five games, Brown averaged 23 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, turning up his play on both ends for the playoffs.
His energy, presence, and play have willed the Celtics to the second round, and they’ll need him to repeat as champions.