Celtics vs Magic Game 2 Review
The Celtics defeated the Magic 109-100 in game 2 of the playoffs in what can only be described as a wacky and abnormal game. For starters, Jayson Tatum missed his first ever playoff game due to a wrist injury, making this matchup much more even and up for debate as to who would win, as we have never seen this team without JT mid series before. The first quarter was an interesting one to say the least. The Celtics won the quarter 23-21 but shot horribly. Jaylen Brown was 4-7 and had 12 of the team's 23 points, setting the tone early as the best player on the court, but the rest of the team shot 1-12. Luckily, the game plan was much more 2 point based, as only 9 threes were taken in the quarter and 12 free throws were taken, with 10 being made.
Things would play out much better in the 2nd quarter, as the team shot 9/20 from the floor, 1/8 for 3 with 27 points. It's a good sign when you can shoot 36 % from the floor and 4/17 from 3 in a half and still be leading. While the 3rd quarter was not as dominant for the Celtics as it was in game 1, it was still the deciding quarter, winning it by 7 and having the best offensive quarter of the game. Jaylen Brown led the charge with 13 points on 5/5 shooting, quickly silencing any doubts about his bone bruise injury he sustained at the end of the regular season. Even though this was a positive and the deciding quarter of the game, it did come with it's drawbacks, as Gogo Bitadze did his best Draymond impersonation, swinging his elbow straight into the forehead of Kristaps Porzingis resulting in him instantly bleeding and requiring 5 stitches. He did return to the game and was able to make a free throw but did not have much impact outside of that.
Porzingis so far has been the worst of the main players. While his defensive prescence has been evident, his offense has been severely lacking, shooting 6/22 and 0/7 from 3 so far. He had a strong 2nd and 3rd quarter shooting 5/9, but outside of that has been a complete zero offensively. The three pointers will likely come back at some point, but he has to be better inside the arc. Most of his points have come from backdoor cuts getting himself wide open looks, on top of being a key contributor on the boards with 5 offensive rebounds, and that is perfect for what the team needs when he's off. If his shot isn't falling early, he has to play as a roller instead of mismatch hunting. When Porzingis is a threat offensively, it can open up the entire offense and generate wide open looks for everyone, and the Celtics will need him to step up if they are to have any chance at seriously competing.
The 4th quarter would be another tight one, with the Celtics teetering on making it a blowout and icing the game, but a few huge Banchero buckets along with Wendell Carter helped to keep it close, but ultimately it was not enough. The second half adjustments were huge. The ball movement was much better which led to more open threes and getting others involved. Payton Pritchard was huge and proved yet again why he was the 6th man of the year, with 8 points and 3/4 from the field with 2 huge momentum swinging threes, as well as Derrick White finding his shot much better shooting 5/10 with 13 points.
Superstars are always great and are a necessity, but games like this prove championship teams go as the other players go. SGA is shooting 33% through the first 2 games and it hasn't mattered, but Giannis is putting the team on his back, and it still isn't close to being enough. Jaylen Brown has always played under more scrutiny than he deserves, and this game proves why he's so valuable. He finished the game with 36-10-5 on 12/19 and 5/7 from 3, hitting huge momentum shots and being the tone setter from start to finish. Being able to trust your second star to carry the load like this shows the transformation of the league and how depth matters more than it ever has, especially when it comes to injuries.
The biggest challenge the Celtics have faced so far has been slow starts, with both first halves scoring 50 or less points. The Magic's defense is great, but the Celtics have proven to be able to handle it in the second half, but coming out slow, sloppy and not creating any rhthym for quarters at a time cannot happen consistently, especially against a team like the Cavs. While Tatum's status for game 3 is still up in the air, the Celtics now have a bit of experience on how to play without him in a playoff game, so if he sits again, the hope is that there won't be many issues. The Magic will have their backs against the wall, with playing desperation in game 3, so an early storm will likely have to be weathered, but this team has seen this plenty of times. The longer the game goes, the experience will show itself. With or without Tatum, there is no reason the Celtics can't go into game 4 looking for a sweep.