Magic Confident in Adjustments Before Crucial Game 3 vs. Celtics

Back at home, the Orlando Magic feel they've made the necessary adjustments to start the process of drawing even with the Boston Celtics. Game 3 is Friday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) goes to the basket past Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the first quarter of game two of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – Ask the Orlando Magic how they feel heading into Friday night's Game 3 versus the Boston Celtics, and their responses wouldn't lead you to believe they're down 2-0 to the defending champions.

"We've played well, offensively and defensively," Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said Friday morning when asked what Games 1 and 2 revealed to his team about this series so far. "Some shots [are] not falling, defensively we've had some mistakes that have cost us."

But ...

"We've got the gameplan down and an adjustment for Game 3."

As the Magic have learned throughout this series, Boston has a plethora of ways it can beat opponents.

It's not always a three-point barrage or incisive rim-runs that sting Celtic opponents.

They're capable of capitalizing on turnovers and in transition, such as they did in Game 1. When Orlando cut down on the giveaways and played more physical from tip to buzzer in Game 2, Boston crashed the offensive glass and shot the majority of the free throws to still protect home court.

Leading contributions don't always have to come from Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. Every player who steps on the court is a weapon, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla says, and they thrive on every mistake offered to them. With Tatum, Brown and Jrue Holiday all listed on Friday's injury report, Boston may need to dig deeper into its arsenal in Game 3.

Regardless, this series was "super close" to coming back to Orlando either tied 1-0 or flipped in its favor, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday morning.

Yet, the small margins Orlando already operates on and minuscule room for error Boston forces opponents to succeed within have been a combination too difficult to perfect thus far.

Now, similarly to last season, Friday night presents the Magic a must-win scenario to avoid going down 3-0 and having their backs pressed more firmly against the wall.

"There's a resolve to them that they understand they've been here before," Mosley said. "You can actually say that because we've been in an identical situation. Different team obviously, and you're facing the champions, but understanding exactly what you need to do to get yourself out from being down 2-0 [is important.]"

Orlando didn't lose at home last postseason. Mosley maintained the old adage that a playoff series doesn't start until a home team loses a game.

Last year, Cleveland and Orlando were separated by one game in the standings, then one game in a first-round playoff series that went the distance. The two teams were more evenly matched, and that helped the Magic draw even at 2-2, then again at 3-3, with the backing of the home atmosphere.

"Being able to be at home, sleep in your own bed, get your practice reps in here in our building, in our facility," Mosley said, "and then just our home crowd. We know exactly how energized they are for us to be back home."

For the Magic to begin down the path of doing the same versus a more daunting Celtics team, they will need to put together 48 minutes of their best basketball.

There can't be minutes-long offensive lulls, and they can't take defensive possessions off. Another third-quarter collapse that quickly undoes the 24 minutes of hard work before it has to be avoided, too.

Mosley referred to this series as a chess match during his pregame availability Wednesday in Boston, and he did the same at Friday's shootaround when asked of his incentive to make rotational or schematic changes at this point in the series.

"We'll look into it as the game goes on, being able to get a real game feel [of] who's got a real flow going and what we'll need to see from certain guys as they step into the game," the fourth-year coach said.

Adjustments will aim to slow Boston's scoring, which has been held below its normal rate only because of the game's slower pace. The Celtics are scoring 120.5 points per 100 possessions through two games, up a whole point from their regular-season mark.

But Orlando and Boston are averaging only 87.5 possessions through the first two contests. The Magic have a -14.2 net rating in the playoffs so far.

Scoring outside of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner has been hard to come by.

No player has scored a higher percentage of his team's postseason points than Banchero, and his 35.2 usage rate is a fraction behind Giannis Antetokounmpo's for the highest in the postseason. He's playing a staggering 42.8 minutes per game.

Wagner's 32.7 usage rate is also increased from the regular season. Together, they've scored 116 of the Magic's 186 points (62.3%).

Like the Celtics did without Tatum in Game 2 and may have to without three starters in Game 3, Orlando's role players – like Caldwell-Pope himself – will have to step up and provide some support.

The Magic's season depends on it.

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

• MAGIC NEED MORE OFFENSE FROM KCP: For the tides of their first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics to change, the Magic, among other things, need Caldwell-Pope's scoring to come around. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC AIM TO LEAN FURTHER INTO PHYSICALITY: The Magic lost part of their identity late in Sunday's Game 1. That can't happen again, they say. CLICK HERE
• CELTICS REMIND WHY THEY'RE DANGEROUS: The defending champions' balanced Game 1 attack and ability to withstand Orlando's big swings remind the Magic just how dangerous they are. CLICK HERE

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