Can Jayson Tatum carry over his stellar play against a tough Magic defense?

After letting the Bulls take management within the 4th quarter and steal the win on Thursday, the Celtics responded of their Saturday night time rematch. They led by simply 7 heading in to the third quarter, however because of an enormous sport by Jayson Tatum, Boston was capable of seize a sport excessive 29-point lead within the 4th, and ended up successful the sport by 25. Tonight, they face a scrappy Orlando group.

The Magic will likely be very quick handed. Their two finest gamers, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, are each sidelined with torn obliques. Orlando additionally simply misplaced one in every of their feistiest gamers, somebody who was within the operating for Sixth Man of the Yr, and a former Celtic, Moritz Wagner, to a torn ACL. They might additionally doubtlessly be with out their place to begin guard, Jalen Suggs, who has been their engine all through the season. If he does miss the sport, Orlando will likely be with out their high 4 main scorers, their subsequent highest being Goga Bitadze who averages 9.5 factors per sport.

Wil Boston play with its meals, or will they hold their foot on the fuel pedal from the beginning?

Whereas this isn’t the Celtics group of years previous that constantly performed right down to their competitors, they’ve had a variety of video games that caught them unexpectedly this season, and ended up being a lot nearer than they need to have been. We’ve seen shut video games towards Washington, Toronto, and most just lately, Chicago. Nobody expects them to win all 82 video games, however their dominance final season did set excessive expectations towards lesser groups.

Video games like this could generally be seen as lure video games, just like the stunning loss the Celtics took towards the Lakers final yr whereas they had been with out LeBron James and Anthony Davis. We’ve additionally seen Boston drop a sport towards Atlanta earlier this season whereas they had been taking part in with out Trae Younger. The Magic had been with out Suggs for his or her matchup towards the Miami Warmth on Saturday, and in that sport, Cole Anthony exploded to steer the group again from a 22-pont 4th quarter deficit to a 7-point win, beautiful Miami.

One sport won’t ever outline a season, however tonight’s sport towards a depleted Magic group might give us a very good have a look at their mindset for this season. As of now they appear to be pacing themselves greater than they had been final season, however they need to nonetheless be capable of come out and dominate video games like tonight’s.

How a lot of Saturday’s efficiency will Tatum carry over?

Jayson Tatum went nuclear towards the Bulls on Saturday night time, pulling out 43 factors, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists on an insane 86.4% true-shooting. Chicago isn’t a group recognized for its protection, although, ranked twenty fourth within the league. The Magic are a lot harder, boasting the third finest defensive score within the league.

Jonathan Isaac is an underrated wing defender, and has given Tatum some hassle previously. His large 6’10 body, coupled along with his lengthy wingspan and strong defensive instincts makes him a tricky man to beat. He’s at present second on the group in blocks per sport at 1.4, and averages 0.7 steals to associate with it. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is one other distinctive defender who the Magic introduced on this offseason, primarily for that motive. He’s at present second on the group in steals per sport at 1.6. Orlando additionally has a terrific paint presence with Goga Bitadze, who at present leads the group in blocks at 1.6 per sport.

Even with out Franz, Mo, Paolo, and doubtlessly Suggs, the Magic have a formidable protection. They’re extraordinarily lively on that finish of the court docket, and will definitely be trying to include Tatum as a lot as attainable. We could find yourself seeing a sport the place Tatum is pushed extra in direction of utilizing his playmaking expertise than his scoring means.

Will the Celtics be capable of re-discover their three-point rhythm?

Jayson didn’t get an entire lot of assist from past the arc on Saturday. Excluding him, the group was a mixed 6 for 30 from vary, simply 20%. Derrick White and Jaylen Brown had been a mixed 0 for 11. Kristaps Porzingis and Payton Pritchard each knocked down two a bit, and Jrue Vacation and Al Horford each knocked down one every, accounting for all 6 of the non-Tatum makes.

Every of the 4 solely shot 33.3% from three. This comes after the group had its second lowest 3P% of the season towards the Chicago on Thursday, at simply 25%. Since Tatum will seemingly be the main focus of the Orlando protection, it turns into much more essential for the remainder of the Celtics to step up on the offensive facet and knock down open pictures. That turns into very true towards a top-ranked protection that provides up the fewest threes per sport within the league.