The Boston Celtics will get their first chance to close out their first-round series against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, but the reigning champions could be severely shorthanded once they take the floor in Game 5.
Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) and Jrue Holiday (right hamstring strain) were the only two listed on the team’s latest injury report as Brown is questionable and Holiday is ruled out completely. Holiday hasn’t played since Game 2 of the series, yet the team has managed to weather the storm by plugging Al Horford into the starting lineup.
“This was a big win. This was a big win on the road, in a tough, physical enviroment with a team that’s been playing well,” Brown told reporters after Game 4, per CLNS Media. “And a team that’s been eager to take us out. So tonight was a big win. We get our rest, we rally the troops and get back to it back in Boston on our home floor.”
Orlando has done its best to brutalize and bater Boston with its over-the-top physicality that’s charged the Magic with three flagrant fouls. Jayson Tatum suffered a wrist injury in Game 1 that caused a one-game absence and Kristaps Porzingis suffered a gruesome and bloddy head injury that required five stitches in Game 2. Brown and Horford have been vocal throughout the series, calling out Orlando for its shannaigans while keeping their focus intact. The Celtics took a uppercut blow in Game 3 due to their own miscues more than the Magic’s execution, but they bounced back to re-establish their prescenece as the top dog of the series in Game 4.
If Boston comes out with a re-polished 3-point shot — the Celtics have shot 34.8% in the series — then the title defenders shouldn’t have an issue putting Orlando away, with or without Brown and/or Holiday. Tatum has been the best player of the series, Porzingis bounced back in a major way in Game 4 and Horford continues to conquer Father Time — he tallied five blocks in Game 4. Through it all, the Celtics haven’t lost their cool and they haven’t played to their peak, which should put Orlando in fear.
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“The gameplan execution is very simple,” Celtics head coch Joe Mazzulla said after Game 4, per CLNS Media. “You have to win the margins. You have to win in the trenches. And you have to compete at a high level and you have to play physical.”
Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images
