The Champs Punch First And Officially Begin Their Title Defense With A Solid Game 1 Win

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

That's 1. 

Was it the most beautiful basketball we've ever seen? No, but that's OK. As I said this morning, it does not matter how you obtain your W, all that matters is that when the clock hits 0.0 you're the team with more points than the opponent. Add in the rust from having a week off and the weird start time, I'm certainly not complaining about kicking the title defense off with a 17 point home win. Especially when that 17 point home win came with you not even coming close to your ceiling. I'd say this was at best, like a C/C+ level Celtics performance. Good enough for this game, but something I think we all agree needs to improve moving forward.

Game 1 was a great example of how many view this matchup and this series. The Magic play tough, physical defense. They have great length at every level, they play hard, but scoring for them is going to be a chore. Their scoring profile is exactly how the Celts want you to play offensively, because let's not forget they also possess a top 5 defense in the NBA. Needing to beat them by playing in isolation and relying on 2s is a dangerous game. The math is not in your favor with that type of approach.

This was probably as close to an ideal performance as the Magic could expect from both Paolo and Franz, who both combined for an efficient 59 points. The issue, is even with that, the Magic still couldn't break 90. It's going to be tough to now beat this Celtics team 4 times in 6 games if you can't crack 90. They even shot well from deep as a team (37%), which you can't exactly rely on moving forward for the Magic either. 

The Magic broke 20 points in a quarter just once, and it came at a time when Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis couldn't even really make a shot. Eventually, that's going to change. So, how did this happen? Well, Derrick White continued to be the most perfect human on the planet and carried everyone offensively

Payton Pritchard showed the world why he's the 6MOY and came off the bench with a massive 19 points, Jrue Holiday snapped out of his CTE in the 3rd quarter which came at a massive time when the game was somewhat in the balance, and as the game went on and it came time to step on throats, the Celts did it together.

It starts defensively. Locking in on that end, finishing defensive possessions cleanly, the Celts finally got back to playing winning basketball in the second half, and it's no surprise that once they did, they pulled away. When it came time to make plays, they made them. When it came time to get stops, they dug deep and got the momentum stops. When it came time to close the door, they executed down the stretch. Playoff wins are going to look different from game to game, you do what you need to do to secure it, and you move on to the next. 

The Celtics often say "whatever it takes for however long it takes" and that's exactly how I would describe their Game 1 win. It's not always going to go according to plan, it's not all going to be perfect and you can't expect the other team to just roll over. Instead, find a way to win. Do what needs to be done to secure the W. At the end of the day, that's what they did.

We'll dive deeper into the specifics tomorrow. I'm just relieved to begin this journey back up the mountain with a win. Do it again in a couple days and really put the pressure on the Magic. Pray Tatum's wrist and Jaylen's knee rehab well over the next two days, and then be ready to punch again on Wednesday.

1 down, 15 to go.