Between Identity And Adjustment – Celtics Ready For The Playoff Opener Against Orlando

Can the Celtics become the first team since 2017/2018 to defend their NBA championship?

A thought that kept coming back to me over the past year: Why haven’t we seen a back-to-back champion in seven years? Is the talent density in the NBA so much higher these days? Are the days of super teams, of Big Threes, finally over?

When the NBA Playoffs begin this Saturday, it’s no longer about reaching the top for the Boston Celtics – its about staying there. After winning their 18th NBA title last year, the Celtics are currently the most successful franchise in league history – one title ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers (17). Now begins the path to a back-to-back championship, a feat last accomplished by the Golden State Warriors in 2016/17 – 2017/18.

The starting position for Boston is more than promising: with a record of 61–21, the Celtics had the third-best regular season, behind OKC (68–14) and the Cavs (64–18).

Team Rankings

The Boston Celtics finished the regular season with a home record of 28 wins and 13 losses at TD Garden. That equals a home win percentage of 68.3%.

On the road, the Celtics were even more successful, with 33 wins and 8 losses, for a road win percentage of about 80.5%.

Scoring Defense

But in the playoffs, stats don’t matter any more – it’s about what you do with them. That’s also what head coach Joe Mazzulla emphasized when I asked him during a Zoom call with international media; how he maintains the balance in a series between staying true to his identity and making necessary adjustments:

“I think in a playoff setting, it’s not that hard to focus on the topic of ‘adjustments’. To win a preseason game, a regular season game, or a playoff game, it’s basically the same. You have to be able to do the intangible, hard-to-measure things – the things that make the difference between winning and losing.”

Joe Mazzulla, as always, focused – and emphasizes how important it is to let a series develop its own rhythm:

“Every series takes on a life of its own. Every series calls for small adjustments, for details that you have to adapt depending on the matchup and on the versatility and identity of the opponent. I think it’s all about finding that exact balance.”

The opponent in round one: the Orlando Magic. With a record of 41–41, Orlando finished the season in seventh place in the East and qualified for the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament. But anyone who sees the Magic as just an underdog underestimates them.

Under Coach Jamahl Mosley, a young, defensively strong team has emerged that puts pressure on its opponents with athleticism and tempo. Paolo Banchero averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in his third season – and once again managed to improve. Just like Franz Wagner, with a strong 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. The impressive part about both: they put up those numbers even though both Paolo and Franz suffered the same injury.

Paolo Banchero sustained a strain of the right external oblique muscle (obliquus externus abdominis) early in the season. The injury occurred on October 30, 2024, in a game against the Chicago Bulls, and Franz Wagner suffered a tear of the same muscle on December 6, 2024, during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Before his injury, Banchero had an impressive start to the season: In the first five games, he averaged 29.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. Especially noteworthy is his 50-point game against the Indiana Pacers on October 28, 2024.

Paolo missed 34 consecutive games and returned on January 10, 2025, against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 34 points.

Franz returned on January 23, 2025, and scored 20 points in his first game back after the injury.

Paolo and Franz made it back. Unfortunately however, the Magic will have to do without Moritz Wagner and Jalen Suggs – due to their season-ending injuries.

Whether Orlando can survive a playoff series without the two remains to be seen.

Boston, on the other hand, is entering the series with a fully healthy roster. There were occasional issues where players had to be rested. Kristaps Porzingis (19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks per game) was a dominant factor during the regular season, especially against smaller lineups like Orlando’s. Jayson Tatum (26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists) and Jaylen Brown (22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists) are leading the team as usual. Even if we’re seeing slight dips in Jayson’s and Jaylen’s stats compared to last year, that won’t stop them from delivering the same performance we saw in the last playoffs.

Points in the Paint Defense – regular Season

Orlando – young, bold, aggressive. Boston, on the other hand, brings experience, structure, and the mindset of a champion. But as Joe Mazzulla put it:

“You can’t be blinded by the details and the fundamentals – even though those things come first.”

The Celtics enter the first round with the self-understanding of a champion. Still: the NBA playoffs always write its own story. Mistakes are punished more harshly, weaknesses get exposed mercilessly. The Magic have nothing to lose – Boston, on the other hand – a lot.

Since the championship last year, Boston’s expectations have been clearly defined. The fans don’t just expect wins – they expect history. And as so often, it all begins with Game 1.