SHATTERED: Orlando’s Fatal Flaw DELIVERS Devastating Season-Ending Loss to Boston Celtics

The Orlando Magic season ends in frustration. The game we didn’t get, the game we hoped we would get, and the game we actually got. It wasn’t pretty. Tonight on Locked On Magic. You are Locked on Magic, your daily Orlando Magic podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And you are indeed locked on Magic. Today is April 30th, 2025. My name is Phil Frostike. I’m the senior writer over at Orlando MagagicDaily.com. You can also follow me on Twitter, philipr_omd, and on blue sky at Philip RR. Now, just completing my 15th season covering the Orlando Magic. I don’t I don’t know how to count anymore. I was told there would be no map. On today’s episode of Locked On Magic, the Orlando Magic had everything in line to force a game six and extend this series and then foul trouble hit and the Magic’s fatal flaws came back to the surface. How the Boston Celtics finally broke the dam of the Magic’s defense and how frustration, limitations ended the Magic season. We’re going to get to that coming up here in just a moment. But first, we want to thank you again for making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day. No matter when you listen to us, whether it’s first thing in the morning, whether it’s right when we upload, we truly appreciate you making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day. We appreciate all of our everyday listeners and especially our first first listeners of the day. For your first listen of the day, we truly appreciate it. John, I see you back there. Quit partying. We’re we’re we’re gonna we’re gonna get to this later. We’re gonna get to this later. Um, if you’re watching on YouTube, John Carrell just danced uh like a maniac behind me. On to uh I forget where I’m at. Locked on locked on locked on magic. Locked on NBA your team every day. Today’s episode of Locked on Magic is also brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Orlando Magic, as we discussed yesterday with John Carellis, had the game plan in this series. They they understood and knew how to get under the Celtics skin. they knew how to kind of keep them from the things they like to do to make them uncomfortable to put them in tight spaces. If we we’ll do the complete autopsy of this season tomorrow. Exit interviews are going to be Thursday, so we we’ll get to we we get to like take a breath before we put the put a bow on this season. But the Magic had the game plan and they executed it to perfection in that first first half. Yeah, Boston was making some interior shots, but they were turning the ball over. They weren’t getting three-pointers. I believe they only had six three-pointers at halftime and they missed all six. The Magic had the Celtics, as as John put it very well yesterday and and I repeated it back to him at halftime, had them seeing ghosts. They were unsure of themselves. This series, and again, we’ll do full autopsy later today. Today is not the full autopsy because how this game ultimately played out robbed us of the kind of game that that we want to see. And look, the Magic left opportunities on the table in the first half. The Magic should have been up by double digits in the first half. They created the turnovers. They forced Boston into shots they didn’t want to take. Orlando got pretty good shots throughout the entire first half. And as has been the story all season long, those shots just refuse to go in. The opportunities, the turnovers that the Magic created, the second chance opportunities, all those margin plays that both Joe Missoula and Jamal Mosley said went the Magic’s way and they left points on the board and that is what leads to catastrophe. And in the first three minutes of the third quarter, catastrophe struck. Now, we can debate whether or not Paulo Vano should have been called for any of or all three of those fouls that he was called for in the first three minutes of the game of the of the second half. He went through Derek White. That was probably an offensive foul. He bumped Jason Tatum. Objectively, probably a foul. Whether it’s a foul in this series is a fair thing to ask because that’s been inconsistent. On the Jaylen Brown play, on the play where he picked up his fifth foul of the game, Paulo Vancro was playing physical defense. He got to the spot and Brown initiated contact, put his elbows up and got him in the head, but ultimately the refs looked at the tape, reviewed the call and said it was a foul on Powro. He was late to the spot. bumped Brown, knocked him off course, that’s a foul. We can’t we can argue about the the validity of those fouls. We can argue whether those were the right calls. It doesn’t matter anymore. As frustrated as the Magic were in the moment and they had every right to be frustrated with the calls because this has been a physical series and all of a sudden that’s a foul. And again, probably probably definitionally was just it hasn’t been in this series, but undoubtedly that changed the whole game. Jaylen Brown went to the foul line, tied the game or gave the Celtics their first lead of the second half, and they did not look back. And so, a game that the Magic had control over, a game that the Magic were dominating is a far cry because again, the margin for error is just so small. Even when the Celtics are playing poorly, they’re in the game. Orlando could never run and hide from them. This play changed the game completely. All of a sudden, Paulo Bankro had to sit. All of a sudden, the Magic had lost one of their offensive engines. All of a sudden, all the onus, all the responsibility was put on France Vagner. And all of a sudden, the Magic had to play hands-free. They had to change their defense because of what was now being called a foul. And this is the thing about Boston. We can say what we want about the foul situation. We can say what we want about the discrepancy of calls throughout the course of the series. Boston will always make you pay for your mistakes. If you give them an inch, they will take a mile. And they may not take a full mile on this Magic defense. It may only be a half mile. It may only be a quarter mile. But that is enough, especially when the Magic are missing their offensive engine. Fran Vagner did his best, but just like Paulo in game four and really throughout game five, I’m I’m we’ll get to the box where I’ll talk about why Paulo didn’t actually have a great game. Fron Vagger ran out of gas. Not an excuse, but started settling for jumpers. Wasn’t able to get to the basket as as efficiently, as consistently. And eventually the Celtics just make you pay. They just hurt you. They just harm you. they they don’t let up. They don’t lose their cool, which the Magic clearly had. And the Magic because they couldn’t take advantage of mistakes in the first half and couldn’t take advantage of the good looks they got in the second half just wore down. At the end of the day, the reason why the season is over tonight is the Magic’s fatal flaw. They don’t have enough shooting. They could not make enough open shots. Whether it was Jonathan Isaac airballing a a three from the corner, whether it was Anthony Black passing up and hesitating on a three-pointer, whether it was Contavius Caldwell Pope missing a three-pointer off an offensive rebound, whether it was, you can name any number of shots. Wendo Carter missed a couple threes. Fron Vagner settled for a three, a pullup three that isn’t a bad shot, but isn’t going to get the job done unless you make it. And Boston made those shots in the second half. Boston went ended the game 13 of 24 from three, which means they were 13 for 18 in the second half. The dam finally broke. And as is the case in these games, the rope started sliding and the Magic couldn’t grab it back. What’s disappointing about this game, it’s not necessarily that they lost and it’s not even necessarily that they lost by the amount that they did because the Magic played to the they played they played their their butts off. They they worked hard in this game and they just didn’t have the horses to get to the end. Plain and simple. They didn’t have the horses to keep up with the Celtics and we knew that when we entered the series. We knew that at the beginning of this series and that’s what played out in game five. Orlando needed to make shots to stay in the series. They needed to compete with the Celtics at the three-point line. In the end, Orlando shot eight for 38 from three. In the end, Orlando shot 37 and a half% from four. You’re not beating this Boston Celtics defense, no matter how good your defense is. You’re not beating this Boston Celtics team if you’re not making shots. And that’s been the story all season. Orlando could get the best looks in the world and you’re never confident they’re going to make them. If Boston got the looks Orlando got tonight in the first half, they’d be up by 25. Orlando would kill to be up by 15. And that’s the difference right now. And look, it’s the off season now. I promise we would talk offseason stuff. Exit interviews are Thursday. We will get to offseason stuff. It’s abundantly clear what needs to happen and the direction the Magic need to go next. We’re not hiding from it. And it’s the story of this game. Take away one of the Magic’s creative offensive engines, the margin for error gets smaller and the Magic aren’t able to take advantage of the mistakes and the mis and the and miscues that they could. Plain and simple. Now, with Paulo’s fouls, it would have changed the game. If Paulo was playing in that second half, the Magic have a shot because they’re playing really well. They played about as perfect the first half as you can play against Boston Celtics without making shots. And that’s just been the common refrain. We can win without making shots. That’s what that’s what they told us after the game. We were leading despite missing shots. That’s not how this works. Not at this level. Not in the Not in these games. Not with these stakes. At long last in this series, the shooting damn broke and the Celtics came rushing in, flooding the Magic and ending their season. What Boston did to finally break through, we’re going to get to that coming up here in just a moment. But first, today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is brought to our friends over at CarGurus. Shopping for a car should be exciting, not exhausting. But between the confusing prices and hidden fees, it can feel overwhelming. That’s why I love using CarGurus. They help you cut through the noise and show you the best deals with full confidence. With more than 4 million listings, CarGurus has more new and used cars than any other major online marketplace in the US. They verify dealers, provide real price analysis, and give you the tools and data you need to make the right choice without second-guessing yourself. Need a deal you can trust? CarGurus makes it easy to compare vehicles side by side with unbiased deal ratings. The best feature, their price drop alerts, so you know exactly when the perfect car is available in your budget. Plus, the in-depth vehicle details give you the peace of mind before stepping onto any lot. Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at cargurus.com. Go to cargurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal. That’s cargurus.com. C a rg guardgurus.com. Today’s episode of Lock Magic is also brought to our friends over at Wayfair. Spring is here and that means it’s home project season. Whether you’re refreshing a room or tackling a full renovation, Wayfair is the best kept secret for all things home improvement. From small updates like stylish cabinet hardware to major upgrades like new vanities, sinks, or outdoor lighting, Wayfair has quality products for every budget. Their free and fast shipping makes it so easy. There’s no hauling heavy items from the store. I love that they have top brands like GE and mowing at great prices and shopping is seamless. You find exactly what you need to fit your space and style. Wayfair makes home improvement easy. Get started now at wayfair.com. That’s Wayfair. W A Y A Y F AIR. That’s W A Y F AI.com. Wayfair, every style, every hope. So, I haven’t listened to what the Boston Celtics had to say. Listen to our friend uh uh John Krauss on Locked on Celtics. He is slaving away on his written work right now as I’m recording this. He’ll have the pod up very, very soon, and I will make fun of him endlessly for that. Um but check out Locked On Celtics again throughout the rest of the playoffs. Um, we’re hoping the best for them. Uh, because it’s always better to lose to the champs, I feel like, you know, and I’m sure Boston will say they learned a lot from this series because Orlando’s defense, you know, the numbers may not support it. Orlando’s defense was very good in this series. They made Boston sweat and work for every point and every inch in this series. It was a low possession series. The Celtics had to rely on things that they’re not used to relying on. They had to be a little uncomfortable in the series. And while it is a fivegame series, the Celtics I think really really come out of this knowing a little bit something different about themselves. You know, whether they’re playing Detroit or New York and Detroit plays a very similar defensive style to Orlando. A lot of hitting, a lot of crabbing, a lot of just just rough and tumble play. If they end up playing like Oklahoma City in the finals, Oklahoma City plays a very similar style of defense as well. So, this is not going to be the last time the Celtics are going to have to rely on something besides their three-point shooting. to see them rely on their defense number one, but rely on something beyond their three-point shooting is going to help them in the long run. The Magic deserve a lot of credit in this game. Um because throughout the series, Joe Missoula has said the game’s going to come down to the margins. It’s going to come down to who gets extra possessions, who gets the rebounds, who gets the turnovers, who gets the free throws. all of these little things that don’t always show up on the box score as important, but you feel their importance throughout the course of the game. Jamal Mosley has echoed that sentiment and and throughout the first half. And again, if you look and we’ll go through the box score number here in a minute, but when you look at this game, throughout the first half, Orlando was winning all of these things that honestly like that’s what’s disappointing to me is it really did feel like the Magic won all those hidden points. They won the margins in this game. They won offensive rebound. got 15 offensive rebounds to Boston Street. They dominated the glass. They got uh 15 second chance points to Boston. That’s taking care of business. That’s taking care of what you’re supposed to take care of on the offensive glass, which Magic haven’t always done in this series. It’s getting 11 It’s getting 12 points off 11 turnovers. A lot of them coming in the first half. Boston did a much better job protecting the ball. Orlando didn’t. Boston had 20 points off 12 turnovers. The Magic were in control of that that category for much of the game. 13 fast break points to Boston’s 11. Again, a lot of it probably more in the first half. Orlanders offense got got stuck in a rut. Boston made their shots, all that all that stuff. Um, but the Magic won a lot of these categories. Um, they won so many of these things that they have to win. Again, missing free throws, 15 for 22, about the only thing you can complain about. Um, just, you know, just a lot of split free throws throughout the course of the game. Boston did get the line for 24 free throws. They made their 21. These things do matter in the end, but Orlando felt like they were the team that was hustling the most. And again, you see that in how they defended the three-point line through much of the series and how they took Boston off the three-point line. But inevitably, we always knew it was going to come. We always suspected there would be a game that ended like this where the Celtics made shots and it was just so overwhelming for the Magic that they couldn’t make up for. Throughout the course of the series, I’ve talked about the raw number. It’s a it’s a math problem with Boston that Orlando had to keep Boston’s three-point makes, forget the percentage, the three-point makes to a number that they could catch up. If they made 10, Orlando can make nine threes. If you know, Boston made nine and eight threes. I think they made 17 threes over games three and four. If Boston makes 15 16 threes, if they make what they make this game, uh, you know, they were 13 for 24 in this game against Orlando’s eight, that’s tough for Orlando to make up. And again, Orlando just could not find the shots. Um, there was a point in the press conference where, you know, Jamal Mosi was asked if he thought about taking a timeout as Boston was building their run and starting to build their lead and build momentum. And he said, and Jamal Mosi frankly said, “If I thought we weren’t getting good looks, I would have called the timeout.” But we were getting good looks and they just weren’t going down. At the end of the day, yes, Paulo’s absence hurt and it it it was consequential. It changed the game. At the end of the day, this series came down to shooting. It came down to the Magic weren’t able to make enough shots to stay ahead of Boston to get over the hump when they were trailing Boston to extend a lead from 5 to 12 to 15 to 20. That’s what Boston does. That’s what Boston did in game one when they took the lead. Took the lead in the third quarter and got it out to 15. That’s what they did in game two when they again took that lead in the third quarter. That’s what they did in frankly game four, game three when they were down 12 and they came back and made it a two-point game and had a chance to tie it and chance to win it in the at the end to get the sweep. That’s what they did really. Even game four was probably more back and forth, more evenly played. That was kind of the bad shooting game the Magic needed to to win. That’s what they did tonight in game five. Tonight in game five, yes, the Celtics couldn’t hit threes and couldn’t get threes or generate threes in the first half, but they got those threes in the second half and they finally had the good shooting game that the Magic were always going to lose. And some of it is Orlando played good defense and they made the shots. And again, you can’t equate for you can’t you can’t compensate for you can’t deal with they’re making they’re making contested shots and we’re missing open shots. That’s been the season. That’s been the entire season for the Orlando Magic. Um, and at some point the defense is going to break. As important as good as defense is, as as good as this team’s defense can be, it can’t function without a functioning offense. Not at this level, not with these states, not in this stage. That’s been the problem. And and and again, like I want to save offseason stuff for tomorrow. We’re gonna mourn the we’re gonna mourn the end of the season tomorrow, begin the autopsy. Uh, you know, I’ve I’ve got my forceps ready to go. Um, but we can’t separate what this team needs from the results that we’re seeing in these critical games. The Boston Celtics always knew they had this in them. It’s just a matter of time. And as again as happens in these closeout games, your will kind of leaves you, your spirit kind of leaves you. You start to panic. And that’s that’s how these games become. It’s like, was this a 31 point game? The score says so. It was, but it wasn’t. But Boston’s able to make it that way. And once you lose control of that rope against this Celtics team, it only gets faster. It only burns you more. The Magic had done such a good job throughout the series preventing that from happening, preventing those outbursts, but it finally happened and Orlando had no answer. None whatsoever. They’ve never had an answer for something like this. And so a game like this was inevitable in this series. It just happened to be the one that closed it finally. We’ll run through the box score. We’ll talk about the final performances of the season from several Orlando Magic players. Begin to think about what that means for the future. We’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment. But first, today’s episode of Lockdown Magic is brought to our friends over at Game Time. There’s nothing like the atmosphere of an NBA playoff game. I have to give a huge shout out and credit to the fans here at the TD Garden. Absolutely great playoff environment. I know it only gets more intense and bigger as you get deeper into the playoffs. Uh TD Garden lived up to the billing in games one, two, and five, just like I think the Kia Center fans lived up to the billing in game three, and four. So, if you’re looking to travel to Boston for the rest of the playoffs, Game Time is your ticket to be part of the arena. Game time makes it fast and easy to get playoff tickets even when demand is skyhigh. Prices on the app actually go down as tip off gets closer and their last minute deals can save you up to 60%. I’m getting ready to, you know, I’m getting ready to hit my off seasonason, which means I’m going to be in the market for Orlando City tickets. The Orlando Solar Bears are in this South Division finals in the ECHL playoffs. Now, we get three games against those hated Florida Everlades. If you want lastminute deals to any of those great events going on around Central Florida, you can save up to 60% off buying last minute for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, and more at Gametop. The all-in pricing means no surprise fees at checkout. What you see is what you pay. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code locked on NBA. That’s L O C K D O NA for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Okay, let’s dive into the final box score of the season as the Orlando Magic fall to the Boston Celtics 120- 89. Um, a lot of it’s what you’re going to expect, just just frankly just not enough offense and obviously Paulo Banero’s extended absence in the third quarter. Um that was the game. Um you know again in a game you lose by 31. Paulo’s minus 15 but a lot of that comes in the fourth quarter. Um it it it’s hard like it’s it’s just hard like that that play those decisions those fouls it impacted the game in an immeasurable way. Um and it sucks. Uh we can complain about the officiating. We can we can say you know what we want to say about it. We can have your opinions on it. It was it is it happened and the Magic failed to respond the right way to it. And look, some of that is they don’t have the personnel to if this happened to Jaylen Brown, which it did happen to Jaylen Brown in game three, I believe. Um he missed a lot of time. Joe Misoula did not bring him back in till about two minutes left in the in the game. Kristoff Sorzingis was in foul trouble early in the game. That was a huge factor for Orlando to take the lead and be able to attack the paint really effectively. They they were able to kind of pick their pick their guy and get fouls on him and and and put him in in compromising positions. Um, everyone deals with foul trouble. It isn’t just, oh, the refs are in the bag for Boston. No, teams deal with foul trouble. The difference is when Boston loses Jaylen Brown, Derek White slides over. The Celtics played the last three games of the series without Drew Holiday. But what happened? Payton Pritchard slid over. Derek White filled in. Jaylen Brown filled in. Jason Tatum upped his game. And while I do agree with Jamal Mosley that at every point in this season, guys stepped up to help fill roles throughout the course of the course of the g the season, ultimately in the playoffs, nobody slid in. And frankly, the Magic don’t have the players to do that. Now, obviously like Paulo is a huge piece of the puzzle and you know, credit to Fran Vagner. Like Fran Vagner probably had his best game of the series tonight. Um, in game five, he finished with 25 points, 10 for 22 shooting, 0 for four from three, five for five from the foul line, four rebounds, four assists. He did end up with five fouls as well, by the way, but but he got he caught his fifth foul when the game was over. Fron made a lot of really nice plays. He was aggressive attacking the basket, hitting his mid-range shot and frankly just again that mid third quarter having to carry that huge burden against this Celtics defense, you could just see him wear down. And if there’s and we saw this last year too in the playoffs, we saw this last year in Doom 7 as well. If there is a case for the Magic to go get another creator and go get another guy who can score, it’s this. Paulo and Fron couldn’t finish the series. They had so much weight and so much responsibility. They couldn’t finish the series. Let’s talk about Paulo’s game because Paulo had his worst game of the series before we even get to the fouls. He had his worst game of the series tonight. 19 points, six for 15 shooting, two for four from three to both of them coming late in the game. Five for seven from the foul line. I don’t think I mentioned Orlando miss I think 19 straight threes in this game. They made their first three, the last three to end the first quarter from Gary Harris. did not make another three till the beginning of the fourth quarter. Again, huge factor in this series. Huge, huge factor. Um, PA finished with nine rebounds, six assists, three turnovers. Um, turnovers weren’t a huge issue, but again, just such small margins. Turnovers ultimately do matter. Um, a lot of shot a couple shot clock violations the Magic didn’t want because they have to get shots up and there’s a lot of guys afraid to shoot. I thought Paulo was short on a lot of shots. Thought he settled for a lot of shots, missed some layups around the basket. Um, more importantly, just, and I noticed this in game four, too, his defensive attention really left him. And look, there aren’t a lot of weak spots in this Magic defense. He’s going to have to learn. Teams are going to attack him on defense because he is the weak link on defense. Now, I don’t think Paulo is a bad defender at all. I think he is a passable defender. Do I want him guarding Jason Tatum? Not frequently. Do I understand why the Magic hide him on weaker offensive players? Absolutely. He’s guarding Al Horford most of the night. Um, but the Magic do switch a lot. Ultimately, ultimately Paulo though was just a step off everywhere and that’s why he committed two fouls in the first half. He’s not in the situation that he was in the third quarter if he’s smarter with his fouling, if he’s sharper with his rotations in the first half. This is just to me it just looked like fatigue. Um, and again, that’s not an excuse. He puts a lot of responsibility on himself. He has a lot of responsibility for this team. As long as they’re playing, he’s got to live up to the billing. This was a game that felt like he ran out of gas. And Fron eventually ran out of gas, too. And when those two players aren’t able to kind of generate offense, this team looks like it did back in January when they were really struggling, when they’re at their lowest point of the season, when they’re at their worst, when they were losing to Utah at home, when they were losing to Portland at home. Um, that’s that’s what this team looked like. Um, and again, like they don’t have Jaylen Suggs. He would help a lot. He’s the offensive burden because he can create a little bit. He’s willing to shoot. He’s willing to score, willing to attack. Mo Vagger would help. Mov is just a bucket. He’s just a walking bucket. Jamal Mosley says it all the time. He would fall out. He falls out of bed and scores 10 points. The Magic needed those guys in this series. and they needed those guys, not necessarily because they be able to take advantage of what Boston does, but just ease that burden. And that’s going to be such a big thing we talk about this offseason is finding guys that a they can trust to make passes to you, but can also just ease the burden, get them some easy shots. Um, it’s, you know, you decrease your shooting, but you increase your efficiency because the quality of the shots you’re getting are that much better. That’s what Boston has. Again, like you look at Boston, there’s no weak leak offensively and everybody can attack the basket in some way or some fashion. Um, you know, maybe not Christophing because he keeps settling for jumpers over smaller players. You know, Al Horford isn’t what he used to be, but all of their guards, all of their ball handlers aren’t afraid to attack the basket and take a gap when it’s there. The Magic struggle with that. They don’t have those guys. They don’t have those players. And again, like this game, like all those flaws are on display. That’s that’s why the Magic lost because when Paulo went out, yeah, Fran slid over and did what he needed to do, but there’s no support system there. There’s no support for that there. Wendell Carter, the only other Magic player in double figures with 12 points. Did finish with 10 rebounds. Um, a lot of respect for Wendell Carter series. I know that the scoring and the shooting are not where anybody wants them to be. Um, he finished with uh five for 10, 0 for four from three. So that puts him at five for nine, five for six on two-point fugals, which I will take. Um, obviously he is part of his appeal is that he can spread the floor. He went back to kind of Chicago three-point shooting. Um, his worst three-point shooting of the of his tenure with the Magic, but Wendell Carter had an excellent series. The the Magic defense does not work without Wendell Carter. And and I thought that he was he was strong in this this series once again. Um, really not a lot of else to say. Contavius Golo Pope eight points three for nine shooting two for seven he made a couple threes that’s what the Magic need got the volume up I’m I’m cool with the volume I like I the Magic need a guy that’s going to take seven threes a game I think that is a big piece of it but Kenny was never that guy and he’s never been that guy um did not deliver the shooting the Magic needed in the end Cory Joseph went scoreless 0 for five for four from three we all see the impact that he had’ll debate the point guard issue next week at some point um but you know Cory Joseph obviously is not the level of player as good as he is, as much as we all love him, not the level of player you need to compete with a team like the Celtics. Certainly not a performance like this. Anthony Black, eight points, eight rebounds, four offensive rebounds, but three for 10 shooting, one for three from three. That three did come very late in the game. Um Anthony Black was super active offense on the offensive glass. I really love the energy that he played with, but again with him, the energy is there, the defense is there, the offense and the confidence offensively especially just aren’t there yet. And again, that’s just such a huge huge hole hole, you know, again, especially comparing directly to the team you’re facing against. Such a huge hole to not have guys who are confident offensively. The Magic the Magic should have been up by 15 at the half. Like the Magic should have been up by 10, 12 points throughout the first half with the way that they were playing defensively, that the opportunities they were creating, Orlando could not take advantage of them. And and that when you leave the door open against a team like the Celtics, they’re not just going to open it. They’re going to kick you out and slam the door behind you. they’re going to evict you from the house. Um, that’s what the Celtics that’s what the Celtics do to everybody. Um, you can’t let them do that. You got to lock the door, hold it tight, you know, don’t let them don’t let them in. Let them huff and puff and try and blow that house down. But the big bad wolf won this game. Um, not a lot of other scoring elsewhere. Jonathan Isaac, five points, two for five, 0 for two from three. Just again, just the shooting’s not there. Um, Cole Anthony, one for six, 0 for four from three. and just missing missing that that that push offensively that that the Magic need from him and and need from their bench. Jason Tatum leads the Celtics with 35 points on 11 for 11 shooting from the foul line, 10 for 16 from the floor, four for five from three out of 10 assists, eight rebounds. Really strong game for him. Jaylen Brown with 23 points, nine for 18 shooting, two for four from three, six rebounds for him. Not a lot of scoring from the rest of the Celtic starters. Again, Orlando’s defense did the job really, really well. But once the Celtics opened the dam, once the Celtics got through, their stars carried them to the end. And again, the Magics did not have did not have the will and the ability to answer them at the final buzzer. The Orlando Magic season has concluded. Boston Celtics defeat the Magic 120 to 89 here in game five at TD Garden. Orlando Magic are back in action next season, next October for the 2025 2026 season. But that’s going to do it for me today. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Locked on Magic. I want to thank you all again for listening all season here on Locked on Magic. Truly appreciate all of you who listen. Whether you’re listening your first listen of the day, whether you’re listening at some point in the afternoon, whether you’re listening to me two weeks from now, I truly appreciate all of you who who hang with us, hang with me here for Orlando Magic Basketball. Alway sometimes frustrating, sometimes glory glorifying, but also but always worth it in the end. We’ll we’ll find that that part out yet. But I truly appreciate all of you who make this lockdown man community so great and for sticking with us throughout the NBA season. You can of course follow me throughout the offseason both here on Lockdown Magic and on Twitter, Philip R_OMD and on Blue Sky, Philip R. You can subscribe to the podcast because we will still be going strong through the offseason at uh uh wherever you download podcast whether it’s uh I’ve lost I’ve lost my thing. Wherever you download podcast to your podcast enable listening device. I know that’s the line everybody loves. You can also find us on YouTube. Just search for locked on magic if you want to see the John Carales dance from the beginning of the episode. For the latest on the Orlando Magic, be sure to check out Orlando Magicaily.com. You can find us on Twitter, Omagic Daily. And for even more Orlando Magic content, be sure to check out my Patreon page, Orlando Magic Hub, at patreon.com/orlandomagichub. As always, thank you for your support. Now that you’re done listening to Lockdown Magic, making it your first listen of the day, go check out the Locked On NBA game night. Every game, every night, until an NBA champion is crowned, get local analysis on a national scale. Find NBA Game Night on Locked on NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. That’s going to do it for me, though. I want to thank you all again for joining me for the 2024 2025 Orlando Magic season. We’ll be back tomorrow because we’re going to chat all about the season, what went right, what went wrong, begin the autopsy on the 2025 Orlando Magic season. We’ll get to that on tomorrow’s episode of Lockdown Magic. But until then, for Orlando Magic Daily and Lockdown Magic, this has been Phil Crossman. All right, we’ll see you all again next time for another episode of Locked Onion.

The Orlando Magic’s season ended with a frustrating loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5. They lost Paolo Banchero to foul trouble early in the third quarter and then unraveled from there. Orlando’s fatal flaw — the team’s poor shooting — was on full display as the Celtics finally broke the dam to make shots from deep.

0:00 Intro: Magic season ends in frustration
5:48 Celtics break through Magic’s defensive dam
17:33 Shooting woes doom Magic against Celtics
23:11 Box score analysis of final game
29:18 Magic’s lack of offensive support exposed

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOMagic?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#OrlandoMagic #PaoloBanchero #NBA

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k
Did you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.

CarGurus
Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.

WayFair
After the holiday hustle, there’s nothing like giving your home a little TLC. Give your home the refresh it needs with Wayfair. Head to Wayfair.com right now. Wayfair. Every style. Every home.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

45 comments
  1. After watching this game I literally shed a tear knowing the Magic season is officially over, seeing the “thank you” to the fans posts on social media was also touching, looking back at some of the best highlights of the season and I want to thank you for covering the team all season long as always. Go Magic 🙏💙

  2. Thankyou Phillip for this wonderful season! I look forward to your videos after the game, whether we win or lose you always bring good energy! Cant wait until next season

  3. Thank you Phil for all the videos during this season. Now can we go get Trae young😂 I’m still on it. Now let’s we what FO do with trades and revamping. KCP all the point guards Wendell Goga Caleb Gary should be in the trading block. They should have kept bol bol he would have been the shot blocker needed for defense during playoffs

  4. I know it's an unpopular opinion but Orlando should consider trading Banchero in one or 2 years. He's great but he's not really making his teammates better, Franz does. The Magic offense took a dip when Banchero returned from injury and his iso-heavy offense doesn't work all the time. Goga, Da Silva and Black looked great when Franz was running things. Coaches need to find a way to get the offense flowing again and I think it won't work with Banchero as the main guy. Franz and Banchero doesn't seem to work

  5. Congrats to the Magic & their fans. They played a mentally tough series, against an opponent who were deeper & more experienced. The Magic need 2-4 first rate players to become a force in the NBA. Their 2 stars got very little help from the rest of the team, and 8 against 2 + bodies is a very tough assignment. Unlikely that Michael Jordan & Larry Bird (plus those bodies) would succeed under those conditions. So it’s up to Magic front office to add talent to the team. But if the front office does their job, then the Magic’s future is bright.
    One thing that the Magic successfully did to the Celtics was to lay out a game plan for other teams to follow.
    Again, congrats on an excellent season & a tough, tough series.

    -a Celtics fan

  6. Celtics fan here….Congrats to you guys on making it a very close gentlemen’s sweep… I mean no one gave you a shot but the Celtics … that says they know how good you can be..

  7. Celtics plus refs do. We were holding it down until they literally called fouls all day to keep celtics in the game and Paolo out. Only then did they go on a run.

  8. Thanks, Phil. I’m a daily listener since I’ve discovered this show about 2 years ago. I’ve had to have see 95% of the episodes. It gets my day started. I just wanted to show my appreciation and show you some 💐

  9. Big Phil, another one in the books. This off-season should be a busy one for you with all the expected moves.

    Thanks for putting in the work all season.

  10. Thanks orlando! Hopefully yall get t young and make it more exciting next year! Go celtics! Good series yall played hard af yall are the next ones to come up for sure

  11. As a Celtics fan, I can offer probably the best reaction for the vanquished: THANK GOD that series is over.

    If Orlando can get a shooter or two without damaging their defense too badly — and stay healthy — this should be a fun start to a hopefully long rivalry.

  12. Orlando is a tough and well coached team. It is up the front office to make the right moves to help Paolo and Franz make deep playoff runs. Shooting, a PG and a bench. The bench is not good, KCP is overpaid and Cole Anthony is only effective if he can score.

  13. Who said, “iron sharpens iron”? The magic gave my Celtics all they could handle. Thanks to the magic for pushing our boys hard and making them earn every win. ☘️🏆

  14. If the magic were healthy all year they would have been the 3rd seed so this should have been the 2nd round matchup. They are a much harder matchup for the celtics than the Knicks.

  15. Phil I enjoyed your commentary this series from a Celtics fan. Love Franz and Paolo they’re great players and have a bright future.

    Orlando fans, Mosley, and the rest of the team. Have fun in Cancun, you’re all a bunch of dirty clowns and I can’t wait for Paolo to leave you like every other star you’ve ever had has done. ✌🏻

  16. Celts fan and LOC listener here. Kudos to you Philip for being such a good sport and I've enjoyed the pods you've done with John! And to the Magic fans, your squad fought to the finish which is a lot more than we can say for some of the other frauds in the East. *cough* *Miami* See you folks next season for more battles. ☘

  17. While I agree with many of my fellow Celtics fans regarding the bright future for the Magic,but anyone complaining about fouls on that squad is silly.

  18. As a long time Celtics fan I have to say y'all are a fun team to watch. Banchero is an absolute beast and Wagner had a little more help this could have been a very different series. I actually look forward to this continuing battle.

  19. I know some of us exchanged unpleasant words and had our differences but now that its over congrats Orlando!!! I mean that 100%! That was a way tougher series than i thought it would be, banchero is an amazing talent and if franz 3pt shot become steady he can be too(not that he isnt good but i know he can be better). You guys have a good future ahead of you!! 🍀🍀🍀🏆

  20. Celtics fan here – even though this series didn't get a lot of coverage compared to others this series was great and very competitive. If it weren't for the injuries this season the Magic were going to be a higher seed. We knew how good you guys were! Anyway next season will be something to look forward to hopefully we will get a rematch when you guys are healthy!

  21. For fun, I usually check the opponents' Locked on channels. You guys have one of the better ones. Congrats on a bright future. Go Celtics!

Leave a Reply