The Celtics first round opponent is now set as the team begins their quest to repeat as NBA champions. The second-seeded Celtics will face off against the Magic after Orlando beat the Hawks in the 7/8 matchup of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament on Tuesday night. The Hawks will have once more chance to qualify for the postseason on Friday night when they host either the Bulls or Heat for the right to the No. 8 seed.
The Celtics will have four more days know to prepare for Orlando ahead of a Game 1 matchup on Sunday at TD Garden. It will be the first playoff matchup between the two teams since the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals, a series Boston 4-2 as an underdog to advance to the NBA Finals.
The teams have played in just three total playoff series in their franchise histories with Orlando winning the other two in 1995 (while closing out the Boston Garden) and in 2009.
The Celtics will be massive favorites for this first round matchup against an Orlando squad that finished the regular season with a 41-41 record. The Magic have one of the toughest defenses in the NBA (2nd in defensive efficiency) but have struggled to points up all year, finishing 27th in points per 100 possessions.
Orlando did manage to win two of three regular season matchups against the Celtics but one of those victories came with Boston’s top six players sitting out for rest purposes last week. The Magic’s other win came back in December with Jayson Tatum sidelined due to injury.
Here’s a full look at the full NBA first round schedule for Game 1s after the Magic’s win on Tuesday night. The full series schedule is likely to be released early Wednesday morning. League sources told MassLive that the Celtics are likely to be hosting the Magic at 1 p.m. Sunday pending other play-in tournament results.
Saturday schedule for Game 1s
(5) Milwaukee at (4) Indiana: 1 p.m., ESPN
(5) LA Clippers at (4) Denver: 3:30 p.m., ESPN
(6) Detroit at (3) New York: 6 p.m., ESPN
(6) Minnesota at (3) LA Lakers: 8:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday schedule for Game 1s (all times TBA)
(7) Orlando at (2) Boston
(8) Atlanta/Miami/Chicago at (1) Cleveland
(7) Golden State/Memphis at (2) Houston
(8) TBA at (1) Oklahoma City
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