{"id":709734,"date":"2026-04-13T16:27:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709734\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T16:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T16:27:24","slug":"magic-slide-to-no-8-after-puzzling-rotation-decisions-in-loss-vs-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/709734\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic Slide to No. 8 After Puzzling Rotation Decisions in Loss vs. Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe Magic’s puzzling rotation decisions in their final regular season game led to a drop in the standings and a tougher road to the playoffs.Boston Today<\/p>\n

The Orlando Magic lost their regular-season finale against the Boston Celtics, sliding them to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and forcing them to start the Play-In Tournament on the road. The team’s decision to limit star player Desmond Bane’s minutes in the first half, despite him playing in all 82 games this season, was puzzling and may have cost them the game.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The Magic’s loss means they will have to play the Philadelphia 76ers on the road in the Play-In Tournament, rather than hosting them at home. This could be a significant disadvantage, as the Magic have a much better record at home (25-15) compared to on the road (19-20) this season.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

Bane played just 6 minutes in the first half, but was brought back in the third quarter as the Magic tried to mount a comeback. Coach had communicated to Bane prior to the game that he would be limiting his minutes to try and preserve him for the postseason. However, the Magic’s bench struggled without Bane, and they ended up losing by 5 points. Had Bane played his normal minutes, the Magic likely would have won the game and secured the higher seed.<\/p>\n

The Magic lost to the Celtics in the final game of the regular season on April 13, 2026.The Magic will face the 76ers in the Play-In Tournament on April 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Desmond Bane<\/p>\n

The Magic’s star player who played in all 82 games this season, but had his minutes limited in the regular-season finale.<\/p>\n

Jason Beede<\/p>\n

A reporter for the Orlando Sentinel who interviewed Bane after the game.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach told me yesterday that I wasn’t going to play much, that I was trying to save my body for the postseason. We got into a game where we’re down in and put me back in, trying to make one last push to get a chance to win and clinch home-court advantage. It was communicated to me before that I wasn’t going to be playing my normal minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Desmond Bane, Magic Player<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Magic will face the 76ers in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. A win would secure them a spot in the playoffs, while a loss would mean they have to play another game to determine their postseason fate.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

The Magic’s puzzling decision to limit Desmond Bane’s minutes in the regular-season finale, despite him playing in all 82 games, may have cost them home-court advantage in the Play-In Tournament. This could be a significant disadvantage as the Magic have a much better record at home compared to on the road this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Magic’s puzzling rotation decisions in their final regular season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,3798,46,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-709734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-bostonceltics","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116398342569731416","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}