The Boston Celtics are one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fourth consecutive season. The Celtics are currently up 3-1 in their series against the Orlando Magic, and they have a chance to advance to the next round on Tuesday when they host the Magic for Game 5.
The Celtics have a great chance to advance on Tuesday and potentially play the New York Knicks, who are also up 3-1 in their series against the Detroit Pistons.
Boston is clearly the better team than the Magic; however, the Magic have done a great job of bothering the Celtics a bit or making it tough on them. It was clear that Boston needed to make some adjustments from Game 3 to Game 4, and they did just that, specifically Boston's big man, Kristaps Porzingis.
After the huge Game 4 win, Porzingis revealed key adjustments that led to their turnaround on Sunday.
“Just looking at the film. Just looking at the film, I had some opportunities in the third game, which I kind of popped up and we didn’t really get anything and the spacing was not good,” Porzingis said. “So just looked at some opportunities there and a bit more movement, a bit more movement, a bit more fluidity. They already try to make the game real muddy – is that a word? Muddy? – and so we just need to combat that. And I think I did a better job today.”
Instead of battling with the physical Magic big men, Porzingis decided that rolling to the basket was more effective.
“To be honest, just rolling more,” Porzingis said. “We kept playing – I kept playing – a little bit more how I’m used to in the regular season, but I needed to make some adjustments.”
Prior to Game 4, Porzingis struggled in this series. He shot 28 percent from the field and only totaled 32 points in 94 minutes of action. The Magic were doing a fantastic job limiting the international big man, but they found holes in their defense, which caused him to have a massive Game 4.
On Sunday, Porzingis looked a lot better, scoring 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 22 minutes of action.
He may have been limited due to foul trouble, but he seemed a lot more like himself compared to the past three games. In the series, Porzingis is averaging 12.8 points per game, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 34.8 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from three in 29.0 minutes.
