The Magic had no surprises on their injury report released Saturday for Game 1 of their first round series against the Celtics. Orlando only listed two players out for the matchup, Jalen Suggs and Mo Wagner, both of which are sidelined for the season.
Orlando will be coming off four days of rest after defeating the Hawks on Tuesday night in the play-in tournament to secure a matchup against the defending champions in the 2 vs. 7 bracket in the East. The Magic practiced in Boston on Saturday at TD Garden ahead of the team’s matinee matchup on Sunday.
Without Suggs available, the Magic have leaned more heavily into their bench rotation recently. Cory Joseph has emerged as the team’s starting point guard over the last few weeks, with Cole Anthony also playing big minutes off the bench. Goga Bitadze has also seen an increased role in Wagner’s absence all year, but his minutes have declined in April including a DNP-CD in the Hawks win in the play-in tournament.
It will be a challenge for the Magic to matchup with a healthy Celtics squad all series long after Boston released a clean injury report for Game 1. Magic coach Jamahl Mosley had high words of praise for Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics this week ahead of the matchup.
“Joe is an excellent basketball mind,” Mosley told reporters in Orlando Thursday. “We spent time in the summer a little bit. Just being able to talk and have nice dialogue at coaches association meetings. Seeing him in Vegas a few times. Just a great basketball mind. They talked about him being young and winning his first championship, I think he’s handled it with an unbelievable amount of grace and resiliency and toughness for someone’s first time.
“He’s done a great job with that group of commanding and demanding respect for a group that has come together and him stepping into that moment. So a very good basketball mind, for sure.”
The Magic will enter Game 1 as 13-point underdogs in a nationally televised matchup on ABC set to tipoff at 3:30 p.m.
