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Boston Celtics Rumors
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Al Horford on Magic physicality: There was something extra, there was a lot, especially Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Celtics veteran Al Horford reiterated his belief on Tuesday that the Orlando Magic stepped over the line with their physicality on Jayson Tatum in Boston’s Game 1 win Sunday. “Yeah, there was something extra,” Horford said. “There was a lot. It was the second or third time that — especially [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] — went at him in that way.”
The play that appeared to irk Horford the most was one in which Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. collided with Tatum midair while the Celtics forward was driving for a two-handed dunk in the fourth quarter. The usually stoic Horford expressed his outrage following the play and gestured toward nearby Magic players, especially Caldwell-Pope, who was called for a flagrant foul. “I’m not sure what goes into [plays like that],” Horford said. “[The] only thing I would say is that it’s the playoffs, so the game is going to be more physical, it’s going to be more intense. I feel like those plays are probably going to happen more often than not.”
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Jay King: Joe Mazzulla does not love being asked about adjustments. He was pretty sarcastic when asked about them today. “That’s such a big word. Adjustments. You’ve gotta make ‘em.” When asked a follow-up question, Mazzulla said, “I think at the end of the day you’re adjusting every single possession. It’s a game of reads. The game is different. Both teams are changing matchups constantly, changing different lineups. I think by the end of a game each team has gone through multiple adjustments. So I know it’s a trigger word but both teams are doing that almost every possession throughout the game.”
Fueled by Easter Sunday out-of-home viewing, Sunday’s Magic-Celtics first round NBA playoff Game 1 averaged 6.69 million viewers on ABC — trailing only Nets-Celtics on Easter 2022 (6.90M) as the most-watched opening weekend NBA playoff game since the current media rights deal began in 2002. (Pending results for Sunday night’s games on TNT.) Viewership increased 44 percent from Mavericks-Clippers in the same window last year (4.66M). Earlier in the day, Oklahoma City’s 51-point rout of the Grizzlies averaged 4.45 million — up 18 percent from Heat-Celtics last year (3.78M). ABC also averaged 5.84 million for Timberwolves-Lakers Game 1 on Saturday night, up 3% from Lakers-Nuggets in the same year ago window (5.65M).
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