A couple of stars battled it out in the first round, and one is more than ready to give the other his flowers.
Over the past week and a half, the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic have been in one of the most physical series of the postseason. With so much controversy and even some injuries, it would have been easy for the aftermath to simply be bad blood between the teams.
On Tuesday night, the Celtics completed their gentleman’s sweep, winning Game 5 to advance to the second round. After four mostly tight games, Boston pulled away in the second half of the series finale.
Of course, the Celtics are looking for their second straight NBA title and were always the heavy favorites to come out of this series. Celtics star Jayson Tatum battled injury before coming out on top against the Magic.
While Tatum has already established himself as one of the best players in the league, his peer on the other side is also making strides. After the Celtics wrapped up the series, Tatum was more than willing to show love to his fellow Duke Blue Devil turned Magic star, Paolo Banchero.
“I couldn’t be happier for him and the player that he’s become,” Tatum said.
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Tatum also mentioned how he and Banchero have a good relationship, but he didn’t speak to him throughout the series. While he explained how tough that can be, it is simply a part of playoff basketball.
With the series behind them, Tatum had no problems raving about how great Banchero was in the first round. Banchero finished the series averaging 29.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
While Orlando’s offense has plenty of issues, Banchero was typically able to get what he wanted against Boston. Although the Magic aren’t on the Celtics’ level at this point, it would be no surprise to see Banchero and Tatum match up again in the postseason in the future.
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