Celtics notebook: Jrue Holiday injury update; Boston’s Game 4 priority

The Celtics missed Jrue Holiday in their Contest loss to the Magic With Holiday one of the association s top defenders and primary ball-handlers sidelined with a hamstring injury Friday night Boston turned in a performance that ranked among their sloppiest of the season Orlando won - at the Kia Center to avoid falling into a - hole in the best-of-seven first-round series You inevitably want to have your whole group your players your largest part effective players Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned Saturday in a video conference We ve grown to have an identity just because of how this season has gone with every guy stepping up and doing what it takes to win But at the same time you do miss particular of that stuff in the playoffs And he s played well in the first two games Holiday played highly effective defense against Magic stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in Games and while also providing timely scoring especially in Boston s series-opening success The Celtics held up well enough defensively without him in Encounter with Orlando unable to surpass points for the third straight encounter but their offense was a mess The uber-physical Magic forced Boston into a season-high turnovers including by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who were listed as questionable before the encounter and neutered the Celtics record-setting -point attack nine makes on a season-low attempts Boston also got little from its supporting cast with only Tatum points Brown and Derrick White scoring more than seven points in the loss Top bench shooters Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser combined for just three points and attempted one total -pointer I mean Holiday s intangibles are endless the mentality that he plays with the selflessness that he plays with Mazzulla announced But also the physicality and the toughness and defensive versatility his ability to guard different positions his ability to pressure the basketball his ability to take tendencies from individual teams just make winning plays whether it s our offensive rebounding defensive rebounding screening another ball-handler to have out there versus pressure and then in transition he can create advantages for others with his screening and his pace Holiday s backcourt partner didn t downplay the impact of his absence I mean honestly you can t replace what Jrue Holiday brings on both sides of the ball White commented So everybody kind of has a little bit different role and responsibility on both sides when he s out Jrue s a heck of a athlete and obviously we re a better club with him but everybody s just got to take a step up when he s not out there Will Holiday be able to return for Meeting on Sunday night He s doing well Mazzulla reported He s day to day Just taking it one day at a time kind of seeing how he comes out of it Related Articles There might be a fight Flagrant fouls injuries mount in Celtics-Magic Forty-six points Mazzulla referenced one number several times during morning-after conference call Out of the points Orlando scored in Challenge of those came on points off turnovers offensive rebounds and free throws the Celtics coach emphasized So you just can t be blinded by anything other than the details It s very simple The tournament is won in the margins It s won in the trenches of those things and you have to fight like hell to win those The Magic owned a - edge in points off turnovers scored second-chance points on offensive boards and went -for- at the foul line Lowering all of those numbers will be a priority for the Celtics in Match It still comes down to the details Mazzulla disclosed It still comes down to the trenches the margins and you have to cut those points down The physicality in the rebounding that s a part of it The physicality in defending without fouling is a part of it and owning your space and valuing the basketball and turnovers all those things add up to the physicality and the stuff that we re talking about Mazzulla backs Porzingis This series has featured two of Kristaps Porzingis worst games of the season a five-point showing in Tournament and a seven-point dud Friday night during which the Boston big man tallied as countless fouls four as made field goals and free throws combined Porzingis also struggled defensively in Contest He allowed Wagner to result layups on back-to-back late-game possessions the second of which proved to be the game-winner for Orlando Porzingis took responsibility for his poor performance postgame admitting he played like expletive Mazzulla deflected criticism away from his scuffling center when solicited about Porzingis on Saturday I mean everyone I have to be better and the guys have to be better he commented And he does a great job of finding a balance and taking accountability I don t think it s ever as bad as what you think it is I thought he had various good possessions I thought he had chosen good looks against certain mismatches that he has to make And after a event like that everyone s doing that I m doing that all the players are doing that You ve just got to look at the to possessions that you have to get better at the possessions that I can be better at and you just get ready for the next one One area Porzingis must improve is his shooting which was one of his primary strengths over the final several months of the regular season Through three playoff games he s shooting just from the field and is -for- from -point range The only Celtics regular with a lower field-goal percentage is Hauser who has yet to make a shot in this series -for- Hauser and Porzingis ranked first and second on the association in -point shooting percentage during the regular season and respectively My shot s feeling a little janky right now I m not going to lie Porzingis revealed Friday night But I have to keep shooting What else am I going to do I m going to keep shooting Related Articles There might be a fight Flagrant fouls injuries mount in Celtics-Magic Kristaps Porzingis admits he played like expletive in Celtics Meeting loss Turnover-prone Celtics rally late but fall to Magic in physical Battle Jayson Tatum returns for Battle vs Magic but Celtics still shorthanded Celtics add Jaylen Brown to injury analysis ahead of Meeting vs Magic Match tip stated With three Eastern Conference playoff games scheduled for Tuesday night the NBA placed Celtics-Magic Tournament in the latest timeslot That championship will tip off at p m ET at TD Garden preceded by Milwaukee-Indiana at p m and Detroit-New York at p m If it s anything like Friday s slog Celtics fans are in for a late night Challenge of Boston-Orlando took two hours and minutes to complete making it the longest contest of the season for both teams per Basketball-Reference The Celtics longest regular-season meeting that didn t go to overtime was a full minutes shorter vs Dallas on Jan The last non-OT Celtics competition that lasted at least was a full decade ago Encounter of their first-round playoff series against the Cavaliers in which took to play That challenge which Cleveland won to eliminate the Brad Stevens-led C s was similarly physical It featured personal fouls two flagrants two technicals and one ejection which J R Smith earned for dropping Jae Crowder with a spinning backhand Celtics-Magic Championship also was a grind clocking in at two hours minutes Only four of Boston s regular-season games were longer and all four needed overtime