The Boston Celtics (42-17, 32-26-1 ATS) travel to Indiana to battle the Pacers (26-34, 31-29 ATS) in the first game for both teams following the All-Star break. Boston comes in on top of the East, clinging on to a half-game lead over Milwaukee. Indiana went into the break reeling, winning just three of their last 19 games, and will look for a fresh start tonight. These teams have met once before, with the Pacers besting the Celtics 117-112 at TD Garden in late December. According to online sportsbook betonline.ag, the Celtics are 8 point favorites.
Spread: Boston Celtics -8
O/U: 233 points
ML: Boston Celtics -330, Indiana Pacers +275
The Celtics are the healthiest they’ve been in quite some time. Aside from Danilo Gallinari, who’s been recovering from an ACL injury since September, everyone is available heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
The Pacers will also be close to full strength tonight, with only Kendall Brown (leg) on the injury report. His availability is a game-time decision.
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Robert Williams III
PG: TJ McConnell
SG: Tyrese Haliburton
SF: Buddy Hield
PF: Aaron Nesmith
C: Myles Turner
First and foremost in the Celtics game plan is stopping Tyrese Haliburton from taking over. The young guard is averaging just under 20 points per game to go with 10.1 assists per game and 3.8 rebounds per game. Since coming into the league in 2020, Haliburton has been a force on the offensive end, and was rewarded this season with his first All-Star Game selection. The Celtics need to run him off the three point line to minimize his scoring ability, but he’s always prone for an impactful night, and it will be fun watching the matchup between him and Brown and Tatum.
It will also be fun to watch Malcolm Brogdon tonight and see if he comes out with any extra energy. This will be Brogdon’s first game in Indiana since the offseason trade. He was a key piece on the Pacers for three seasons, and speaks of his time in the organization highly. Brogdon’s scoring numbers are down since taking on a smaller role in Boston, but he is currently posting career highs in FG% (48.2) and 3-point % (45.5) this year.
Aside from Haliburton, the Pacers don’t have much to be excited about this season. After a solid start, the team completely unraveled once Haliburton went down with an injury in early January. Their other young guards, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard, show a lot of promise, but both hit the rookie wall and have seen a minutes reduction because of it. There’s a lot to like about the future in Indiana, but less so for this year.
One thing the Pacers do well right now is shoot the three. Indiana attempts the 6th most threes per game and makes the 6th most threes per game, shooting at a respectable clip of 36.2%. Without a strong team defense to stifle the Celtics, Indiana’s best chance is to get hot from deep and hit their threes with consistency, like they’ve shown they can do.
Indiana beat Boston earlier this season, but that feels like years ago for both teams. Boston has found another gear and gone on a tear, while the Pacers have been playing like one of the worst teams in the NBA. There’s always a chance Boston can come out of the long break playing lethargic and sloppy basketball, but I’m confident in the C’s to secure a comfortable win.
TIP OFF: 7:00 PM @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: NBC Sports Boston
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