The Sportsbook round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs continues as the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers tip off at TD Garden for Game 1 of their series. Fourth-seeded Boston finished the season strong, winning six of its last eight games, while fifth-seeded Indiana dropped nine of its last 13. The Celtics won three of the four meetings with the Pacers this season and are a 7-point favorite in this game with the total Sportsbook at 209.5 points.
Standout Stats
- These teams finished the season in completely different ways as Indiana went 4-9 SU and 6-7 ATS through its last 13 games, while Boston sported a record of 6-2 SU and 4-4 ATS in its final eight. The Celtics had an average winning margin of 8.83 down the stretch and the Pacers had an average losing margin of 9.56 in their last 13 matches. Boston took three of four from Indiana this year with an average winning margin of 16.33 points.
- The OVER has been the profitable play for both squads in the latter stages of the year with the total going OVER in seven of Indiana’s last 11 and in eight of Boston’s last 11. In their last 11, the Pacers have had an average combined score of 219.36, while the Celtics’ average combined score has been 221.09. In the four meetings between the two clubs, three games went OVER with an average combined score of 221.5.
- The Celtics offense hasn’t been that threatening through the final games of the regular season as they averaged 110.2 ppg to rank 22nd. However, they’ve been shooting the ball well, ranking 13th with an overall shooting percentage of 46.3, and fared even better from beyond the arc over the last 10 games, hitting 37 percent of their attempts from long range to rank ninth over that span. Defensively, Boston was 10th down the stretch in surrendering just 109.7 ppg and it has done a good job getting in the face of opponents from downtown, limiting them to just 32.3 three-point attempts per game.
- Indiana finished the year ranking 24th over its final 10 games with just 108.7 ppg, but had the ninth-best shooting percentage from the floor, knocking down 47.3 percent of its attempts. The Pacers were dangerous from long range, burying 39 percent of their triple attempts to rate sixth. On the defensive side of the ball, the Pacers were slightly better than the Celtics, allowing 109.2 ppg to rank ninth, and slowed the pace to hold their foes to just 90.3 shot attempts per game.
- The Pacers look to create turnovers for offensive opportunities and led the league by scoring 18 ppg off turnovers in their last 10 contests. Creating takeaways against Boston may prove to be a difficult task, though, as the Celtics averaged the fourth-fewest giveaways per game down the stretch at just 11.4 per game.
My Best Bet for Indiana vs Boston
Indiana +7
Although the Pacers backed their way into the playoffs, I think their defense will be able to keep the score close as the Celtics offense hasn’t been blowing teams away down the stretch either. Two of the four meetings between these clubs this season were decided by one or two points and I expect another tight one in Game 1.
