The Celtics and Pacers set to do battle in the Eastern Conference Finals with a spot in the NBA<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finals on the line. On paper, Boston is the far more superior team racking up 17 more wins in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the regular season than Indiana. But the Pacers have gotten hot at the right time and come off<\/p>\n\n\n\n
an NBA playoff record where they shot 67% from the field in Game 7 vs the Knicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boston Celtics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Celtics have been here before, it\u2019s their third straight trip to the Conference Finals and sixth<\/p>\n\n\n\n in the last eight seasons. Boston has looked careless at times through two rounds but still have<\/p>\n\n\n\n a playoff-best 8-2 record. The C\u2019s also have the highest net rating (12.8), the best point<\/p>\n\n\n\n differential in the playoffs (+114) and the biggest margin of victory (11.4). While they were an<\/p>\n\n\n\n astounding 37-4 at home during the regular season, Boston lost to the Heat and Cavs at TD<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gardens in their series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boston wins if\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Celtics can find many ways to win this series but if they shut down Tyrese Haliburton, their<\/p>\n\n\n\n chances increase. Haliburton did not play well versus the Celtics in the regular season. In their<\/p>\n\n\n\n five playoff losses, Haliburton averaged just over 15 points and 7 assists in those games. If<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boston can slow him down, make him uncomfortable handling the ball, this series could be over<\/p>\n\n\n\n rather quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indiana Pacers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pacers went into MSG and dominated the Knicks in Game 7 shooting 77% in the first half<\/p>\n\n\n\n on their way to punching their ticket to this series. Indiana led the league in points (123 per<\/p>\n\n\n\n game), assists (31 per game) and field goal percentage (51%) during the regular season. And<\/p>\n\n\n\n that potent offense has continued in the postseason. Don\u2019t forget this squad has experience in<\/p>\n\n\n\n big games, making a big run in the in-season tournament, losing in the championship game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mix of youth and experience has made the Pacers an intriguing opponent for the Celtics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indiana wins if\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n They can turn this series into a run and run, high scoring affair. Indiana is a terrible defensive<\/p>\n\n\n\n team but can score at will. The Pacers are leading the playoffs in 3-point shooting (38.1) as well<\/p>\n\n\n\n as field goal percentage (50.7). Several players contribute offensively with Pascal Siakam<\/p>\n\n\n\n leading the way averaging over 21 points per game (Haliburton 18.8, Myles Turner 17.5). And<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indiana has seven players who are averaging double-digits in points during the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prediction:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While you can make a case for Indiana to keep this close, the Celtics are just too deep in talent<\/p>\n\n\n\n and experience. They also have home court advantage and are undefeated on the road in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n postseason. It would take a herculean effort by the Pacers to pull off the upset but all signs<\/p>\n\n\n\n point to the Celtics advancing to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eastern Conference Series Odds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Indiana Pacers +600<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boston Celtics -820<\/p>\n\n\n\n Season Series head-to-head<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nov. 1: Pacers 104 Celtics 155<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dec. 4: Celtics 112 Pacers 122 <\/strong>(In-Season Tournament game)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jan. 6: Celtics 118 <\/strong>Pacers 101<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jan. 8: Celtics 131 Pacers 133<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jan. 30: Pacers 124 Celtics 129<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Celtics and Pacers set to do battle in the Eastern Conference Finals with a spot in the NBA Finals…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":24976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[162],"class_list":["post-24975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-nba"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t