The Boston Celtics will look to prevent a three-game losing streak when they welcome the Indiana Pacers at home this Friday. Will the Pacers pull off a stunning win in Beantown? Or will the Celtics get back in the win column? Check out our preview below of this Pacers-Celtics game.
The Pacers are not going to the playoffs, which they have ascertained for quite some time now. They have also lost all of their last five games, including a 125-118 loss at home to the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night. Indiana is merely tanking until the end of the regular season in hopes of gaining a higher pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. However, that doesn’t mean the Pacers are not seeing some of their players shine. Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield are still going down to work and producing solid numbers. Against the Nuggets, Haliburton had 15 points and 12 assists, while Hield fired 20 points with five 3-pointers. The same pair played a crucial role in Indiana’s 128-107 home win over the Celtics back in late February, as the two combined for 43 points on 16/27 shooting. If Malcolm Brogdon, who got rested in the Denver game, plays, he’ll be another potent weapon the Pacers can rely on. The former Virginia Cavaliers star scored 20 points in the win against Boston.
The Celtics have some bad taste in the mouth they want to get rid of after back-to-back losses to the Toronto Raptors on the road (115-112) and to the Miami Heat at home (106-98). Perhaps Robert Williams is really that big of a loss for the Celtics, but even without the athletic center, Boston should be able to take care of business against an Indiana team that’s just waiting for the regular season to end. Plus, they have already beaten the Pacers twice this season. Boston outlasted the Pacers in two games back in January by a combined winning margin of 21 points. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can have their way against the Pacers’ defense that has given up an average of 129.3 points in the last three games. Conversely, the Celtics are No. 1 in the NBA this season with just 104.0 points allowed per contest.
The Celtics are 5-4-1 against the spread in their last 10 games against Indiana, dating back to 2019.
