Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon Sport

Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics: Eastern Conference Finals – Game 1

These two teams had a completely different road to the conference finals which makes the Boston Celtics major favorites when they host the Indiana Pacers in TD Garden on Tuesday.

 

Is there something left for the Pacers?

The Indiana Pacers survived a very tough series in the second round against the New York Knicks. They found themselves two games down but managed to respond each time at home and finally win Game 7 on the road to move to their first conference finals since the 2013–14 season. The Pacers are the best-scoring team in the league this season, averaging 121.9 points per game. Pascal Siakam leads the team in the playoffs, averaging 21.3 points per game, followed by Tyrese Haliburton with 18.8.

 

The Celtics are the main favorite to win the championship

The Boston Celtics had the best regular season record and the easiest road to reach the conference finals of the four teams left in the playoffs. The Celtics lost only one game in each of the previous series against the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics are second in the league, averaging 119.2 points per game, and are ranked fifth, allowing 107.9 points per game. Jayson Tatum is the leading scorer in the playoffs for the Celtics with 24.3 points per game, followed by Jaylen Brown, who has 21.3.

 

Betting Trends

The Celtics are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games overall, 10-1 SU in their last 11 home games against Indiana, and 17-3 SU in their last 20 games overall. The Celtics are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 Tuesday games played at home. They have played over the total point line in 4 of their last 6 games overall, 12 of the last 18 games against Indiana, 14 of the last 20 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, and 6 of the last 9 games against teams from the Central Division. The Pacers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall, 4-10 SU in their last 14 games against the Celtics, and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road. Indiana is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 games against Boston and 12-4 ATS in the last 16 games played on Tuesday. They have gone over the total point line in 13 of their last 18 games overall, 12 of the last 17 games against teams from the Eastern Conference, and 10 of the last 13 games played in May.

 

Prediction and Conclusion

The Boston Celtics had almost a week off waiting to see who they would face in the Eastern Conference finals. This is the third time in the last four seasons for them to go this far, but they have yet to win a championship since 2008. The Pacers are back in the conference final for the first time in 10 years, and the road to this point has taken a toll on them. They are coming off a Game 7 win over the Knicks only two days ago. Even without that fact, the Celtics are a much better team this season, and they will make a statement in the opening game of the series by covering the -9.5-point spread.