Pacers vs. Celtics Odds
| Pacers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Over/Under | Moneyline |
+10 -110 | 222 -110o/-110u | +350 |
| Celtics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Over/Under | Moneyline |
-108 -112 | 222 -110o/-110u | -452 |
Here's everything you need to know about Pacers vs. Celtics on Tuesday, May 21 — our expert prediction and betting picks for Tuesday's game.
The Boston Celtics have now reached their fifth Eastern Conference Finals during the Jayson Tatum era. They will not kick off the series fully healthy though because Kristaps Porzingis remains out. However, there is optimism that Porzingis returns to the court soon.
On the other hand, this is Indiana's first Conference Finals appearance since their 2014 loss against the Heatles. Can the Pacers prove that injuries were not the driving force after defeating broken Milwaukee and New York squads?
Check out my 3-leg same game parlay for Game 1 of this matchup.
Indiana Pacers
Leg 1: Myles Turner 15+ Points
Opponents have routinely secured above-the-break 3pt shots against Boston’s defense all year, which bodes well for Myles Turner. Over the past two series, he’s averaging 4.4 attempts per game from this area and knocking them down at a 42.1% clip. Turner will be a huge asset for Indiana in the pick-and-pop, especially since Al Horford isn’t hyper-mobile at 37-years-old.
Meanwhile, Turner’s touch around the basket has been efficient recently. If Boston decides to frequently blitz Tyrese Haliburton on high ball screens, then Turner’s rolls may be a reliable source of points here.
Overall, he has notched 15 points in 9/13 games this postseason and in 3/5 matchups versus Boston.
Boston Celtics
Leg 2: Jaylen Brown Over 24.5 Points
During the regular season, Indiana allowed the most restricted area and second most paint attempts per 100 possessions. They have been slightly better this postseason, but the Pacers are still bleeding interior shots.
Jaylen Brown leads Boston in paint attempts per game, and his downhill style should be effective against Indiana’s porous defense. It likely leads to plenty of free throws for the veteran too, which have a large expected points per possession. Fouling is an issue for Indiana; they were last in opponent free throw attempt rate during the regular season and sit 12th so far this postseason.
Finally, across five matchups this season, Brown has scored 16, 30, 31, 40, and 25 points – that’s an 80% hit rate for the over 24.5 line. With teams eager to double Tatum and force the ball out of his hands, look for Brown to absorb shots here and decimate Indiana inside the arc.
Leg 3: Jayson Tatum 10+ Rebounds
Turner and Horford are both stretch fives that often loiter outside of the paint, and the duo cannot be classified as strong rebounders either relative to the average NBA center. As a result, they have combined to record at least 10 rebounds in a game just twice this postseason. On the other hand, Tatum has hit double digit rebounds on eight separate occasions during Boston’s playoff run.
He’s the clear top rebounder in this series, and Boston’s elite defense has a better chance of forcing defensive rebound chances compared to Indiana’s suspect defense.
Pacers vs. Celtics
Betting Pick & Prediction
These three legs form a +369 same-game parlay on FanDuel, which has an implied probability of 21.3%. If longer odds are desired, then I recommend changing Jaylen Brown to 30+ points. This route morphs the parlay into +732 odds on FanDuel (12% implied probability).
Pick: SGP (+369 FanDuel) – Myles Turner 15+ points; Jaylen Brown over 24.5 points; Jayson Tatum 10+ rebounds
