Slap for the Pacers at the runner-up?

Boston is one of three teams in the East so far that already have their ticket to the postseason in the bag. However, the home side will still be motivated as first place in the Eastern Conference still beckons, which would mean an even bigger home advantage in the playoffs.

The visitors, on the other hand, would be happy if they could at least make it to the play-in tournament in the East. Currently in eleventh place, Indy would have to climb at least one spot in the standings to do so.

Boston Celtics – Statistics & current form

The Celtics can rely on the home bonus against the franchise from the “Circle City”: Only nine of the 35 completed home encounters were lost from their point of view. This represents the third-best home record in the Eastern Conference.

The runners-up have earned their success this season through a strong offensive performance, among other things. Only the Kings from Sacramento and the champions Golden State record more points per game league-wide than the basketball players from the TD Garden.

Indiana Pacers – Statistics & current form

Indiana will hope their best offensive player Tyrese Haliburton is fit again by tip-off in Boston. The NBA’s second-best assist man has missed the past six games and half of those meetings have been losses from the Pacers’ perspective.

However, the Pacers can take heart from the fact that they performed very well against Boston twice this season. The first meeting last December was won away from home and the second meeting last February was only narrowly lost after overtime on home soil.

Boston Celtics – Indiana Pacers Tip

For the showdown between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers, the betting and odds on a clear home win with at least a twelve-point difference are worth considering. The visitors will probably have to do without their top player Haliburton again due to an injury, which would increase their already existing qualitative inferiority.

Furthermore, the hosts’ personnel situation has improved again and their strongest scorer Jayson Tatum has come out of an interim low. Most recently, he delivered 36 points in the win in the top game against Sacramento and the upcoming opponent suits him: The forward recorded the best output on the side of the home side in both season duels.