The Celtics look to win their 5th straight game as they head to Indiana to take on the Pacers in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. In spite of the fact that they swept the Pacers in the ECF, the Celtics felt that they were their toughest matchup of the playoffs. Only one game was a blow out by 16 points. The first game went to overtime while Games 3 and 4 were just 3 point wins.
The Pacers have struggled out of the blocks this season. They beat the Pistons in their season opener but then lost to the Knicks, 76ers and Magic in their next 3 games. Like Jayson Tatum, Haliburton was given very little playing time in the Olympics but instead of coming back with a chip on his shoulder as Tatum did, he seems to be more complacent this season. However, Haliburton and the Pacers did play much better in their most recent loss to the Magic.
This is the first of 3 meetings between these two teams this season. They will face off again on December 27 and December 29, with both of those games in Boston. The Celtics won the series 3-2 last season, including a loss to them in the NBA Cup In-Season Tournament. They are 109-85 overall all time against the Pacers and they are 41-57 in games played in Indiana.
Both teams had relatively quiet off seasons. The Celtics stood pat for the most part in the off season, bringing back their entire core of players and losing just Svi Mykhailiuk and Oshae Brissett. They added Baylor Scheierman, who was the 30th pick in the draft and signed 2nd round pick, Anton Watson to a 2 way contract. They have one open roster spot. They have also added a couple of chips on their shoulder after Olympic snubs and other drama over the summer.
The Pacers also stood pat for the most part and brought back their core players. Last year, Indiana added Obi Toppin, Bruce Brown Jr., and Pascal Siakam and they had to adjust lineups and build chemistry as they went along. During training camp this season, the Pacers built chemistry on and off the court. They are hoping that having some time together last season and having training camp together this season will help them to take another step forward this season.
The Celtics will be without Kristaps Porzingis, who is still rehabbing from off season ankle surgery. He isn’t expected to return until sometime in December. Sam Hauser missed the last 3 games with soreness in his lower back and has been upgraded to probable for this game. For the Pacers, James Wiseman is out with an ACL tear. Johnny Furphy is questionable with a strep throat and Myles Turner is questionable with a sprained ankle.
Probable Celtics Starters
Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman, Sr
Jordan Walsh
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
Kristaps Porzingis (ankle) out
Sam Hauser (back) probable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Pacers Starters
Pacers Reserves
Isaiah Jackson
James Johnson
Benedict Mathurin
TJ McConnell
Ben Sheppard
Obi Toppin
Jarace Walker
2 Way Players
Enrique Freeman
Quenton Jackson
Tristen Newton
Injuries/Out
Johnny Furphy (illness) questionable
James Wiseman (knee) out
Myles Turner (ankle) questionable
Head Coach
Rick Carlisle
Key Matchups
Jrue Holiday vs Tyrese Haliburton
Haliburton had a break out year last season, averaging 20.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists. He was also named to the All Star team and the Olympic team. So far this season he has started out slowly, averaging 14 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 33.9% from the field and 26.5% from beyond the arc. Over his career, he has averaged 18.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game against the Celtics.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
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Pascal Siakam
Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Pascal Siakam
Siakam is averaging 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 54.5% from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc. Over his career, he averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game over his career. Jayson Tatum struggled somewhat against the Bucks and should be looking to get back on track in this one.
Honorable Mention
Al Horford vs Myles Turner
Turner is averaging 15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game this season. Over his career, he has averaged 13.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game against the Celtics. Al Horford has been playing very well with Kristaps Porzingis out to begin the season and hopefully that will continue in this game.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is the key to winning every single game. The Pacers haven’t been the scoring juggernaut they were last season. They are averaging 110.5 points per game (23rd) while the Celtics are averaging 124.3 points per game (1st). The Celtics are 14th in the league with a defensive rating of 111.2. The Pacers are 23rd with a defensive rating of 115.8. The Celtics need to make defense their identity and their priority. The Celtics have to play tough defense to prevent the Pacers from getting out on the break and scoring easy points.
Rebound – The Celtics are 26th in the league, pulling down 41.0 rebounds per game. The Pacers are 29th with 38.3 rebounds per game. It is important for the Celtics to rebound the ball to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Pacers from getting the same along with 2nd chance points. So far, the Celtics have not been rebounding as well as they did last season. Much of rebounding is desire and effort and the Celtics have got to put out more effort on the boards.
Points in the Paint – The Celtics concentrate on shooting from the perimeter and usually that will lead to a dominant win for them since, as Joe Mazzulla says, 3 is more than 2. However, they have been outscored in the paint in all 4 of their games so far by a large margin. The Celtics are last in the league with just 36.0 points in the paint per game. The Bucks are 6th with 54 points in the paint per game. The Celtics need to score inside more, especially when the 3’s aren’t falling. They also have to defend inside better to prevent opponents from getting easy buckets in the paint.
Maximum Effort for 48 Minutes – The Celtics are facing one of their toughest opponents from last season’s playoffs. There is a good possibility that they will see them in the playoffs at some point this season. The Celtics effort in their last 2 games was good at times and not so good at other times. The Celtics have to give max effort on the boards and on defense and they have to give that effort for the entire game and not just 2 quarters.
X-Factors
On The Road and Fatigue – The Celtics are playing in their 3rd game on the road this season. The Celtics are facing the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd and they can’t allow those distractions to take away from their focus on the game. On the other hand, the Pacers are playing in the 3rd game in 4 nights. Fatigue could come in to play down the stretch for both teams due to travel and 3 games in 4 nights.
Revenge – The Celtics swept the Pacers 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, in spite of all of the games being very competitive. The Pacers have had a rather lackluster start to this season with a 1-3 record. Facing off against the Celtics once again should give them motivation to up their effort to try to exact some revenge for last year’s ECF loss.
Officiating – Officiating can always be an x-factor. Every officiating crew calls the game differently. Will the refs call it tight? Will they let them play? The officiating against the Bucks was terrible and so hopefully it will be better in this one. Once again, the Celtics must adjust to the way the crew is calling the game and not allow it to become a distraction for them.
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