Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-When the Boston Celtics face the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, few are expected to see when the regular season begins.
Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and boosted by key offseason additions Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, the Celtics were considered a co-favorite by league GMs to win the NBA title. The Pacers, on the other hand, were an afterthought in the East despite the presence of up-and-coming point guard Tyrese Halliburton. But here they are.
Boston, which lost Porginis to a calf injury in the first round, swept the Miami Heat in the first round and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round in sweeps. Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-Indiana defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round in 6 games and the New York Knicks in the 2nd round in 7.
Are there caveats involved? Yes. The Celtics benefited from the absence of Jimmy Butler in the 1st round and the absence of Jarrett Allen in the 2nd round. The Pacers faced a Bucks team that was without Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series and Damian Lillard for two games and a Knicks team that was nearly undone by a freak number of injuries.
Boston has won three of its five regular-season games against Indiana, but it should be noted that Indiana’s addition of Pascal Siakam in mid-January could change the equation. Siakam was on the Pacers roster for just one of those matchups, a 129-124 Celtics win on Jan. 30.
So how about the Eastern Conference Finals? To help answer that question, we enlisted the help of league scouts, coaches and executives and asked for their analysis and predictions. We have withheld their identities because their employers did not allow them to discuss their other franchisees publicly Anonymity also gives them the freedom to be completely candid with their assessment.
Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction:
No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers
Scout’s View: Obviously the addition of Siakam is huge for the Pacers. It gives them a real go-to guy. I wasn’t sure how she would fit in, but she fit in pretty well. I love the way they play. They share the ball. It all started with Haliburton. They remove it. Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-It’s no accident that they are the highest scoring team, because they play team basketball and have a lot of guys who can shoot it. I think their bench is better than Boston’s bench. I’ll take (OB) Toppin, (T.J.) McConnell, (Ben) Shepard and (Isaiah) Jackson over (Sam) Houser, (Peyton) Pritchard and (Luke) Cornett. …
Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction: Absence is going to be a factor as he will miss the first two games and I think that gives the Pacers an advantage.
The pressure is on Boston. Just beating Indiana isn’t enough for them. It’s like free money for Indiana. The Pacers can play freely, and they showed they can play better defense at times in the Knicks series. Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction: Winning Game 7 on the other team’s court? Yes, the Knicks were depleted, but still, that’s hard to do in almost any situation. It should encourage them.
So I’m not counting the Pacers. I’m not saying they’ll win, but I think it’s going to be a competitive series. Boston has their work cut out for them. Tatum and Brown, these two guys have to be at a very high level. The Celtics were the best team in the league, but they were minus Porginis; they’re probably not the best team in the league without Porzingis. Home court is always important. … This is an advantage for Boston. …
Jrue Holiday, he’s kind of like the X-Factor. He is very much in the background. Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-Sometimes you don’t even know he’s on the floor. But he is capable and won (a title). I think he needs to be drafted in this series because Indiana can score. A lot of it is going to revolve around speed. The slower the better for Boston.
Coach’s View: I think with Kristaps out, the series will probably do the same thing that Boston did against Cleveland. Indiana snagged one of those first two and then Boston locked in and took care of business and went up 4-1 in the series.
Indiana has to shoot off the ball (Sunday). They are not going to stop Boston. They have to be outscored. And I think that’s a tall order when you’ve got Jrue Holiday for Indiana’s best player. They will make Tyrese’s life difficult and try to force him to go everywhere. They could shape him. Jaylen Brown can guard him. Can those other people just shoot when he sprays it and gets out of it?
(Myles) Turner was able to kill 3 New York. (Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau) is very traditional, so he puts (Isaiah) Hartenstein in coverage, which allows Turner to relax on all those 3s. Boston has done more switching in the past (so) they’ve experienced that switching so they can easily switch Turner if it gets to where he’s killing them with 3s. They can force him to post up or attempt offensive rebounds. And they have more size to be able to deal with Turner.
But obviously, for Boston it starts with Tyrese. You have to try to slow him down, keep him out of transition and try to make his life miserable. Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-But I also think you’re concerned about (T.J.) McConnell coming in and changing the pace of the game. You have to find a way to remove his spark and remove his energy from the game. He is sparking them with defense, confidence, leadership and timely buckets. And he is a pace-changer. He is just an imperfect hero.
Executive’s view: Celtics in five. The Celtics are in a weird spot, where they’ve steamrolled two teams in the playoffs, 4-1 and 4-1, and people are thinking, “What’s wrong with the Celtics?” Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-And they did it without one of their best players. Yes, they rely heavily on jump shooting. But they’ve got like six dudes who can do it, and they have one more player (than the Pacers), it seems.
I think Indiana will push the pace more than usual and find that Boston wants to get deeper on the bench than Boston and/or beat their guys who played so much, a little bit like they did with the Knicks, that’s (a possibility). Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-If I were in Rick Carlyle’s shoes, this is what I would do. But the Celtics are well rested.
They’ve got two of the top 10 players in the world, and Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are just great two-way players. Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Prediction-The amount of dribble penetration Indiana gets is going to decrease, even without Kristaps behind them to protect the rim. I just think Boston has a lot of firepower. All credit to the Pacers for what they did, but I think only the Celtics at five.
Scout’s pick: Celtics at six
Coach’s Pick: Celtics at five
Executive pick: Celtics at five