Celtics visit Pacers in Eastern Conference Showdown
Eastern Conference action in the NBA heads to Bankers Life Field House on Tuesday night when the Atlantic division  Boston Celtics visit the Central division Indiana Pacers. The current line has Indiana favored by 2 points with the over/under point total sitting on 207.
Boston on the season has an overall record of 39-27 straight up and 36-29 against the spread. On the road, the Celtics are 15-16 SU and 16-15 ATS. Indiana has an overall record this season of 35-31 SU and 33-32 ATS. At home, the Pacers are 19-11 SU and 14-15 ATS.
Boston saw its home winning streak snapped at 14 games last Friday and were given additional bad news during the weekend as Jae Crowder could be out two weeks or more due to an ankle sprain. Boston holds the No. 3 place in the East, while Indiana is four games back in seventh.
Crowder is out, but Boston could have Kelly Olynyk a backup center back from shoulder problems. If he returns, he will face an Indiana team that saw its four-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in a loss by 29 points to Atlanta.
In the loss, Indiana hit just 5 of its 24 shots from beyond the 3-point line. Paul George, the Pacers leading scorer could only muster 7 points on the night hitting 3 of his 15 shots.
Boston will lose over 14 points per game of scoring with Crowder on the sidelines. However, his defense will be missed the most as now Boston will have to find someone else who can guard George.
Brad Stevens the Boston coach is confident that with his team’s depth they will find someone to fill Crowder’s shoes for the next two weeks.
Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas has averaged over 28 points per games during his five games in March.
Indiana guard Rodney Stuckey played just 10 minutes Sunday because of a sore foot. His status is uncertain for Tuesday’s game.
Indiana won two of the first three head-to-head games with Boston this season, including a 2-point win on November 4 at home.
The UNDER has cashed in 6 of the past 8 games between the two teams played in Indiana.
Prediction: Boston is playing much better this season than are the San Antonio Spurs. Boston is coming off a loss and Indiana could be without high scorer Paul George.
