Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics 8:00pm EST

Celtics TT over 115.5 -110 (1u)

Doing something a little different for this NBA playoff game between the Pacers and the Celtics. We are taking our first NBA Team Total on the Boston Celtics tonight. We have seen what the Pacers are capable of from a scoring perspective in their series against the Bucks and the Knicks. As one of the best team in the NBA in terms of pace, Indiana forces its opponent to play quickly and score a lot of points. In 5 matchups this season between these two teams, the Pacers averaged 116.8 PPG, while the Celtics averaged 129. In the playoffs, the Celtics have averaged 108 PPG, but they faced a Miami Heat team that is notorious for playing good defense, and a Cleveland Cavaliers team that was also very good on defense in the regular season.

The Pacers are a different story, as they rank towards the bottom of defensive rating among teams that made the playoffs. Tonight, we like the Celtics to come out strong after a few days of rest and go at the Pacers who are coming off a big Game 7 win in New York. There is always the rest vs rust argument in the playoffs, but we feel that the Celtics have capable scorers in Tatum, White, Brown and others. Give us the Celtics to keep up with this blistering Pacers team and to score points. They far exceeded this line on average in their 5 matchups against the Pacers this year, and we like that trend to continue tonight at home.