NBA - 503 Boston Celtics @ 504 Indiana Pacers
Projected line: 182 points | Boston by 2 points
Yesterday both Oklahoma City and Miami had no energy on their games, as I believe 1 day of rest would be enough for them, but that didn't happen, as both teams showed little energy on court last night and lost their games. Curiously, I expect Indiana to feel today what they the Thunder felt against them last night: no energy! This will be the 4th game in 5 nights for Indiana, having also played last night in a physical game against Oklahoma City. Indiana took advantage of their physical edge and dominated the game, however the way their offense played didn't impress me, especially when they'll be facing a fired up Celtics tonight. We are talking about a team who dished just 13 assists and scored just 26 points in the paint. In fact, the Pacers shot just 7-19 FG at the rim, everything they did well came from the perimeter, where they did well with 9-18 FG from 16-23 feet and 6-19 3pts! As expected, Indiana struggled against Oklahoma City in post up plays by shooting just 4-9 FG in those plays and today, it won't be different against Boston, as the Celtics are #1 in defending this kind of plays!
In fact, Boston is also #1 in defending spot ups and pick n roll plays and with no physical edge over the Celtics, I expect Indiana to have a lot of offensive problems today. The Celtics are coming from a loss in Chicago, where coach Doc Rivers called out their players for being "too cool" and not showing enough effort:
"We didn't match their energy level,'' he said. "They came out with more purpose. We didn't show a sense of urgency in this game. I don't know if it was tired legs or mental weakness, but we didn't come out and put this team away when we were up 11. I don't know if it's the worst loss [of the season], but we are disappointed whenever we lose. It's a tough one.''
However, I don't have problems with the Celtics performance against the Bulls, as it was a tough spot for them, in a back to back game after a tight game against San Antonio in the night before. Chicago is simply the best rebounding team in the league and Boston was crushed in the boards. For tonight, Boston is rested and to see the difference between a rested Celtics and a tired Celtics, Boston is 1-7 ATS in back to back games as road dogs, but in the same spot with at least 1 day of rest, they are 5-1 ATS! Therefore, I expect a good defensive game from Boston, being able to shut down the Pacers offense and so, I'll be taking both Boston and the Under in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 503/504 Under 186 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 503 Boston Celtics (+1,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker
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