Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 12/27/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Sunday, December 27, 2020

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: Fox Sports Indiana

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (+3)

The Boston Celtics head to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday where they'll meet the Indiana Pacers. The line on this game has Indiana as 3-point favorites. The over/under opens at 219.

The Boston Celtics faced off with the Brooklyn Nets and went home with a loss by a final score of 123-95 in their last contest. Boston finished having earned a 37.8% field goal percentage (37 out of 98) and converted 8 out of their 27 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Celtics buried 13 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 68.4%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they collected 47 with 20 of them being offensive. They also recorded 23 assists for this game in addition to earning 6 steals and 5 blocked shots. When it comes to defense, Boston let their opponent shoot 53.9% from the floor on 41 out of 76 shooting. Brooklyn recorded 21 assists and had 5 steals for the matchup. In addition, the Nets collected 43 boards (9 offensive, 34 defensive) and got 10 blocks. Brooklyn ended up shooting 83.9% at the free throw line by converting 26 of 31 shots. They made 15 of 29 attempts from 3-point land.

Jayson Tatum is a player who came through for the game. He recorded 20 points on 9 out of 22 shooting. He played 36:07 minutes and snagged 8 rebounds. Tatum finished the game at 40.9% from the field and distributed 2 dimes. An additional guy that came through in this contest for the Celtics was Marcus Smart. He collected 3 boards and also tallied 6 assists. He finished the game at 33.3% from the field in this contest by going 4-of-12 (13 points). When all was said and done, Smart was on the court for 31:53 min.

Boston will play this contest after finishing with a mark of 48-24 last season. They gave up possession 13.8 times per game and as a squad committed 21.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a basketball team, Boston snagged 46.1 boards per contest and totaled 1,655 assists last season, which ranked 19th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Celtics shot 36.4% on 3-pointers (905 of 2,487) and 80.1% from the free throw line. They had an average of 113.7 pts per game (9th in the NBA) on 46.1% from the field. When they were on the defensive end, the Celtics forced their opponents into 15.2 turnovers every game and they drew 20.7 fouls. The Celtics gave up a field goal percentage of 44.1% (2,764 of 6,268) and they relinquished 44.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They were 4th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,613 relinquished last year. They surrendered 34.0% from beyond the arc and they were 2nd in the league in points per game from their opponents (107.3).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Indiana Pacers got the victory with a final of 121-107 when they played the New York Knicks. The Pacers corralled 40 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 50 in this matchup. They also stuffed 9 shots while getting 6 steals in this game. The Knicks were called for 27 fouls for this game which took the Pacers to the charity stripe for 29 shots. They were able to knock down 21 of them for a percentage of 72.4%. In relation to shooting from distance, Indiana buried 8 out of their 34 tries (23.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Pacers ended up shooting 46 for 94 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.9%. The Pacers allowed the Knicks to bury 39 of 85 attempts from the field which had them shooting 45.9% in the game. They went 42.9% from 3-point land by going 12 out of 28 and finished the contest at 17 of 23 at the free throw line (73.9%). Concerning rebounds, Indiana permitted New York to collect 40 overall (5 on the offensive side).

Domantas Sabonis was important for the Pacers for this contest. He made 11 out of 18 for the game for a rate of 61.1%, which had him sitting at 32 points. Sabonis pulled down 13 rebounds in his 36:48 minutes of playing time and had 5 assists for this contest. One more player who came through for Indiana was Malcolm Brogdon. He scored 21 points in his 34:51 mins played by going 8 out of 16 from the floor for this game. Brogdon ended up shooting 50.0% from the field in addition to earning 8 assists and 7 boards.

Indiana had a win-loss record of 45-28 last year. Indiana accumulated 7,989 pts throughout last year (109.4 per contest) and they averaged 42.8 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Pacers hit 47.6% from the field, which ranked them 2nd in basketball. The Pacers committed 19.8 fouls per contest and they hit 78.7% from the charity stripe. They earned an assist 25.9 times per contest (7th in basketball) and they turned it over 13.2 times per contest. The Pacers on the defensive side of the court were 3rd in the league in PPG given up with 107.5. They relinquished 23.1 dimes and 45.2 boards every game, which was ranked 6th and 16th in those categories. The Indiana defense allowed 34.1% from downtown (837 of 2,455) and their opponents knocked down 78.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They were able to force 14.7 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 44.6% from the floor (6th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston (+3)

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