Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers Prediction, 12/29/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers

Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: Fox Sports Indiana

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (-1.5)

Bankers Life Fieldhouse is the venue where and the Indiana Pacers (3-0) will take on the Boston Celtics (1-2) on Tuesday. Boston opens this game as 1.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 219.5.

The Boston Celtics took the court against the Indiana Pacers and went home with a loss by a final score of 108-107 in their last game. Boston walked away from the game with a 50.6% field goal percentage (40 of 79) and knocked down 9 of 23 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Celtics converted 18 of 24 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they compiled 40 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 21 assists in this game in addition to earning 13 steals and 7 blocks. In terms of defense, Boston allowed the other team to shoot 51.1% from the field on 45 out of 88 shooting. Indiana earned 23 assists and had 11 steals for the matchup. Furthurmore, the Pacers snagged 37 rebounds (8 offensive, 29 defensive) and had 7 blocked shots. Indiana went 73.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 11 of 15 shots. They made 7 out of their 26 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Jayson Tatum is someone who was a major contributor in the matchup. He racked up 25 points on 9 of 21 shooting. He was on the court for 35:47 minutes and totaled 11 boards. Tatum finished the contest at 42.9% from the field and dished out 5 assists. An additional guy that was a determining factor in the game for the Celtics was Jaylen Brown. He pulled down 2 boards and also had 4 dimes. He finished the contest at 61.5% from the field in the matchup by going 8-of-13 (18 points). When this game wrapped up, Brown played 33:37 minutes.

Boston comes into this matchup with a record of 1-2 this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.3 times per contest and as a squad are committing 20.3 fouls every game. As a team, Boston is pulling down 41.3 boards per contest and has racked up 67 dimes so far this year, which is 15th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Celtics are hitting 38.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (35 of 90) and 72.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 108.0 pts per game (25th in the NBA) while connecting on 45.0% from the field. Defensively, the Celtics are forcing 16.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.7 personal fouls. The Celtics are allowing a shooting percentage of 52.0% (48 of 62) and they surrender 44.0 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 11th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 63 surrendered so far this year. They relinquish 40.0% on shots from downtown while they are 22nd in the NBA in points per game allowed (117.3).

For their last game, the Indiana Pacers took home the win by a final score of 108-107 against the Boston Celtics. The Pacers snagged 29 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 37 in this contest. They also rejected 7 shots while recording 11 steals in the matchup. The Celtics had 17 personal fouls for this game which got the Pacers to the charity stripe for 15 attempts. They were able to make 11 of those for a percentage of 73.3%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, Indiana converted 7 of their 26 tries (26.9%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pacers went 45 for 88 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 51.1%. The Pacers permitted the Celtics to knock down 40 out of 79 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.6% in the game. They finished 39.1% from three-point range by going 9 out of 23 and finished the game at 18 out of 24 at the charity stripe (75.0%). In regard to cleaning the glass, Indiana permitted Boston to collect 40 in total (6 on the offensive side).

Domantas Sabonis ended up being important for the Pacers in the game. He converted 8 out of 18 in this game for a rate of 44.4%, which earned him 19 points. Sabonis collected 10 rebounds in his 40:35 minutes of time on the court and accumulated 5 assists in the matchup. One more player that was pivotal for Indiana was T.J. Warren. He was able to score 17 points in his 37:30 minutes on the court by way of 8 out of 14 from the floor in this contest. Warren ended the game having shot 57.1% from the field while also collecting 2 assists and 5 boards.

Indiana has a mark of 3-0 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Pacers are shooting 52.0% from the field, which has them ranked 2nd in the NBA. Indiana has tallied 354 points for the season (118.0 per game) and they pull down 45.3 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 28.3 times per game (6th in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 15.0 times per contest. The Pacers are committing 23.3 fouls every game and they go 69.8% from the charity stripe. The Pacers on the defensive end are ranked 7th in the league in points per game surrendered with 106.7. They relinquish 23.0 assists and 40.3 total rebounds per game, ranking them 10th and 4th in the league. The Indiana defense allows 41.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter (37 of 90) and opponents are connecting on 79.2% of their foul shots. They have forced 18.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (8th in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston (-1.5)

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