Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/29/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics

Date: Sunday, December 29, 2024

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

TD Garden is the location where the Boston Celtics (22-8) will take on the Indiana Pacers (15-15) on Sunday.

The Pacers played the Warriors and went home with a win by a final score of 111-105 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Pacers finished with 20 while the Warriors finished the game with 23 personal fouls. They also made 12 out of their 38 shots from downtown. Golden State shot 71.4% when shooting free throws by converting 15 of their 21 tries. On top of that, Golden State collected 43 rebounds (8 offensive, 35 defensive) and had 5 rejections. Golden State doled out 33 assists and had 10 steals in this contest. Concerning the defense, Indiana allowed the other team to go 43.3% from the field on 39 out of 90 shooting. They also doled out 27 dimes in this game as well as creating 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. When discussing getting rebounds, they earned 44 with 11 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Pacers made 10 of their 11 shots for a rate of 90.9%. Indiana wrapped up the contest having earned a 48.9% FG percentage (45 of 92) and converted 11 of their 35 three-point shots.

Myles Turner is a guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. Turner went 64.3% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and also totaled 10 rebounds. He walked away with 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting.

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Indiana will enter this contest with a mark of 15-15 on the year. They turn the ball over 14.6 times per game and as a group they commit 19.9 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Indiana is grabbing 40.6 boards per game and has accounted for 837 dimes so far this season, which is 10th in the league in terms of passing. The Pacers are shooting 37.6% on shots from downtown (384 of 1,022) and 79.3% from the free throw line. They are averaging 114.8 points per outing (11th in basketball) on 49.0% from the field.

Defensively, the Pacers are forcing 15.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They rank 18th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 777 relinquished for the year. The Pacers defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 47.5% (1,262 of 2,658) and they concede 43.9 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 22nd in basketball in opponents PPG (115.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics took a loss by a final score of 118-114 against the 76ers. The Celtics were able to corral 32 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards for a total of 46 in this contest. They turned the ball over 13 times, while getting 2 steals in this matchup. The 76ers earned 14 fouls in this game which got the Celtics to the free throw line for 13 tries. They were able to bury 8 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 61.5%. When talking about shooting from downtown, Boston converted 20 out of their 49 tries (40.8%). When all was said and done, the Celtics ended up shooting 43 out of 95 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.3%. The Celtics permitted the 76ers to make 41 of 88 tries from the field which left them shooting 46.6% in the matchup. They shot 42.5% from 3-point land via 17 out of 40 and finished the game at 19 of 19 at the free throw line (100.0%). In relation to rebounding, Boston permitted Philadelphia to grab 42 overall (12 offensive).

Jayson Tatum was important for the Celtics in the game. He converted 11 of 20 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 55.0%, and had 15 rebounds. Tatum recorded 32 points in his 42 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 dimes in this game.

Boston has a win-loss record of 22-8 this season. The Celtics commit 16.2 personal fouls every game and they connect on 79.7% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 25.4 times per game (19th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 12.1 times per game. Boston has totaled 3,567 points on the campaign (118.9 per game) and they pull down 45.3 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Celtics are hitting on 45.6% from the field, which is 20th in the NBA.

The Celtics on defense are ranked 7th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 109.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 45.7% from the floor (9th in the league). The Boston defense gives up 35.4% from downtown (385 of 1,087) and their opposition makes 79.4% of their free throw shots. They concede 24.6 assists and 44.3 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 6th and 20th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston

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