Pacers-Celtics Betting Line – January 13
Carrie Stroup here with your Pacers-Celtics betting line for Wednesday night. Boston -3, Total: 203.5
INDIANA PACERS (22-16) at BOSTON CELTICS (19-19)
The Celtics will be looking to prevent a five-game losing skid when they host the Pacers on Wednesday.
The Pacers are playing some good basketball right now winning three of their past four games both SU and ATS. Indiana most recently hosted Phoenix and won 116-97 as 12-point favorites on Tuesday. The Pacers have held five of their past six opponents to under 45% shooting from the field and three of those six to under 40%. They’ll look to continue to play defense at a high level moving forward.
The Celtics, meanwhile, have played lousy over the past few weeks. Boston lost 120-114 as a 1.5-point favorite in New York on Tuesday night and have now lost four straight games and six of the past seven. The team also failed to cover in all of those contests.
The Celtics are also going to be dreading this game, as the Pacers are 2-0 both SU and ATS versus Boston this season. Indiana also happens to be 7-3 SU in this head-to-head series over the past three seasons. Working in the Pacers’ favor in this game is the fact that Boston is 4-16 ATS in home games after allowing 110 points or more over the past three seasons. The Celtics are, however, 9-1 ATS revenging a straight up loss versus an opponent as a home favorite over the past two seasons.
The Pacers are playing very well recently and that is with SF Paul George (24.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG) going through a bit of a shooting slump. George has averaged just 21.2 PPG on 39.3% shooting from the field and 26.2% shooting from the outside over the past five contests. A meeting with the Celtics could be just what the doctor ordered for him, as he is averaging 26.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG on 45.0% shooting from the field and 43.8% shooting from three in two meetings with Boston. If George can regain his shooting stroke then this team is going to be very tough to beat on Wednesday.
SG Monta Ellis (13.3 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.8 RPG, 1.8 SPG) has stepped his game up for Indiana recently. Ellis is averaging 14.2 PPG and 8.8 APG over the past five contests and he has done so on an efficient 45.5% shooting from the field. He is not forcing shots and is getting his teammates the ball in the right spots. If he can continue to play the right way then the Pacers might just be a contender in the Eastern Conference when all is said and done.
The x-factor for Indiana in this game is likely going to be SF C.J. Miles (13.8 PPG). Miles is inconsistent as a scorer, but he did have 19 points and eight boards on 6-for-13 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 shooting from behind the arc against Phoenix on Tuesday. If he can find his stroke against the Celtics then it’ll be tough for Boston to cover this team.
The Celtics have been playing poorly as of late, but that is not due to the play of PG Isaiah Thomas (21.4 PPG, 6.8 APG, 1.3 SPG). Over the past two games, Thomas is averaging 34.5 PPG and 8.0 APG in 33.5 MPG. He has been playing some of the best basketball of his career and will need to be on his game on Wednesday. He is quicker than all of the Pacers’ guards that will be trying to check him, so he should be in for yet another huge game.
Another guy that could play well in this one is C Jared Sullinger (9.8 PPG, 8.8 RPG). Sullinger caught fire down the stretch against New York and finished the game with 14 points and seven boards in 20 minutes of action. He was knocking down midrange shots and likely earned himself some more minutes against Indiana for this one. The Pacers are small inside, so he could have his way in the post.
SF Jae Crowder (14.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG) will be the most important player for Boston, though. Crowder is averaging 17.8 PPG over the past five contests and has really picked up his game offensively. He’ll also be the guy that needs to guard Paul George all game. If he can hold his own then Boston might just snap its losing streak on Wednesday.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
