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Two sides with similar records in the East matchup on Friday night at TD Garden, where the Boston Celtics welcome the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers sit 5 places above the Celtics, even though they are separated by only two losses as the conference standings start to heat up.
Both teams enter the matchup on the back of a loss on Wednesday. The Boston Celtics were scorched on the road in Atlanta where stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were only able to score 30 points between them. The Indiana Pacers, meanwhile, suffered a narrow loss on home court to the Golden State Warriors, lowering them to a .500 record.
Match Details
Fixture - Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics | 2020-21 NBA Season
Date & Time - Friday, February 26th, 7:00 PM ET (Saturday, February 27th, 5:30 AM IST)
Venue - TD Garden, Boston, MA
Indiana Pacers Preview
Having started the season strong and continuing their form despite losing Victor Oladipo, the Indiana Pacers have lost 6 of their last 10. Luckily for coach Bjorken's side, their record of 15-15 sees them placed 4th in the East (what would be 9th in the West) and they still have one of the most well-rounded starting 5s in the league.
As with previous seasons, the Indiana Pacers are very much reliant on their stars avoiding long-term injuries, which thus far they have managed to do. With new star Caris LaVert still sidelined, the Pacers have struggled for consistent offensive threats across the side, tied 15th in the league with the Boston Celtics.
Key Player - Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis is one Indiana Pacers player who has benefitted from the Oladipo trade, with the forward taking on additional offensive responsibility. Sabonis has comfortably been the Pacers go-to guy this year and is averaging 21.5 points and 11.6 rebounds.
Sabonis may have a point to prove on Friday night after being snubbed from the All-Star selection this week. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics had two players chosen despite having a worse record than the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana Pacers Predicted Lineup
G Malcolm Brogdon, G Justin Holiday, F Domantas Sabonis, F Doug McDermott, C Myles Turner
Boston Celtics Preview
Even when the Boston Celtics have been written off in previous years, they have managed to surprise fans in the playoffs, such as last year's journey to the Eastern Conference Finals. This season, however, things are different and the Celtics are on a downward spiral that has seen them drop outside the East's playoff berths.
Boston lost their third straight game on Wednesday, and have lost 7 of their last ten matchups. Kemba Walker has stepped up of late, but the scoring pressure on Tatum and Brown hasn't reduced. The Celtics' front office desperately need to use their $28.5m trade exception to bring in some additional bench scoring and another big man.
Key Player - Jayson Tatum
While Jaylen Brown is having a stellar season for the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum is marginally outperforming his teammate across all categories. Tatum is putting up career-highs in points (26.1), rebounds (7.1) and assists (4.6) and has 1.3 steals per game. Tatum is the Celtics' clutch player and is shooting an effective field-goal percentage of 51.4.
Boston Celtics Predicted Lineup
G Kemba Walker, G Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F Daniel Theis, C Tristan Thompson
Pacers vs Celtics Match Prediction
While both teams are in a bad spot currently, the Boston Celtics may edge this game after what is expected to be a closely contested encounter. The Indiana Pacers can hurt their opponents in the paint with Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, which is a more offensively effective pairing than Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson.
Boston will welcome Kemba Walker back for this matchup after the guard was rested on Wednesday night. Walker has grabbed over 20 points in 4 of his last 6 games and will be desperately needed alongside Tatum and Brown.
Where to watch the Pacers vs Celtics game?
ESPN will be broadcasting Friday's marquee matchup nationally for fans in America. Local networks will also be showing the game live on Fox Sports Indiana and NBC Sports Boston. Those with an NBA League Pass can stream the game live or on playback at another time.
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