Celtics vs Pacers Game 4 Prediction: NBA Expert Pick, Odds (Monday, May 27)
Pictured: Jrue Holiday of the Celtics and Aaron Nesmith of the Pacers for Action Network’s odds, pick, and prediction for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Celtics vs. Pacers Odds
| Celtics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8 -105 | 222.5 -110o / -110u | -310 |
| Pacers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8 -115 | 222.5 -110o / -110u | +250 |
Here's everything you need to know about Celtics vs. Pacers on Monday, May 27 — our expert prediction and betting picks for today's game.
Can the Celtics complete the sweep on the road? Or will the Pacers rally to extend the series without Tyrese Haliburton? Let's break down the odds and make a Celtics vs Pacers pick and prediction.
Game 3 was about as disheartening of a game as possible for the Pacers. They literally couldn’t miss any shots in the first half, were up as much as 15 and still found a way to blow the game.
It’s really difficult to envision them shooting much better than they shot in Game 3, and it really won’t matter too much if they repeat that shooting performance because the Celtics are just out-mathing them too hard now that Haliburton is out. The Celtics had a 49% 3-point attempt rate while the Pacers were at 21%. The Celtics didn’t even shoot that well on their 3s, shooting just 16-of-43 (37%) from distance. The Pacers shot even worse, going just 4-of-20 from the 3-point line, but that was offset by their extreme efficiency on 2s.
Offensively, the Pacers attempted 46% of their shots from the mid-range and just 32% at the rim. On top of the outlier shooting from the Pacers on 2s, the Celtics were just sleepwalking on defense for most of the game. I don’t expect that same effort from them again, and even if they do play without urgency for most of the game, they’ve already shown they can beat this team without playing 100%.
The Pacers' offense needs to find a way to get up more 3s and more rim attempts, but that is unlikely to happen with Haliburton out.
On the flip side of the ball, it feels like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can get to the rim at will regardless of who is defending them. The Pacers just don’t have the defensive personnel to consistently keep the ball in front of them and prevent rotations right now.
The Celtics generated a 77% rim and 3 rate compared to the Pacers, who were down at just 54%. That is a recipe for disaster and not a sound offensive process in the year of 2024 NBA basketball.
I expect the Celtics to continue to dominate this Pacers defense. Boston is averaging 124.3 PPG this series and hasn't even shot the ball ridiculously well from 3. This is just an awful matchup for the Pacers defense, and as long as the Celtics don’t get bogged down in isolations, they should continue to light up the scoreboard here.
Celtics vs. Pacers
Betting Pick & Prediction
The Celtics at -8 is the play considering the Pacers have now lost two heartbreaker games in which the Celtics didn’t even play that well. We’ve yet to see Boston play to its full potential, and I expect them to be focused after sleep-walking for most of Game 3.
I don’t think the Pacers offense can repeat their offensive performance from Game 3 and their urgency will be lacking now that they are down 3-0. Trust the Celtics to cover -8 here and close this series out.
Pick: Celtics -8 (-105 via DraftKings)
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