After Sunday’s pair of Game 7s, we’re down to the final four in the !
The Pacers went into Madison Square Garden and beat the Knicks for the first road win of that series. Their reward for their Game 7 win is a date with the East’s top seed. The Boston Celtics are coming off a pair of 4-1 series wins against a couple of shorthanded teams in the Heat and Cavs. Will the Pacers present a tougher challenge?
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
Game 1 (Tuesday, May 21): Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN
Game 2 (Thursday, May 23): Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN
Game 3 (Saturday, May 25): Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers – 8:30 PM ET – ABC
Game 4 (Monday, May 27): Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN
Game 5 (Wednesday, May 29): Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN
Game 6 (Friday, May 31): Boston Celtics at Indiana Pacers – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN
Game 7 (Monday, June 2): Indiana Pacers at Boston Celtics – 8:00 PM ET – ESPN
Boston held the No. 1 offensive rating in the NBA at 122.2 during the regular season, but the Pacers sat just behind them at 120.5. The two have also swapped places in the postseason, with Indiana carrying a 121.7 offensive rating compared to the Celtics’ 118.9.
Defense is a vastly different story. Indiana has the fourth-worst playoff defense compared to the Celtics’ third-best. This could certainly be the difference-maker in the series from the jump, as Boston has the kind of long wings needed to keep up with the Pacers’ high-paced offense.
The Celtics won the regular season series 3-2 and averaged 129.0 points in those contests. They also had a clear advantage in the rebounding department, grabbing 50.2 boards a game compared to the Pacers’ 39.8. This playing field should be a little more even with Kristaps Porzingis off the floor, but it’ll still be an area to keep an eye on. The Pacers allowed the 5th-most second-chance points per game during the regular season (14.8).
Boston is still far and away the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA. They took a league-leading 42.5 attempts per game during the regular season, finishing with a 38.8 percent clip. If any team can match buckets with this sharpshooting crew, it’s the Pacers (who do happen to lead the postseason with a 38.1 percent success rate). However, it still won’t be easy.
Tyrese Haliburton is starting to look like his former self. After an up-and-down end to the season and first series against Milwaukee, Haliburton came into his own during his battle with New York. The high-IQ guard averaged 21.3 points with 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals in the seven-game series. He also shot a ridiculous 53.8 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from downtown. Oh, and he took 9.1 attempts from long-range per game! If the Pacers want any chance at keeping this competitive against the Celtics, it starts with Haliburton.
Each Team’s X-Factor
Celtics:Getting Kristaps Porzingis back. Boston was able to get by Cleveland without their starting center just fine. Part of that was because Jarrett Allen missed time for Cleveland. Boston is still the favorite, and they can probably get through this series without Porzingis, but he’s a big part of what they do on both sides of the floor. Getting him back to help get their offense into a little bit more of a flow will be important for this series, but also the Finals if they get there. Porzings is likely out for Games 1 & 2 but is expected back later in the series.
Pacers:Come Up Clutch. Boston really hasn’t been tested much, if at all this postseason. Sure there have been a few games that have been close in the fourth, but for the most part, neither of their series were ever really in doubt. Indiana is going to have to score a ton of points, but they’ll also have to convert on Boston in clutch situations. They’ve had no shortage of those thus far through their opening series with the Bucks and Knicks, so they’ll be the fresher team in those situations.
Mandatory Credit: Michael Laughlin-USA TODAY Sports
Prediction:Boston in 6. I do think Indiana will maಞke this a series, especially early with Porzingis on the sidelines. In the early going, I think the battle-tested Pacers will benefit from two tough, hard-fought series, but Boston will eventually prove to be the significantly fresher team.
Matt is from the Chicagoland area and has been working in Chicago sports since 2015 with stops at WGN Radio, the Chicago🐎 Blackhawks, Stadium, and NBC Sports Chicago prior to landing at Betsperts. Matt covers just about everything for Betsperts and Bleacher Nation but focuses on the NHL and college footbaꦿll.
If the Chicago Bulls were hoping to clean up their rotation this offseason, they've done the opposite. Billy Donovan will have a challenginওg training camp ahead of him in a little over a week. Not onꩲly does the head coach...
I am not a White Sox fan. The primary reason for tha💯t is simply the way I was raised. Sure, I🔜'd attend a handful of games at U.S. Cellular here and there, but Wrigley Field and WGN are where I...
This morni💫ng my soon-to-be wife and I went to the Cook♋ County clerk's office to pick up a Marriage license for our upcoming wedding. What did I learn in the process? Getting married is shockingly easy. I was in and...
Another NBA season, another underwhelming batch of alternative jerseys. Continuing the offseason trend, the league's newest City Edition uniforms for the 2024-25 season leaked online well ahead of opening night. The reception has been even colder than normಞal, as many...
Our sweet dreams of a Zach LaVine Woj Bomb have officially been dashed. //jb360vip.com/bulls/2024/09/18/adrian-wojnarowski-retires ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski officially announced his retirement from the media industry on Wednesday morning. The news comes only weeks before NBA training camps o☂pen across the...
The way we get💝 our NBA news will never be the same. In arguably his most shocking report yet, Adrian Wojnarowski, 55, announced that he is retiring. One of the most well-known sports insiders in hi𝔍story released in a statement...
The Chicago Sky could have their postseason fate decided in just a matter of hours. Sitting at 13-25 on the year with just a 2-8 record in their last 10 games, Chicago currently ranks 9th in the WNBA standiജngs. The...
Michael Jordan may be on the bri🦂nk of his greatest accomplishment yet. After over a decade-long battle, the GOAT has reportedly found a suitor for his Highland Park mansion. Known by many in the Chicagoland area, the house has sat...
Patrick Williams should be feeling the heat as training camp nears. While the 23-year-old s🍸ecured himself some generational wealth this offseason, this means the expectations have only risen. Many have already questioned whether or not Williams is worth the five-year,..⛦.
Netflix released its first extended trailer for their highly-anticipated NBA docuseries on Monday afternoon. Titled "Starting 5," the show follows LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Jimmy Butler, and Domantas Sabonis throughout the 2023-24 season. James' media bra🐓nd "Uninterrupted" helped...
I🦄 w🌄ish these games still mattered mostly for very obvious reasons. Chief among them: because I want to see the Cubs win a lot of games and got to the dang postseason. Duh. Alas. But I also wish the games...
On Friday, a matchup of༒ AL West rivals is on the schedule, with the Seattle Mariners (78-75) visiting the Texas Rangers (7🍃3-80) at 8:05 p.m. ET.Looking to see who's in and who's out for the Rangers and the Mariners? Keep...
On Friday, the Los Angeles Angels (62-91) are visiting the Houston Astros (83-70), at 8:10 p.m. ET, in the second game of a fo♛ur-game series.Hoping ღto find out who's in and who's out for the Astros and the Angels? Continue...
On Friday, the Arizona Diamondbacks (85-68) are visiting the Milwaukee Brewers (88-65), at 8:10 p.m. ET, in the second game of a four-game series.Looking๊ to see who's in and who's out for the Diamondbacks and the Brewers? Keep scrolling to...
At Busch Stadium on Friday, the Cleveland Guardians (89-65) open a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals (77-76), at 8:15 p.m. ET.Looking to see who's in and who's out for the Cardinals and the Guardians? Continue scrolling to g𓂃et...
At PETCO Park on Friday, the🗹 San Diego ♔Padres (87-66) open a three-game series versus the Chicago White Sox (36-117), at 9:40 p.m. ET.Want to see who's in and who's out for the Padres and the White Sox? Continue scrolling...
On Friday, a series opener is on the schedule, with the San Francisco Giants (74-79) visiting the Kansas City Royals (82-71) at🍷 8:10 p.m. ET.Curious about who's playing for the Royals and the Giants𓆏? Keep scrolling to get full injury...
On Friday,🌠 a battle of NL West rivals is on the sc𒈔hedule, with the Los Angeles Dodgers (91-62) hosting the Colorado Rockies (59-94) at 10:10 p.m. ET.Curious about who's playing for the Dodgers and the Rockies? Keep reading to get...
A series opener between the New York Yanke๊es (89-64) and Oakland Athletics (67-86) is on deck Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET, at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.Want to see who's availabl🎉e to play for the Yankees and the Athletics? Keep scrolling to...
The W💧ashington Nationals (68-85) will look to C.J. Abrams, after his four-hit game last time out, to lead them in a matchup with the Chicago Cubs (78-75) on Friday at 2:20 p.m. ET on MARQ. The Nationals are +145 underdogs...
