NBA Playoff Preview: Matchup history for the Boston Celtics vs Indiana Pacers

With third-seed Philadelphia distancing themselves, Indiana appears to be Boston’s first round opponent, but where here will game one be played?

Indiana currently occupies the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, just one game ahead of Boston. If the Celtics want to grab that spot, they have two more regular season matchups left with the Pacers and need to pay close attention in the upcoming weeks.

Previous Matchups:

November 3, 2018: L102-101

The C’s played hard in this one, and during a struggling point in their season, but unfortunately came up short. This heartbreaking loss came at the hands of Victor Oladipo, who scored 24 points and grabbed 12 boards. However Oladipo will play no part in the first round series due to a gruesome season-ending leg injury.

January 9, 2019: W135-108

Boston fought hard to maintain their second-half lead against the Pacers by scoring inside with 56 points in the paint. This was one of those games where we got to see guys like Brad Wanamaker and Guerschon Yabusele. Oladipo was once again, one of the main contributors for Indiana in this game, and will not see action. Indiana did add Wesley Matthews as a replacement and could provide a boost.

What lies ahead for Boston?

So, with two more games with Indiana still left to play, what should the C’s be looking for? The third meeting on March 29th is a home game for the Celtics, which means that bench production shouldn’t be an issue. The final meeting on April 5th is one of the final regular season games for the Celtics and could result in a few players taking the night off.

Finding out who the secret weapon is for the Pacers is crucial because with Oladipo out for the playoffs, the “next man up” mentality can drive a team to success as we saw last year with Boston. Outside of obviously game-planning for Bojan Bogdanovic and Myles Turner, are there any other potential threats to Boston advancing to the second round?

Well, averaging 14.1 points & 9.3 rebounds on the season, Domantas Sabonis has been one of Indiana’s most consistent players with Oladipo sidelined. Since Boston has made a habit out of getting torched by bench players this season, sharpshooters Doug McDermott and Tyreke Evans should be on the C’s watch list.  Although McDermott hasn’t played particularly well against the Celtics this season, putting up 2 points per game while shooting 14.3% from the field, he can still light it up from the parking lot and requires attention. Now Evans however, is averaging 16 points per game against Boston this year, shooting 41.7 percent from three and will cause issues if both of them get going.

My primary hope is for the Celtics to strategically be rested and ready for the playoffs, however locking up home court advantage would be a good note to end this hair-pulling regular season on.