The Indiana Pacers will be kicking themselves for the fashion in which they let Game 1 slip away. Indy had the ball and a 3-point lead with around 10 seconds to go, but failed to close it out as the Celtics came back from the dead. Thursday is a new opportunity, but it might take a while for such an inexperienced team to get over what was likely their best chance of getting a road win in this series. For Game 2 the Pacers have to clean up their turnovers, they committed 21 of them on Tuesday which led to bunch of easy Celtics baskets. Indiana was actually the more efficient team from the field in Game 1 and their bench showed up in a big way outscoring the Celtics 30-13. Boston has lost both Game 2s in the opening two Rounds of the postseason, so maybe that’s something that’ll give the Pacers optimism here.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum came up big when it mattered the most. Brown tied the game with a three from the corner late and then it was all Tatum in the overtime. All 5 Celtics starters logged 40+ mins on Tuesday, in what was arguably their most intense game of the postseason so far. For Thursday’s Game 2 the oddsmakers once again have Boston as a double-digit favorite, despite failing to cover the spread in the series opener. Now that both teams have settled into their offenses, I expect the Celtics defense to increase intensity here. Running with the Pacers isn’t the best of ideas, that team thrives in a up tempo scenario more often than not. Game 1 was a wake-up call of sorts for Boston, their approach has to change if they want to go up 2-0 here.
