After we looked at the Western Conference Finals matchup, it’s time to look at the East. The Boston Celtics have easily made their way to this point, and the same could be said for the Indiana Pacers to some extent. Let’s preview these conference finals and who will make it out of the East.
Boston Celtics
As the number one seed, Boston has steamrolled their way to this point. In the first round, they took care of the Miami Heat (who were without Jimmy Butler) in five games. Then, they faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers and also beat them in five games. Just like the Heat, the Cavaliers were without one of their stars in Donovan Mitchell (for two games).
Jayson Tatum, to no one’s surprise, has paced the Celtics throughout the entire playoffs. He’s leading the team with 24.3 PPG this postseason, including two 33-point performances in the series against Cleveland. His 10.4 RPG and 5.8 APG also lead the team.
Jaylen Brown has been a great second option, averaging 23.1 PPG of his own.
Boston will head into the conference finals without Kristaps Porzingus, who has been sidelined with a calf strain suffered in the first round. He may return later in the series but will be out for at least games one and two.
Al Horford will be the one to help replace his production. He is up for the challenge, especially after his game-five performance that saw him score 22 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks against the Cavaliers.
Indiana Pacers
For the Pacers, you can say injury luck has been on their side. They took care of the Milwaukee Bucks in six games, who were without Giannis Antetokunmpo and Damien Lillard (for a few games).
Then, they faced a Knicks squad riddled with injuries and ended up winning the decisive game seven at Madison Square Garden.
At the end of the day, you still have to fight your way to get this far into the playoffs. Indiana has done just that, led by their leader in Tyrese Haliburton. The point guard is averaging 18.8 points per game to go along with 8.1 assists per game. He was great in the second round, including a 26-point outburst in game seven while shooting 59% from the field.
Funny enough, he’s not the leading scorer. Midseason acquisition Pascal Siakam is averaging 21.1 PPG, forming a solid duo with Haliburton and making his presence known throughout the playoffs thus far.
What has impressed me is the depth Indiana has. Seven guys are averaging double-digit scoring in the playoffs, including guys like T.J. McConnell (who has been solid defensively too, Obi Toppin, and Myles Turner.
Prediction
The Celtics and Pacers faced off against each other five times this season (including two matchups during the In-Season Tournament). Boston won the series 3-2, beating Indiana by an average of 12.2 points.
One thing is for certain: the Celtics have not faced much adversity during the playoffs. Nine of their ten games have been decided by double-digits, and the only game that was decided by single-digits was actually a seven-point win against the Cavs in game four.
Boston will send a number of players to combat Tyrese Haliburton, including Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Other candidates include the aforementioned Tatum and Brown. The game plan will likely be forcing the Pacers to depend on their other guys to beat them.
For Indiana, they will need to keep the pace up and going if they want a chance to beat the Celtics. Running a half-court offense could stall with Boston likely pressing Haliburton and causing havoc from the start.
In terms of guarding Jayson Tatum, it will likely be Aaron Nesmith who draws the assignment. The two guys were teammates for a short time after Nesmith was drafted 14th overall by Boston in 2020. But, he was part of the Malcolm Brogdon trade and was sent to Indiana two years later. Now, as he commonly takes the opponent’s top threat, he will look to shut Tatum down and force Boston to adjust.
Regardless, I do feel that Boston will continue to roll through the conference finals and make their way into the Finals. Indiana has depth. But, it will be hard to stop the duo of Tatum and Brown. Don’t forget about the supporting cast which includes Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard. Celtics in 5.
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