Boston at Indiana

Time: 7 PM CT (ESPN)

Spread: IND -1

Total: 213

Odds c/o 5dimes

BOS

The Boston Celtics have split its last 10 games to fall to 47-32 on the season, and it is seeded No. 4 in the East— if the playoffs began today, Boston would have home-court advantage in the first round against the Indiana Pacers.

Boston still sports as deep and quality a rotation as any team in the East. Jayson Tatum has quietly improved his efficiency in his sophomore season and is averaging 16.3 points per game on 45.1 percent field goals and 37.2 percent three-pointers. The Celtics have seven players averaging eight points per game or better, and it has a solid 10-man rotation that will serve it well in the postseason, even if Brad Stevens tightens up the rotation to 8 or 9 players, as most coaches do.

Franchise player Kyrie Irving still lingers as a potential loss in free agency, as he will have to be re-signed, but he is having an outstanding season.

Irving is averaging 23.8 points, five rebounds, and seven assists per game while posting a team-best PER of 25.46. Tatum, Marcus Morris, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Gordon Hayward all average double-figures, and the C’s still are not really getting from Hayward what it thought it might when it signed him as a free agent. Hayward was a borderline superstar with the Utah Jazz, but he still is trying to regain that form following his broken ankle he suffered in the opener last season.

IND

The Indiana Pacers are 47-32 and won its past two games both over the Detroit Pistons. The Pacers are seeded No. 5 in the East and would face the No. 4 seeded Boston Celtics if the postseason began today. Indiana is more or less locked into this matchup with both teams trailing No. 3 Philadelphia by two full games while maintaining a healthy 7.5 game lead over No. 6 Detroit.

Indiana has thrived without Victor Oladipo, but it has struggled its last 10 games as winners of just three of those. It has managed a +3.8 point differential on the heels of one of the East’s top defensive units, limiting opponents to just 104.1 points per game while scoring 108 itself. The Pacers have turned heavily to the offense of Bojan Bogdanovic and Domantas Sabonis with Oladipo unavailable the remainder of the season. Bogdanovic has averaged 18.2 points per game and Sabonis is averaging 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in just 24 minutes a night.

Former Texas Longhorn Myles Turner has continued to fail to turn it up with Oladipo out, and the talented center is averaging just 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, though he is a major game-changer on the defensive end where he blocks 2.7 shots per contest. The Pacers have a good assortment of depth with eight players averaging 10 points per game or better, and the timeless Tyreke Evans rounds out the rotation as a steady veteran playmaker whose 10 points and 2.4 assists complement Wes Matthews well who contributes 11 points, three rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, as well. The Pacers have the veteran presences and depth to be a sneaky team in the postseason this year.

ATS TRENDS (c/o Covers):