Can the Pacers Keep Their Season Alive? Best Bet for Game 3

Tonight, the Indiana Pacers are facing the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their playoff series, and the Pacers are +7 underdogs at home. Can Indy keep their season alive with a win or will the Celtics cruise again?

Next Man Up?

The Pacers are down 2-0 in the series, and their season is on the line. This is a do-or-die game for them, and they’ll be in full desperation mode. Teams in this position often play with extra intensity and urgency, making them tough to beat, especially at home. But with Tyrese Haliburton hurting his leg in Game 2 and likely being out tonight, the challenge is greater for the Pacers. However, Indiana has plenty of scoring options to offset his loss. They will need players like Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith to step up and fill the scoring void. The Pacers have shown they can spread the scoring load, and they’ll need to do that more than ever tonight. The home crowd will be a huge factor. This is the biggest game in Indiana in nearly a decade, and the fans will be out in full force to support their team. The energy and noise from the crowd can give the Pacers an extra boost, helping them stay competitive against the Celtics.

Will Boston Revert Back to Their Old Ways?

The Celtics have a tendency to "play with their food" and not put teams away decisively. They recently failed to cover a similar spread against the Cavaliers, who were missing Donovan Mitchell. Boston’s tendency to let teams hang around could be their downfall tonight, giving the Pacers a chance to cover the spread or even win this game outright. Teams down 0-2 at home are 38-25 against the spread (60%) over the last 20 years. This trend indicates that home teams in this position often rise to the occasion and perform well enough to cover the spread. The Pacers, with their backs against the wall, are likely to come out swinging and keep this game close. Expect Rick Carlisle to throw some exotic looks at Boston as well to try and keep them on their heels.

Best Bet

At the end of the day we can look through trends and systems until our eyes bleed, but the bottom line is this is too many points for a home team with their season on the line. Indiana will come out guns blazing, their role players shoot better at home and the loss of Haliburton won't be as impactful in this spot tonight as it will be going forward in the series.

Pick: Pacers +7

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