What was shaping up to be a competitive and ballistic Eastern Conference final may now be taking a turn. The Indiana Pacers will get home-field advantage in Game 3, where they are undefeated so far in the playoffs, but what about their star, who left Game 2 in the third quarter? With Tyrese Haliburton’s status questionable for Game 3 of the Boston Celtics vs. Pacers, Boston series odds have skyrocketed to -10000.
Of course, the injury could be, as Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said he expected, “a very short-term aggravation.” Haliburton was “questionable” in the Pacers’ series against the New York Knicks with several minor injuries, but he played in all seven games.
The Celtics are also downplaying a star, while Kristaps Porziņģis’ status is still uncertain. But the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum duo and Boston’s depth have made that absence almost a non-issue in the playoffs so far.
The plot looks dark for the Pacers right now, but they’ve already been down 0-2 in these playoffs and have shown they can fight back.
Here’s a look at the stories, odds and staff picks for Saturday’s Game 3 in Indianapolis.
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No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers
How to watch: 8:30 p.m. ET on Keynote USA
The Celtics lead the series 2-0
Series Odds: Celts -10000, Pacers +3000
So far, in an injury-plagued playoffs, the Pacers have benefited greatly from those injury reports. They faced a Milwaukee Bucks team without Giannis Antetokounmpo and two games without Damian Lillard, and then a New York Knicks team with several players (OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart) out or playing with injuries. As mentioned, they are currently facing a Boston Celtics team without Porziņģis.
But that shouldn’t take away from the strength of this Pacers core. They are the highest scoring team in both the regular season and the postseason and play at a breakneck pace that nearly took the Celtics’ breath away in Game 1. Haliburton has averaged 18.7 points, 8.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game this postseason. . In the second game of the conference finals, where Haliburton left with a few minutes remaining in the third quarter, Pascal Siakam rose to the occasion, posting 28 points, five rebounds and two assists.
The Pacers haven’t lost at home since March 18. And they’ve survived without Haliburton before: They went 6-4 when he was out with a hamstring injury in January.
But not against this Celtics team. Indiana went 3-2 against Boston in the regular season and lost the only game against Boston without Haliburton.
On the Celtics side, there aren’t many cracks to be seen. They are playing their best basketball at exactly the right time, especially Brown. Brown dominates on both sides of the court. In Game 2, he scored a game-high 40 points, but he also controlled the game on the defensive end. Jayson Tatum and Derrick White added 23 points, with Tatum having five assists and six rebounds and White having six assists and four rebounds. Al Horford, who was a real target for the Pacers defense, added 10 rebounds.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, but Boston shot 40.5 percent from three (15 of 37) compared to Indiana’s 37.9 percent (11 of 29) and had 54 points in the paint compared to Indiana’s 34.
If Haliburton can return in Game 3, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the odds change again. If he doesn’t, it will be a huge uphill battle for Indiana’s remaining core.
Expert Picks for Celtics at Pacers
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Pacers hope Tyrese Haliburton’s injury is just a ‘short-term aggravation’
(Jaylen Brown Photo: Brian Babineau/NBAE via /Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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