How to Bet Pacers at Celtics NBA Odds & Game Info – February 9th

Could be a bit of a letdown game for Boston as the Celtics host the Indiana Pacers. Why a letdown? The Celtics were at rival Washington on Thursday night. So, advantage Pacers right off in terms of extra day of rest. That is usually worth a few points on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Pacers at Celtics NBA Odds & Game Info – February 9th

When: Friday, 7:30 PM ET Where: TD Garden, Boston TV: NBA League Pass, FSMW, CSNN Stream: NBA League Pass Radio: WFNI AM 1070 (Indiana) / WBZ-FM 98.5 (Boston) NBA Odds: Celtics -4 (204.5)

Season Series

Boston leads 2-0. On Dec. 18 at Indianapolis, the Celtics won 112-111. Terry Rozier batted away a pass from Bojan Bogdanovic at half court and rushed the basket for the game-winning dunk with 1.5 seconds remaining. Kyrie Irving hit two three-pointers in the final 27.7 seconds sandwiched around a Marcus Smart floater and Rozier’s dunk to complete the win. Irving led the Celtics with 30 points while Al Horford added 14 points, 10 boards and nine assists. Victor Oladpio led the Pacers with 38 points. On Nov. 25 also at Indianapolis, the Celtics won 108-98. In a span of 10 minutes, Boston went from trailing 56-47 to leading 82-70. The Celtics outscored Indiana 37-16 in the third quarter and outrebounded the Pacers 11-3. Irving led the Celtics with 25 points and six assists while Horford chipped in with 21 points, six boards and three blocks. Oladipo missed that game. Myles Turner led Indiana with 19 points.

Why Bet on Indiana’s NBA Odds?

The Pacers are on extra rest as they were supposed to play Wednesday at New Orleans but that game was postponed – yes, NBA games can get postponed. It was called after a nearly two-hour delay because of a roof leak that briefly allowed rain water to puddle near one of the foul lines. While Smoothie King Center crews fashioned a fabric catch basin in the rafters to stop water from dripping on the court, Pacers coach Nate McMillan said coaches and players on both teams didn’t want to risk an injury. No makeup date has been announced. The one good thing about that was it gave Pacers star Victor Oladipo more time to get over an illness that cost him Monday’s game. The All-Star was set to play Wednesday but perhaps wasn’t 100 percent. He should be by Friday. That moves Lance Stephenson to the bench. Indiana will be without starting point guard Darren Collison 2-3 weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Cory Joseph will star in his place. Joseph ranks 10th in the NBA this season while posting a career-best 3.31 assists-per-turnover ratio. He’s shooting 36.2 percent from three-point range, the second-highest mark of his NBA career. Indiana is 19-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field this season. The Pacers rank third the NBA in team field goal percentage (.482), and 11th with an average of 106.7 points per game. Indiana is 20-8 this season when making 10 or more three-pointers in a game, and ranks sixth in NBA in three-point percentage at .374 on the season. After going scoreless in Indiana’s home win over Charlotte Jan. 29, Bojan Bogdanovic has led the Pacers in scoring in three of the past four games, and is averaging 21.8 points per game and shooting 53.8 percent (14-26) from three-point range over that span. He set a new season high with 29 points and hit 5-of-7 three-point tries in Monday’s loss to Washington

Why Bet on Boston’s NBA Odds?

Whenever a team plays the night before, it’s always wise to wait until after that game to put any wager down on the next one. You never know, someone like Kyrie Irving could have sprained his ankle on Thursday in Washington. Maybe one of the Celtics committed a flagrant foul and has a suspension coming. Or maybe coach Brad Stevens simply rests one of his key guys here. That’s what makes it so challenging handicapping the second of a back-to-back ahead of time. The Celtics didn’t feel the need to make a trade ahead of Thursday’s deadline. The team was shopping Marcus Smart for a first-round pick but didn’t get any takers.  Smart is still out as he recovers from a hand injury, and he may have lost minutes to Terry Rozier once he’s back. Al Horford and rookie Jayson Tatum are currently among the league leaders in three-point field goal percentage this season. Horford is ranked seventh in the league shooting 43.6 percent beyond the arc while Tatum is sixth shooting 43.8 percent on the season. The Celtics have posted the highest-rated defense in the NBA by defensive rating. They currently have a defensive rating of 100.1 and allow the second-fewest points per game at 98.7 PPG.

Latest NBA Odds Trends

• Indiana is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
• Indiana is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indiana’s last 6 games
• Boston is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
• Boston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 game
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games at home

Expert Prediction & NBA Pick

Take Boston as long as every key starter makes it through Thursday’s game healthy.