Poll: Pacers vs. Celtics Series Predictions

[Larry for 3]

Lol. Wow, now I'm really interested in knowing which 3 members chose Pacers in 6 lol

I like the Celtics in 6/7 but the overconfidence from most is baffling. The pacers are better then there record indicates(dealt with injuries all year/didn’t add siakam until later) and have been a tough matchup for us, they beat us in the in season tournament no?
Celtics will play with their food and let the pacers in this series, id be shocked otherwise.

Who's the overconfidence from? The people who are saying Cs in 5? I'm not sure if those people who voted also commented but I feel a lot of the comments are actually the opposite...people worried that the Pacers will catch fire.

44% of the votes are Celtics in 5. Don’t get it and that’s just overlooking this pacers team completely. They’re better then the jimmy butler less heat and the cavs without Mitchell.

The dis respect for the Pacers is baffling. Just like last year, fans will find out pretty quick. Pacers aren’t afraid of any 1. Epically the way they played us during the season. I don’t get it either.

You think the Celtics are afraid of anyone?

People on here act the this group has won multiple titles. They’ve done nothing. Fans shouldn’t be overlooking / dismissing any opponent. People are sticking their chests out for 2 series wins against teams that had no chance missing key players. Go back to last year- people were saying the same thing about the heat series. I see similarities. The Celtics will still win but this going to be a lot harder than people think. I’d love to be proven wrong of course but I see a tough 6 or 7 games series.

[Who]

Lol. Wow, now I'm really interested in knowing which 3 members chose Pacers in 6 lol

I had actually thought about picking Indy in 6 (Instead, I went Cs in 6.). Here was my thought process: After screwing up Game 2 against Miami, the Celtics put their foot down. Not so much the case against Cleveland, where every Cavs injury seemed to provoke an increasingly lackadaisical response from the Celtics. Indy is young and hungry and, as far as I can tell, healthy. The Celtics are playing like they consider the finals their birthright. Indy can get hot fast, and it only takes a couple of those, combined with a few of the Celtics performances that drive us crazy for Indy to take it.

And there is certainly a non-zero chance that the above happens. But is it the most likely scenario? No. We played pretty sadly for long stretches in a few games, but we ended up winning. Like it or not, that’s just the team we have: No matter how hard it looks like they are trying to lose, they somehow seem to pull through.

So yes, I can create a pessimistic scenario where Indy wins in six. It just doesn’t feel like the most likely one.

Indy is too incompetent to take advantage. They have two disappointing playoff series. Struggled to put away Milwaukee despite the loss of Giannis and a few missed games from Lillard. Struggled with NY despite the losses of Randle, M Robinson, Bogdanovic and the series only turned in their favour after Anunoby got hurt as well.

This is not an impressive Pacers side. This is a struggling Pacers side. Whatever lackidaisical spirit Boston has shown at times, Indy has shown far more problems than that themselves.

Their offense has been all over the place. They have no primary shot-creator in difficult moments. They never know where to go with the ball. If they are not getting open shots or transition opportunities, their offense dies.

They are an abysmal defensive squad. They are a very bad reboundin team. Forget all this nonsense people are saying about size. They are a finesse team. They are soft. They get beaten up on the regular. They cannot defend anyone. They cannot rebound with anyone. They are weak. Physically and mentally weak.

[ozgod]

Browsing Reddit and I saw these stats:



The NBA defines a wide-open look as one where the closest defender is 6+ feet away. That's a lot of open looks. Our defense shouldn't (better not) be as bad as the Bucks and Knicks or it's not going to be fun for those of us following along on the game threads 

[Celtics2021]

Browsing Reddit and I saw these stats:



The NBA defines a wide-open look as one where the closest defender is 6+ feet away. That's a lot of open looks. Our defense shouldn't (better not) be as bad as the Bucks and Knicks or it's not going to be fun for those of us following along on the game threads 

I think it’s crazy that somehow we’re attempting the fewest wide open shots per that stat.  Something seems off.

EDIT:  The numbers are a bit off compared to what I see on NBA.com (Pacers are at 28.5 not 31.0).  The Celtics have a huge gap in open shots (4-6 feet away), about as large as the Pacers wide open shots, especially from 3.  If you look at open or wide open, the teams are roughly the same.

[Vermont Green]

IND is going to bring it.  Miss a few shots in a row and they are going to run it right back at you.  Haliburton is a very good individual player, albeit one with some durability concerns.  And they have some size, Turner, Siakam, Toppin is a decent big rotation.  Better than Horford, Kornet and Tillman (until Porzingis is back, at least)

I would suggest playing some zone.  When you are trying to get back on D and find your man, that is what they take advantage of.  If you can just head back on D to a spot on the floor, I think you can get the defense set quicker.  Does anyone know, did MIL or NYK try any zone against IND?

With the amount of 3s that BOS takes, and invariably misses, there are a lot of opportunities for IND to run out.  That can lead to swings.  BOS may hit 4 of 5 or something for a stretch but then only 2 of the next 10.  That is what IND is geared up to take advantage of.