The Eastern Conference Finals begin Tuesday, May 21 as the No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers travel north to take on the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics at 8 p.m. inside TD Garden arena.
The Pacers withstood the New York Knicks and won two straight games with their backs against the wall. Indiana blew open a close contest in Game 7 with a 15-4 run in the third quarter and coasted to a 130-109 victory over the Knicks Sunday.
Boston enjoyed a six-day rest in between its series-ending victory last Wednesday over the Cavaliers and the tipoff of tonight’s contest. The Celtics defeated Cleveland in five games, their second-straight series win in that fashion.
With so much riding on the line for these two teams, which players can bettors expect to have a strong outing to start the Eastern Conference finals? We’ll cover our top three NBA Playoff player prop bets as well as our best bet for this series-opener below.
Live player props data coming soon for Jayson Tatum.
Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum OVER 9.5 Rebounds
Despite nearly an extra week of rest, Boston center Kristaps Porzingis has been ruled out of the series-opening game against Indiana. Without the 7-foot-2 athlete, the Celtics have relied on every starter for more scoring and rebounding presence against both the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
One player to answer the call is Jayson Tatum. The 6-foot-8 athlete scored nearly 27 points and 10.4 rebounds per outing in the semifinal series.
It’s the second consecutive series with 10+ rebounds per game. Further, Tatum recorded three double-doubles during the regular season meetings between these two teams. Expect Tatum to finish with 10 or more rebounds Tuesday.
Live player props data coming soon for Tyrese Haliburton.
Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton UNDER 18.5 Points
Against the Knicks, Indiana relied on Tyrese Haliburton as more of a scorer than a point guard. The fourth-year veteran complied, finishing with 20 points or more in four of the team’s seven contests.
In back-to-back games, Haliburton scored 34 and 35 points, respectively, while shooting over 47 percent from the 3-point line. In four games during the regular season, Haliburton did not beat the 20-point mark in three of those games.
While the 6-foot-5 assist machine consistently finds the open man for good looks, Haliburton has found few for himself against Boston. Expect the former Iowa State guard to continue his struggles tonight and finish with 18 or fewer points.
Live player props data coming soon for Derrick White.
Boston Celtics’ Derrick White UNDER 3.5 3-Point Field Goals
Boston has shot nearly five fewer three-point field goals per game in the postseason than the team recorded in the regular season. Their shooting percentage has remained the same throughout at nearly 38 percent from long range.
One player who is shooting at an even greater clip is Derrick White, increasing his 3-point accuracy in the playoffs by four percentage points. In half of White’s 10 playoff games thus far, the point guard eclipsed four 3-point field goals.
He’s shooting over 43 percent from the arc, showcasing his ability. Against Indiana, however, the guard eclipsed the 3.5-mark only once in the four-game regular season series and shot almost six percent below his season-long 39.6 percent mark.
Best Bet: Boston -10.5
Boston has opened both of this year’s playoff series with a blowout win. Against Miami, the Celtics won by 20 points with Porzingis in the lineup. And without the center, Boston blew Cleveland out by 25 points to start their second-round series.
Indiana, meanwhile, has lost both of their series openers on the road. While the Knicks had a four-point loss to start the second round, Milwaukee beat the Pacers by 15 points to start the postseason on the wrong foot.
Expect Indiana to lose this contest by at least 11 points as the Celtics start strong as the benefactors of extra rest. Let's lay the points with the Celts in Game 1.
