By Adam Kerr
NBA Eastern Conference Finals Preview
The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers will face off in a seven-game series to decide who represents the East in the NBA Finals. It is a true David vs. Goliath matchup, with the East’s six-seed and the league’s best squad going toe-to-toe. However, most people are not paying attention to the matchup since it seems like such an obvious outcome.
Even though this may be true, there is a lot more to the series than many would think. Kristaps Porzingis is at least out for games one & two in Boston, and maybe more. On top of this, the Pacers have gone through the other top three seeds in the East to get to this spot. Here’s the insides of the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals series.
The Celtics have cruised their way to their third Conference Finals in a row, their sixth in the last seven years. However, this group has changed a lot since the 2017 season. They are no longer headlined by Isaiah Thomas but now by the All-Star starting lineup including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White. With a league-leading 64 wins in the regular season, Boston still hasn’t met much competition in the playoffs. Now, they face an energized Indiana Pacers team who is hungry to upset the league favorites.
Despite the tenacity of Rick Carlisle’s Pacers squad, The Celtics still find themselves in a great spot. They’re up against the sixth seed, and one that has barely squeezed past very injured teams in the Bucks and Knicks. They also have the best defensive backcourt in the league to help suppress Tyrese Haliburton and his heroics.
The only problem they will face matchup-wise will be Pascal Siakam. Siakam had his way with the Knicks in the Conference Semifinals, averaging 20 points on 70% shooting. Now with the absence of Kristaps Porzingis for the near future, there will be nobody to really compete against both Siakam and Myles Turner for rebounds.
The x-factor for Boston will without a doubt be Derrick White. His job is to win the battle against Tyrese Haliburton. If he can do his job against Haliburton (which he can), while also keeping the same scoring output he has all postseason, it essentially takes Haliburton out. The key for the Boston Celtics to get to the Finals is clear: Neutralize Haliburton (as much as possible), and the rest will take care of itself.
For the Pacers, the path is much more complicated. They are playing with house money at this point, seeing that they have gotten pretty lucky to get to this point. They have still played great basketball, but nothing is like playing this Celtics team in a seven-game series. Not to mention the fact that Pascal Siakam is a free agent this offseason, so there is no concrete future when it comes to this current core. Of course, they find themselves going up against basketball’s biggest titan with a trip to the biggest stage on the line.
Their only hope at getting the win in this series is tiring the Celtics out with their fast-paced play. It would be tough, but if they can move the ball at such a high rate that their all-defensive players can’t stop it, they could make the games close. Mix in some post-play with Siakam and they might be able to go the distance. It is still unlikely, but it is doable, which is all anyone could hope for against the Celtics at this point.
