The Boston Celtics finally begin their Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Indiana Pacers.  The Celtics are big favorites to win this series but I think a lot of people are over looking the Pacers.  Here is a quick preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. 

The Pacers do one thing very well, they score.  They score, they score, they score.  Did I mention they score?  They play fast and they can put up numbers in a hurry.  In the last game against the Knicks, the Pacers shot an NBA playoff record, 67% from the floor.  Now, the Knicks were down to like 1 healthy player for that game but still, it shows you what they are capable of.  If the Celtics are going to win, they are going to have to score.  If the Celtics are going to win, they not only have to play defense but they have to score.  Not only to keep up, but to keep the Pacers from running.  They want to play fast, if the Celtics are missing shot after shot, especially threes with their long rebounds, the Pacers are going to take off and they are going to score.  You can blink and be down 20.  And with the way they score, they can be hard to come back on. 

Now, the flip side to that is that their defense isn’t great.  To say the least.  The Celtics pit up 155 in a game against Indy this season.  Their low score in the five games against the Pacers was 118.  That was actually a win.  This needs to continue in the series.  If the Celtics play smart and move the ball and play their game, they should be able to put up points on this team.  If they don’t, they are going to struggle to win the series.

Another thing to consider is that the Pacers’ best player Tyrese Haliburton is a certified Celtic killer.  He plays great against the Green Team and they Pacers play a lot better when he is on the floor.  Pascal Siakam is another player that has given they Celtics headaches in the past.  He was traded to Indy during the season so he was only in one of the games between the Pacers and Celtics.  The Celtics won the game but Siakam played well.  The two of these guys are going to be an issue for the Celtics and if they start over compensating for them, the rest of the team will hurt them. 

One last thing.  We are getting to the point where Kristaps Porzingis could be returning from his calf injury.  He has already been ruled out for the first two games.  If I were the Celtics, I would hold them out until/if they get desperate.  As long as they are ahead or even in the series, until it’s 3 to3, I would keep Porzingis in street clothes and give him as much time as possible to heal up.  If they get to the Finals, they will need him.  It’s not worth risking him getting hurt again in a series they may not need him for and losing him for the Finals. 

So what this series is going to come down to is scoring.  If the Celtics can keep the offense going, they will be able to set up their defense and keep the Pacers from running up the score.  If they go through long stretches of brick after brick, this series is going to be a lot harder than people expect.   And game one will be the Celtics first game in a week while the Pacers are in a good rhythm.  If the Celtics get off to a slow start tonight, the Pacers could run away and hide.