What are the keys to the Indiana Pacers Eastern Conference Finals series with the Boston Celtics?

What are the keys to the Indiana Pacers Eastern Conference Finals series with the Boston Celtics?

it’s the Pacers it’s the Celtics it’s the Conference Finals and we’re going to break it all down today locked on Pacers lock on Celtics crossover breaking down the matchups the key things that will dictate the series defense and much more John K of lockdown Celtics joins us let’s get right to it you are locked on Pacers your daily Indiana Pacers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday what up y’all happy Tuesday and welcome into another edition of the lockdown Pacers podcast where we of course talk about the Indiana Pacers as always my name’s Tony East I cover the team for Forbes and Si and today we’re talking Conference Finals of the Pacers and the Celtics and John corales from Lockdown Celtics and I are crossing it over breaking down the series looking at both teams the big matchups who’s Halbert get a guard what can the Pacers poke at why their Pace will matter so much fittingly for the Pacers and can they defend well enough to keep up the Pacers offense is so potent that they can beat anybody the Celtics offense is also very potent what’s that all going to look like on the court and of course series predictions which if you listen to me make a prediction last round you should not take my prediction seriously at all because I’m dumb and don’t know what I’m talking about but I do think I do what I’m talking about sometimes lots of fun stuff to get into with John corales today let’s just hop right in here we are who look at us look at who who would have thought not us uh so Celtics Pacers uh so what do you think let let’s just start off with our initial kind of quick like what what what brought us to this point here Tony you say you know you’re wow who who thought it was us well everybody thought it’d be you you well yeah Celtics the Celtics are the one team of all of the teams that are left the Celtics are the one team that are that’s supposed to be where they are yes um the East was kind of you know wide open uh lots of criticisms about the Celtics path but it is what it is and now the Pacers got got rid of a I mean geez that that uh that Nicks team was I I keep joking like the blues mobile but it fell apart while they were driving instead of at the end yes it was quite uh sad for the Knicks here’s what I think about Pacer Celtics that’s fascinating to me John four teams beat the Celtics twice this season that’s right the the Hawks what the heck was that but they were random March games whatever that was that was a March season was basically locked up so that that count does the Bucks who were good the Nuggets who are the defending champs and the Pacers so on one hand I’m like okay I don’t think the Pacers can win the series but like they’ve shown they can do well against on the other hand John the Celtics are one of the only two teams that beat the Pacers three times this season the other one being the Chicago Bulls for some reason so it’s weird to say theyve both had success against each other right like it’s kind of odd Dynamic entering the series and the success the Pacers had is different than who the Pacers are right now because it came uh it came pre seum and it came pre Halle Burton injury this was they were both um or actually one came one came during the HT injury the night it happened yeah it was the night it happened and and so that was like that was TJ McConnell going nuts and that was uh I believe uh officiating discrepancies we’ll call that I remember I remember everybody was very focused on the last two-minute report after that game yeah about that uh the um but you know the other game was halberton just you know God mode his his like early season MVP push where he was you know the center of attention and everybody was just salivating over wow Tyrese halberton uh inseason tournament like Legend and and and look he he was he was playing the best basketball of his life there which makes the injury and and what happened afterwards kind of sad for everybody um but you know here we are and and the the SE yakum trade changed some of the Dynamic and the Celtics without porzingis changes some of the dynamic but I will say the the offense uh that the Pacers boast is the type of offense that Joe Missoula freaking hates uh potential high shooting variance potential like they have the potential to put up 53 pointers and hit you know 28 of them and that that’s something that he he’s talking about at practice on on Monday where they they don’t have a uniform spacing they’re kind of it’s kind of randomized and what that does is it just kind of messes with your rotations and you you end up with two guys on you know some place where you shouldn’t have two guys and creates these advantages on the floor and the patients are very good at taking advantage of those advantages and and that’s why they’re able to put up a ton of points so can tell you that yeah the Pacers are the six seed and the lowest seed that the Celtics are going to you know have faced so far but this is going to be the biggest challenge because of that offense because of the randomness because of the the high potency the high variance that I can tell you that Joe moula is like God I hate this this is like walking into just a a big swarm of gnats and uh remember the pitcher who was the pitcher that had like all the bugs around him and he blw the Yankees pitcher a few years ago many years ago where he just got swarmed and just gave up a bunch of home runs and whatever but that that’s what it feels like the Celtics are kind of walking into like the potential for like being swarmed by all this little Annoying stuff and you’re like God oh man we’re down 30 yeah they I mean the reason I brought up that they beat the Celtics twice is because of the offense that they have that can hit that level I mean everyone who of your listeners who just watched Pacers Nicks game s which I’m sure they were trying to figure out who the C was going to play like that that what happened in that game that was obviously like a historic night right like they hit 120 a ton in the first round they hit 120 a few times in the second like they can do that a lot right that that’s what yeah they do and you’re you nailed it they call their offense random and to them it’s not right if it was actually random to them internally it would be confusing and a mess but they just have a good feel for each other and what’s going to happen and what’s going to what it’s going to lead to and if they see a mismatch they’ll poke at it and there’s going to be very few of those in the series which is something I think is very interesting but you know oh the the Knicks are starting a 6’4 guy at Power Forward yeah yakum right you’re going to set the screen and you’re gonna post up if they switch and if not we’re gonna go and then they just do it and they know exactly how to do it and in the postseason they and since this yakum trade too I’m not I’m not calling them a good defense they’ve defended well enough that they can play in transition which is where they’re I mean just so unbelievable that no one has figured out how to stop them there yet and and so they can beat anyone when their offense hums the way it does the problem is one doesn’t always look that good two their defense is has been better like I said but isn’t always good enough like the Knicks tore it apart three times the Bucks P tore it apart a couple times the Bucks tore it apart in a game that they lost because the P’s offense was so good but you know a team like the Celtics who’s also less High less variants because they’re so talented but takes a ton of Threes And that can lead to some variants just naturally like could just score a ton of points every game right so that’s where I think this one will be interesting is I have no doubt that the Pacers will score a lot in every series they play now they’ll have some games where they stink they have every round so far but can they actually guard the Celtics can they actually show their defense against what was the best offense in the NBA this season is the second best in the playoffs behind only the Pacers can they actually stop them in any way because that is if they can’t it’s gonna be really hard for them to play the way they want for 48 minutes any game this is this is the the number one key for the Celtics to me it’s good offense and protect the ball that’s it and and we asked Derk white about it and he said you got to get a shot up every time that’s that’s the key against the Pacers every time you come down and and have an offensive possession it has to end with a shot attempt because if it ends with anything else you are you you are potentially giving up uh a transition opportunity and that’s death against the Pacers like there I want to make sure we’re paying the Pacers a proper amount of respect that there is a healthy fear of what their offense can can do to a team and you don’t want to get into a shootout the Celtics might be the best equipped team to get into a shootout with the Pacers I think for my money I think so I think they are and and and and that’s fine but that’s not how you want to win you want to and and you also don’t want to play slow this is another I think misconception here with the Celtics the Celtics do not I and I don’t think they should play Slow against the Pacers they they should play with good pace and start their offense early because if you’re going to attack that Pacers defense it’s more about making them make decisions make them put two on the ball make them try to you know weak double teams make them blow a rotation it’s not just about get halberton in the action get nart in the action which is fine you’re going to do that but it’s more about make them move and when they move they will make mistakes and you capitalize on those mistakes you are on it that’s when they’re at their worst defensively is rotations I mean that’s when most teams are to be fair but especially a team like the Pacers especially in the postseason when they you have to do more unique coverages or it’s more matchup based in general and like one thing you can poke at changes everything and you have to figure out okay we have to stop this one specific thing and then you change the rest of your game plan around that well then a bunch of other stuff opens up right like we saw that in the last round for the Pacers who were like okay we have to send two to Jaylen Brunson and then Dante G venzo was like great I’m gonna score 35 points every game right like you just have to figure out what hole you’re stopping the the Celtics red that with Evan Moy a little bit last round to a a different degree and on the other end of the floor so that will that will be fascinating to me and and where I would like to go with that is this is my biggest question of the entire series and I’m curious what you think the answer is on the Celtic side who do you think tyres Halbert and Ward I will tell you after the break Today’s Show is brought to you by FanDuel it’s America’s number one sports book it’s playoff time here in the NBA and the NHL and fanduel’s going to give you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s any winning $ five bet that gets you $150 bet 150 bucks on uh in bonus bets to bet on anything spreads money lines player props and more I’m looking at the Celtics and Pacers game one the Celtics are favored by 10 points in game one you can put that down uh uh you can just put five bucks on the Celtics to win by 10 and if you get that then you get your $150 uh bet there $150 in in bonus bets the Celtics are uh very very very very heavy favorites to win this series so go ahead give it a shot there fanduel.com lockon is where you go fanduel.com lockon make every playoff shot count and also make sure that you’re using the tool that are available to set your limits set your budget and you can have fun gambling responsibly at FanDuel America’s number one sports book thank you for making locked on Celtics and locked on Pacers your first listen every day go check out lockon sports today streaming 247 on YouTube this show this crossover show will definitely be on lockon sports today on YouTube and the Amazon Fire TV channels app all these big shows like this are on their all our big National shows all the big stories with all of our local experts so go check that out all right let’s get back into this discussion who does Tyrese Halbert and guard I believe was the question um I I it’s a good question because I I I feel like they’re gonna want to hide him right um that the reason I ask is because nard n Smith shakum to an extent and Turner are good Defenders so it makes like that they’re good enough right halber is not and the Knick’s best game of the series offensively they just he stunk on defense I very rarely asked tyres halber about defense after the game but after game five I said how do you think you defended tonight and he said awful he’s like I was terrible in the first half and so against the Celtics lineup that’s like that Allstar or that Fringe Allstar or those two all NBA guys are they’re not gonna put him on Al Horford right like I I just don’t know where they can put him and so that’s where the Celtics who have all these potent weapons are going to I think start their attack a lot yeah so this is where the defense is the difference bullet point comes in yeah the how do the Pacers to expand it out how do the Pacers defend the Celtics because I think I I think this is going to be another Big Al Horford series and you know I I think they’re gonna try to follow the template so if we talk this through Turner stays on Horford you dare Horford to shoot because Turner’s gonna come in and help against the drives so you kick it out to Horford Horford has two options he can just shoot the shot and you you get a token challenge or I like the idea of of the Celtics saying okay if you want to help way off of him and just kind of not even really challenge or late challenge or whatever then I want to flow Al Horford into a dribble handoff or a pitch and Chase and say okay if if if you’re not going to have a Defender all the way up there then I’m gonna have Derek white or Drew holiday at the top of the key somewhere or maybe somebody who’s in the corner when when the ball goes to Horford that player one from one way or the other flows into a dho and now Horford picks his guy and there’s no help there so you’ve got a better three-point shooter so they’re they’re gonna it’s gonna be tough to to hide halberton anywhere because if you hide him on white or on holiday then I plant holiday in the corner and that’s where I’m flowing my dho I’m going you kick out to Horford and I’m running him up and I’m just giving white and holiday wide wide wide open three-pointers and that’s gonna Force Turner to step out and help because they’re gonna be like well we can’t let that happen and now that’s going to flow into you just flip it around run another pick and roll and now Horford’s in the short roll and he’s picking you picking you apart so there’s no good answer because there’s no real weak for for halberton to guard you you might you might just want to put him on Horford and maybe maybe I don’t know like he he’s he’s helping but not at the rim and and he can he can recover at least out to a shooter and and Turner can X out onto Horford and you kind of do it that way but I I don’t have a good answer I don’t have have a good a good lineup a good matchup because even without porzingis this is there’s no place to put Halbert there’s no place to hide him so yes you’re right so the the real trouble with the the best answer directly is Horford the problem is there’s nowhere to put Turner then and so you can’t that because you’re gonna put him on on holiday or something and that’s that doesn’t help you yeah exactly so if porzingis was playing they’d be really screwed because then that Horford option doesn’t even exist but I my guess is the answer is going to be Drew holiday and uh and I bet you see Drew holiday the screener or Drew holiday be picking it up way more than he did in previous rounds in this series and then you hope halberton can hang in the matchup because to me the no you can’t guard the Celtics one-on-one you like duh but if they can do their best that’s their best chance of hanging is If he if he can hold up in a matchup then their offens is oppent have to keep up if they that’s the weakest point of any matchup to me in the series depending on how people feel about Horford’s Mobility because even with good Defenders and now Horford’s a great defender even though he’s slower Miles Turner has been awesome at tearing them up in the postseason hartenstein and uh Brook Lopez like they tried cross matching they did all sorts of stuff and the Pacers have done well in their front court all playoffs I have confidence that Turner and SE yakum can find their advant vages uh I don’t necessarily know what the Pacers can do with halberton defensively and maybe the answer is he’ll just be so good on offense it won’t matter at all but that is to me one of that is to me one of the biggest questions of the series so I’m thinking it through and I’m thinking if if that’s the case you can throw a wrinkle by keeping you you keep holiday in the dunker spot with halberton there and you just set High High pick and roll with Horford and you challenge like how deep how deep is Miles Turner going to drop right how deep because if you set it if you set that pick up high and you give Tatum or whomever that that Runway they’re just going to step into in Rhythm three-pointers so he’s gonna have to be out around the three-point line if trer is up around the three-point line then he’s going to get blown by and that’s going to leave halberton as the low man and then he’s going to step up and either he’s going to commit fouls or the dump off to to Holiday is gon to be right there and holiday’s great in that dunker spot and and he can turn and whip it to the corner so uh and Drew could post up a little bit too which is also yeah tough part of so this this is why I think I think the Celtics offense is gonna is going to cook the Celtics offense is going to cook the question is can the Celtics defense all the Celtics defense needs to do is get back and rebound that’s easy sounds so easy it sounds it sounds easy but like protect the ball don’t turn it over and the thing about the thing about the Pacers defense is it’ll it’ll gamble it’ll go for those steals because the steals turn into points don’t don’t give up you like be be crisp with your passing and and we’ve seen the Celtics in in previous Series against Cleveland Joe Missoula said you know we didn’t show Our poise in the first half of game uh four where you know it’s like just pass the ball to the guys in in the green jerseys like that that’s very simple and so the Celtics have a a little bit of a propensity for getting loose with the ball they can’t do that against the Pacers so protect the ball rebound and and like one of the reasons why I like on offense holiday in the dunker spot is he’s going to get in there and grab a couple of rebounds himself uh offensive rebounds which I think I think the Pacers are going to be like susceptible to I think the Celtics have the ability either that or or Corner crashes like the the holiday and white are great Corner crashes like to the middle of the paint towards the nail and getting those long rebounds and keeping possessions alive I think I think if the Celtics can do those things then then they should be okay should be uh the other end of the floor will be fascinating to me you put it in the side D is the difference in the series because it sounds all great that the Celtics defense is so good best defense left in the playoffs uh no one has been able to stop the Pacers it’s not even you know the best defenses against the Pacers this season have had a lot of size and the Celtics had some success and they have size so they’ll do well but they don’t have an like Orlando La level G it up kind of size that’s what really I mean the magic D screwed up the Celtics right like they had they just have arms and sides everywhere so I don’t I am curious how deterrent the Celtics can be they did have I mean they they were the first team to pants embarrass the Pacers this season right that game in early November was that was bad but that was no HTT halber didn’t play yes but I mean they’ve shown that as a Bruce Brown hurn didn’t play in Miami and they hung 144 on the heat like obviously he’s very good but you know that that wasn’t the only reason they sucked that game so if the P if the Pacers can’t be stopped like what what do you think the Celtics are gonna do to tr I mean it sounds so easy get back but the the Pacers weave around and transition and as soon as they realize you’re you don’t know who you’re guarding that guy’s getting the ball and it doesn’t matter who’s out there if it’s McConnell or Halton or both of them or seaka and McConnell whatever they have two ball handlers who are going to shove it down your throat and score a billion points like I think they’re going to have no problem scoring in this series I really do and that’s why I’m so fascinated by the Pacers defensive side of this because I think they’re gonna even even though I have a lot of respect for the Celtics defense I think the Pacers can poke goals in it they just have all year and I’m curious what you think the Celtics can do about it I’ll let you know in just a second Today’s Show is brought to you by prize picks it’s America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than three million members but you’re not playing against any of them you’re playing against the projections you pick more or less on two or more player stats and then you watch the winnings roll in if you can do it with as few as four correct picks you can turn 10 bucks into potentially a thousand right now with the NBA playoffs NHL playoffs uh college sports International Sports uh depending on where you are like there’s a uh potential for you to bet on uh to to uh pick projections on everything that uh prize picks has to offer uh WNBA you you can pick more or less on Caitlyn Clark three-pointers we just watched the uh my Connecticut son beat the uh Indiana fever and I did not play prize picks for that for that night but I could have if I wanted to so go check it out it’s very simple download the app use the code locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 that’s locked on NBA when you download the prize picks app then you just go sign up you pick more or less and get yourself a chance to win up to 10 times your money so check it out at prize picks pick more pick less it’s that easy all right Tony so uh Celtics defense what what are they what are they gonna do this is this is the interesting thing like I I think you’re you’re going to it’s almost like two similar approaches you pick the guy that you’re going to help off of and to me that’s Pascal seak you’re you’re willing to give up you know well you help off of him from three right like he’s he’s the guy right like he’s not gonna he’s not gonna kill you from three so he’s gonna take two dribbles toward the basket and kill you from from 18 feet and that’s exactly that’s fine that’s fine to me this becomes a math equation I am trying to DARE the Pacers who love to drive I’m trying to DARE them into twoo shots because if the Celtics win the three-point matchup then they can win the math right it’s it’s about yes Celtics 3es versus Indiana 2os and if you can if if the Pacers are willing to put up a ton of three-pointers and and play that game then it’s going to be very tough for the Celtics if if the Celtics run them off the line but can protect the rim which they they are good at protecting the rim Rim uh and that’s going to be like the biggest like uh battle between a team that really likes to get to the rim and in the Celtics who need to protect the rim if they can if they can deter shots at The Rim defend without fouling um and and rebound then they’ll be fine because now the Pacers are taking more twos than Threes And if you can bait them into that two-point battle or two-point area then you’re going to win the math battle because the Celtics are absolutely going to put up 43p pointers no matter what no matter what the Pacers do the Celtics are definitely gonna put up a ton of three-pointers and if they’re if they’re if they’re hitting then they it doesn’t matter you know it doesn’t matter right and they don’t even have to hit at 40% they just need to hit at a a decent clip 37 38% if it’s if it’s threes versus twos they’re GNA win that so defensively I’m I’m daring see AUM like you want to step into 18f Footers all you my man all you the Celtics are the number one team in the n NBA in contesting shots so contest those shots make those shots kind of difficult and if he makes tough 18f Footers then congratulations Pascal sakam you’re gonna score 28 points in a Pacers loss uh John I’m getting a call it’s from um Tom Tibido and Doc Rivers they said they tried your strategy in the first two rounds didn’t work work yeah the Celtics have the Celtics have longer better Defenders they have longer better Defenders like the Pacer like the I’m sorry the Bucks are you no matter like they can say that that strategy didn’t work but it’s the Bucks putting Brook Lopez on him was a disaster just that went so bad and and like the the the Nicks and first of all that series went seven and the Knicks threw stupidly through the shell of OG and anobi out there which was that was sad man that was sad they like that’s where like keeping it real goes wrong right like it’s it’s toed oh you whatever you’re giving we need more we need more it’s that’s not enough like okay any of your listeners are saying oh porzingis can come back and out watch that sequence of five minutes and tell me you think a player should come back early ever again like no no and I can tell you that the the Celtics are absolutely not going to bring him back early um the Celtics have longer Defenders who can challenge shots um and and the number one thing honestly you’re gonna have to pick your poison against the Pacers you’re gonna have to trust the game plan and understand that this is a seven game series that this plan of attack back could cause could burn you it could could lose a game or two right is it going to is it going to lead to the Pacers winning four out of seven times and that’s that’s where I think the Celtics all you need to do is limit them you’re not trying to stop the Pacers you’re just try you’re trying to keep them to 105 110 right it’s not you don’t want them to put up 120 130 it’s not you’re not trying to hold them to 95 you’re not trying to stop necess you’re trying to get the right shots into the right guy hands understanding that a lot of guys are dangerous but you’re playing the math game of two versus three and you’re trusting your offense to be part of your defense in that everybody on the Celtics can hit shots that they’re going to hit their fair share of shots their Fair sh share of three-pointers that they’re going to protect the ball and prevent some transition by just hitting shots and getting back and setting a defense and that that limits the the potency of of the Pacers to some degree and and you just got to trust all of that to come together and equal four wins in seven games and I think that that’s the formula that the Celtics trust and that’s what’s going to win them the series two more things I want to talk about one will be really quick uh is TJ McConnell versus pton Pritchard the farthest into the playoffs we’ve been with two players balling who are both shorter than us John I mean this is unbelievable yeah that’s crazy that’s the Spider-Man meem that’s the Spider-Man pointing at very differently but there is a lot of Spider-Man elements to there I mean yeah so yeah they’re both like the little annoying you know guard that it’s every te says oh that guy killed us yeah he kills everybody he’s a good player yeah good yeah like TJ McConnell’s going to do five things you’re like what the what come on and and pay prit going to go grab two offensive rebounds three offensive rebounds you’re going to be like wait a second he snuck past my this guy snuck past Miles Turner and got the offensive rebound are you kidding me like that that’s gonna happen each side’s gonna be like it’s it’s the it’s the Family Guy I’ve used this analogy before it’s the Family Guy meme where the guy in prison he stabs himself he’s like oh this is what I’m doing to people I belong here like like oh we’ve Unleashed this Payton Pritchard is what our TJ McConnell does to other people like oh my God this is horrible what are we doing that’s a great analogy uh that will be fun I’m looking forward to the angsty fans from that the last thing this will be kind of shorter is the pace part of this this is where this is where a lot of the matchup stuff just gets thrown out the windows it’s some point if you’re just like oh my God Pacers keep coming and coming and coming this is so ridiculous on one hand uh that sounds great the Pacers have won with Pace All Season the reason their Pace doesn’t look good if you just sort the advaned stats the playoffs is because pace covers both teams and they’ve played against two really slow teams so their defensive possessions have been long they’re still playing fast clearly uh the Celtics have the slowest pace of the postseason they are put it lightly a little more methodical with I think I mean obviously if you’re taking the ball of the net then you can’t play Fast But whichever team can do their best to regardless of defensive possession result impose their pace and style will go a long way in this series it’s my my number one fear of the Celtics offense is getting too bogged down in the matchup hunting which is why I said what I said at the top make them move make them make decisions make them make mistakes that’s how you matchup hunt against the Pacers and that’s how you exploit their defense don’t start your offense with 12 on the shot clock start it with 17 on the shot clock get that ball over half court 1 to your you know what I mean um I know like 22 baby 22 right right right right but you know what I mean like get but this is what the subs do they walk it up they get it they get it over a half court too often just as it’s flipping to 16 and then they’re surveying and then they’re calling the guy they’re calling whoever Halle Burton’s guarding over and they’re going to run that action and they take away the options and I’ve said this a million times on my podcast do not help the other team by eliminating options on your own by starting your your offense late when you start your offense late in the shot clock 10 seconds or single digits you’ve now eliminated Derek white and Drew holiday and someone because you’re they know you’re not g to pass because Tatum or brown it’s it’s one pick one action and that’s either a shot or or or not a shot so it it it bails out the other team so as I’ve said in this podcast the key to slowing the the Pacers Pace down is making shots and protecting the ball the the more quality shots you can get the more they’re taking the ball out of the net and they’ll still run off the makes but you’re still limiting them to a degree uh but for the Celtics they should not slow things down they should play offens ly with good pace and get those that’s the best way for them to get those shots to fall if they don’t then they they start going into slow ISO then you’re going to get a lot of Misses you’re going to get a lot of transition opportunities and the Pacers are going to put runs together there’s gonna be a series where the Pacers when the ball goes out of bounds for whatever reason they need to do what they do and hustle and get it and get in fast while guys are still retreating they used to do that way more than they do now but it’s one of their secret weapon superpowers to playing with Pace no matter what happens on a possession uh Alford loves doing that Al Horford’s good at a lot of stuff was you told me the story about him asking an assistant coach to like contest his shots a specific way to work on all sort like he is so meticulous how he approach it wasn’t me but that makes sense I’ve heard that yeah I mean he’s just what an awesome player um we have one more bullet point on the side predictions John I got my listeners are not happy with me for picking the Knicks last round so it’s going to be a tough predictions around here well you want me to go first because I I’m saying okay I’ll talk you through it I’ll talk you through it okay great the Celtics are gonna be favored in every game this series a lot yeah right so a sweep is on the table because they’re they’re going to be a team that’s favored every series and every game the series that’s going to take them playing perfectly I think to there’s too much shooting variance there’s too much offense sweep is on the table I don’t think it’s going to be a sweep five feels like the most likely possibility because you’re giving the Pacers the the one game where like they played game seven and they just shoot the lights out they’re going to win they’re going to win at Le at least one of these games I’m throwing in the Celtics one game where they miss everything they’re a little slow they’re not fully there the Celtics like the the two game twos that they played where just so I’m I’m putting those into the mix so that means I’m saying Celtics in six wow all right I’m not allowed I don’t think you get AA Copo when you’re wrong I would if knew oan adobi was going to miss five games I probably would have picked the Pacers to win last round but I don’t think that’s fair to say because this was like a thing that could happen to the Knicks at any point with how much they play their guys a minute so I know got own the L man I picked against the Pacers and it was wrong to do last round and I’m gonna get crap for my listeners again because I’m gonna pick the Celtics here here’s what I think though I don’t think anyone in the league can sleep sweep the Indiana Pacers they just that’s fair high of an offensive ceiling there’s gonna be a game in any any they could be playing some of the best teams ever the 73 wi Warriors whatever they would score 130 in a game in that series they just have such good offensive talent and pace and Tempo and the other Factor here that I find endlessly fascinating is they have not lost a home game John do you know when the date is no you don’t there’s no way since March 18th they are crushing it at home so for them to if this go seven I mean so I bring that up to say like in my head home court advantage matters a lot less in a series like this where variance is just so crazy that like either team could just win any game at any time so like in my head I want to say home court doesn’t matter but the Pacers have said no screw that home court doesn’t matter we’re gonna win every game we play here so a lot of these factors are competing in my brain but the one that matters the most to me is the Celtics are just fascinatingly talented they won 64 games for a reason what is it a top 10 net rating ever like ever in the NBA better than me I also was going to say Celtics and six but it’s boring to have the same prediction as you so I’ll say Celtics in seven oo seven look the Pacers haven’t lost that home so they but the Celtics haven’t lost on the road in the playoffs so that’s crazy that is game three is gonna be a a wild game so we’ll see I you know I’m curious to see how the how the Pacers react in that first game um you know coming off a seven game series this is the Celtics with five days off so we could be looking at a game one kind of rough one for the Pacers yeah and they’ve had time to prep right the Pacers had like one day to really yeah dive into the Celtics you know right so you know it’s gonna be it’s going to be tough new team new all that stuff uh and that’s why the Celtics have lost these game twos you know the other teams come in and and the Celtics have had such an easy time in game ones that they kind of relax in game two and it burns them so hopefully the Celtics can take care of both games at home uh because the Pacers are tough uh uh on the road uh at home and so the Cel G have a tougher time on the road uh we’ll see but who knows who knows it’s gonna be tough the Celtics uh looking forward to the barrage of hatred in my comments once again deserve not only did I not pick the Pacers I was wrong so I deserve all the L’s I said that in my first 90 yesterday come get me I’m an idiot I’ve been wrong before and I’ll be wrong again John and I will certainly be leaking up for more of these because we’ll both be at every game of the series so expect to see more of us teaming up for the yeah man should be a blast hope you guys enjoyed that episode and enjoy game one tonight I’ll be there in the garden I will try to podcast the other Garden right after uh on the floor if allowed if not you’ll get me somewhere else there can’t wait see you there everybody enjoy the game see you after game one

The Indiana Pacers will battle the Boston Celtics in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals. What will it take for the Pacers to have a successful series? What matchups will define the series? Host Tony East and Locked On Celtics host John Karalis team up to break it all down.

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