Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics host Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, with tipoff from TD Garden set for 7 p.m. ET. The Celtics enter this game with five straight home wins, having covered the spread in each game. They'll face a Pacers squad that is on the back end of a back-to-back. The Celtics are listed as 6.5-point home favorites, while the over-under for total points is 213 in the latest Celtics vs. Pacers odds. Before you make any Celtics vs. Pacers picks of your own, be sure to check out the NBA predictions from SportsLine's advanced computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks this season. It entered Week 13 of the 2018-19 NBA season with a sterling 146-103 record on all top-rated picks, returning nearly $3,000 to anybody following it. And it was particularly red-hot on its A-rated picks in Week 12, going a blistering 17-7. Anybody following it is way, way up.
Now it has locked in on Pacers vs. Celtics, and we can tell you it's leaning under, but it has also locked in a confident against-the-spread pick that hits in well over half of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
The model is well aware that the Celtics are on a roll at home, and could be facing a Myles Turner-less Pacers squad. Indiana has been without its starting center in each of its past two games, and the Pacers failed to cover in both games. The Celtics, meanwhile, are getting healthy at just the right time.
After each missed some time in December and January, Irving, Al Horford and Marcus Morris all enter this game healthy. Irving was playing particularly well before missing time with an eye issue, enjoying a stretch dating back to Christmas in which he averaged 30 points, nine assists and six rebounds. He is a huge part of Boston's ninth-ranked offensive efficiency this season, and his improved effort on the defensive end of the floor has helped it remain a top-three unit.
But just because the Irving and Boston have been hot at home this season doesn't mean they can cover the Celtics vs. Pacers spread.
The model also knows that Indiana not only covered the spread, but beat Boston outright in both trips to the TD Garden last season. The Pacers bring the NBA's second-best defensive efficiency into this game, which has helped them maintain the second-best road record in the NBA. With Turner banged up, Domantas Sabonis has been playing terrific basketball for the Pacers. He's averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists over the past three games, and how he fares against Horford's defense might be the deciding factor in the game.
Also, if worried about the back-to-back for Indiana here, its season-long numbers would suggest that you don't need to be. In addition to covering the spread in each of the past four meetings with the Celtics, the Pacers have covered five of their past six games on the back end of a back-to-back.
So who wins Pacers vs. Celtics? And which side of the spread hits in well over half of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Pacers vs. Celtics spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
