Pacers Seek Game 1 Upset in Eastern Conference Finals Opener

The well-rested Boston Celtics provide an uphill challenge for the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers are viewed as 10-point underdogs going into the series, but they are coming off a tough seven-game victory over the Knicks.

The Pacers need to find a way to stop Boston’s skilled and deep team while continuing to play with the toughness and physicality they showed against New York in order to steal a victory away from the city. The Pacers may be able to take advantage of the Celtics’ lack of Kristaps Porzingis, but Boston’s size disadvantage has been lessened with the signing of Pascal Siakam.

Because both clubs have excellent offensive units and like quick games, this should be an entertaining contest. To reveal any potential depth concerns for the Celtics, the Pacers might try to pick up the pace even further. A potential weakness has been raised by rumors that Boston may use Oshae Brissett, a former Pacers player, in small-ball combinations.

Tyrese Haliburton’s performance is going to be critical for the Pacers. In the opening games of the prior series, he has not been very aggressive or prolific with his shots. For the Pacers to stay up with the Celtics, Haliburton will need to have a better first-half performance.

In the end, the Pacers have to play with everything they have for the entire 48 minutes and hope the Celtics don’t shoot a lot more than they are. The youthful Pacers squad has a lot to learn from this first game; they can use everything they’ve learned from winning series before and even steal a game away from their opponents.