Pacers vs. Celtics Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Wednesday, Jan. 21

Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics are looking to win their season series with the Indiana Pacers when the two teams face off on Wednesday night.

Indiana won the last meeting between these teams by two, but Brown did not play in that game. So, Boston is looking to get back on track with a relatively clean injury report on Wednesday. Only Josh Minott is expected to miss this game out of their normal rotation, and Brown is listed as probable.

Indiana is coming off a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, falling to a putrid 2-18 on the road this season. That makes this a perfect spot for Boston to bounce back from its loss to Detroit on Monday, and oddsmakers have set the C’s as 10.5-point favorites at TD Garden.

Boston has wins by eight and 18 points in the first two meetings between these teams this season, and it’ll look to turn in another lopsided victory to take this season series 3-1.

Here’s a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for Wednesday’s Eastern Conference showdown.

Pacers vs. Celtics Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Pacers +10.5 (-105)
Celtics -10.5 (-115)

Moneyline

Pacers: +370
Celtics: -485

Total

225.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Pacers vs. Celtics How to Watch

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 21
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
Venue: TD Garden
How to Watch (TV): NBC Sports Boston, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
Pacers record: 10-34
Celtics record: 26-16

Pacers vs. Celtics Injury Reports

Pacers Injury Report

Tyrese Haliburton – out
Obi Toppin – out
Bennedict Mathurin – out
Taelon Peter – questionable
Ethan Thompson – questionable

Celtics Injury Report

Jaylen Brown – probable
Jayson Tatum – out
Amari Williams – out
Ron Harper Jr. – out
Max Shulga – out
Josh Minott – out

Pacers vs. Celtics Best NBA Prop Bets

Celtics Best NBA Prop Bet

Jaylen Brown UNDER 2.5 3-Pointers (-190)

While I want to bet on Brown to have yet another big scoring game, his points prop is all the way up at 31.5 in this matchup, and he's failed to clear that in either of his games against Indiana this season.

Instead, I'm looking to the Celtics star's 3-point shooting and taking the UNDER against this stingy Pacers defense.

This season, Indiana is bound to end up with a lottery pick, but it does rank No. 1 in the league in opponent 3-pointers made per game and No. 2 in opponent 3-point percentage. The Pacers have held Brown to just two made shots from beyond the arc in each of his matchups against them, and they're allowing just 11.4 made 3s per game overall this season.

Brown is shooting 36.3 percent from deep, but he's failed to hit three or more shots from beyond the arc in 12 of his last 15 games.

Since Boston may end up winning this game by a ton on Wednesday, I think the UNDER is the play for Brown, as he's only taking 6.0 shots from deep per game this season.

Pacers vs. Celtics Prediction and Pick

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why I like Boston to win in this game, and I also think it’s going to cover:

Boston is in a great spot to pick up a win on Wednesday, as it takes on the Indiana Pacers, who are just 2-18 on the road.

The C’s are tied for No. 2 in the league in net rating (+7.4), and they’ve already beaten Indiana by eight or more points twice this season. The Celtics have an average scoring margin of +8.5 points per game when favored at home.

With Jaylen Brown (probable) expected to play in this game, I think Boston bounces back from a loss to Indiana the last time these teams played.

On the road this season, the Pacers have an NBA-worst -13.6 net rating and are dead last in offensive rating and effective field goal percentage. I don’t trust them against a Boston offense that is No. 2 in the league in offensive rating at 121.4.

Pick: Celtics -10.5 (-115 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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