Celtics vs Pacers prediction NBA · Friday, December 26
At a glance
The Indiana Pacers (6-24) host the Boston Celtics (18-11) on Friday, December 26 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in NBA action. Final score: Celtics 140 – Pacers 122. Before tip-off, the Basketlog model gave the Celtics a 74% chance to win: prediction correct. This season, the Pacers are 5-11 at home and the Celtics are 8-6 on the road. Over the last 10 games: 2-8 for the Pacers and 8-2 for the Celtics (current streaks: Pacers L6, Celtics W3).
The analysis Model
On paper, the Celtics dominate this matchup. The model projects Pacers 109 – 118 Celtics, a margin of about 8.2 points in favor of the Celtics and a total around 227 points. Expect a game at a standard NBA pace.
- The overall strength gap (-4.6 vs +5.9 pts/game) is the main factor.
- The Pacers need to win the pace battle to stay in the game.
- The Celtics' offense (116.1 pts/game) is the more productive of the two.
- The Celtics' defense allows clearly fewer points (109.1 pts/game).
What tips the balance
Scenarios
Stat comparison Current season
BOSIND
Top performers
Celtics
Jaylen BrownG · #730pts / game
Derrick WhiteG · #96assists
Payton PritchardG · #119reboundsPacers
Andrew NembhardG · #218pts / gameAndrew NembhardG · #28assists
Pascal SiakamF · #436reboundsRecent form
BOSINDHead-to-head
BOS lead 3-1 this season.
IND
Team comparison
| BOS | IND | |
|---|---|---|
| 18-11 | Record | 6-24 |
| 116.1 | Points scored / game | 111.5 |
| 109.1 | Points allowed / game | 117.0 |
| +5.9 | Adjusted margin / game | -4.6 |
| W3 | Current streak | L6 |
| 8-2 | Last 10 games | 2-8 |
| 8-6 road | Home / road record | 5-11 home |
| 61-21 (+9.1) | Last season | 50-32 (+2.2) |
| No | Played yesterday | No |
Injury report Celtics
Injury report Pacers
Probabilities estimated by the Basketlog model from available public data. They are neither a certainty nor betting advice.