Final: Celtics 128, Pacers 123 - Celtics survive another hot Pacers shooting night

GAME 78

Boston Celtics (47-30, 26-13 home, 3rd East) vs. Indiana Pacers (25-52, 9-29 road, 13th East)

TD Garden

7:30 PM - NBC Sports Boston 

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Daniel Theis, Al Horford

Indiana: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Goga Bitadze, Oshae Brissett, Justin Anderson

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Nik Stauskas (ankle) and Robert Williams (knee) are out tonight. 

- Here’s the full, extensive Indiana injury report: 

Malcolm Brogdon - Out (sore lower back)

Chris Duarte - Out (left toe)

Myles Turner - Out (left foot)

T.J. McConnell - Out (right wrist)

T.J. Warren - Out (left foot)

Ricky Rubio - Out (left knee)

- Boston is favored by 15

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

- Tight seeding, Williams injury, change rest schedule 

 There are four more games after this one, but Ime Udoka can’t commit to a set rest schedule for certain guys on the team. 

“It's too early,” he said before the game. “We've gone through different scenarios. But with the seeding being as close as it is, we haven't determined one thing yet. A lot can change, obviously, by a game or two and, like I keep mentioning, 1 through 4, and then 5 and 6 really now being that close, things can flip. So we'll see where we're at after a few games and then possibly determine that in the last, probably, on the road trip.”

Boston is currently the third seed, two games behind the Miami Heat. The top seed is probably a bit out of reach at this point, but it’s not impossible. Neither is the second seed, which is only 1.5 games away and a game against Milwaukee still to play. 

The maneuvering, between now and then will be interesting with the potential of facing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round looming. There is a strong argument to be made that Brooklyn’s defense isn’t good enough to carry them through the playoffs, but no one wants to put that theory to the test. 

The Celtics have bigger issues than that at the moment. With Robert Williams out for at least the next few weeks, they need to get the backup plan in motion. So while Al Horford might have earned some extra time off, there's still the matter of getting him used to his new frontcourt partner. 

“We don't need to see Al more, we know what he does,” Udoka said. “Obviously, it's Daniel with Al. Al is what he is. He’ll be in a little bit of a different role with Rob being out. But we’ve seen him and Grant, obviously, and just take a look at him and Daniel, and get Daniel some more minutes would probably be more important than just seeing Al. But any chance we get to shave those down, as I mentioned, or a night off if possible, we'll take a look at it.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. The Theis/Horford combination: Let’s start with that since we’re here. The questions I’ve been asking are simple: How easily can he slot into Robert Williams’ spot in the lineup? How much of the slack can he pick up on his own? We all have our own opinions, but the answer is on the court.

2. Revenge: The Celtics took it on the chin against Indy at the end of February. It was a bad loss, so the Celtics may have a little revenge on their minds. It would be nice to see them whip off a huge run at the start and put this game away early.

3. Grant Williams shooting: Grant shot 31% from 3 in March, an unacceptable number for his role. But hey, sometimes guys go into slumps. Jayson Tatum started out the season in one, and now Williams is going through one. A game against the lowly Pacers is a good chance to get back on track. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments