Final: Celtics 107, Pacers 128 - One of those days for Boston

Game 62
Boston Celtics (36-26, 16-15 road, 6th East) vs. Indiana Pacers (20-41, 14-18 home, 13th East)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse
5:00 PM - NBC Sports Boston

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Grant Williams, Robert Williams

Indiana: Tyrese Haliburton, Malcolm Brogdon, Buddy Hield, Oshea Brissett, Isaiah Jackson

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- No injuries for Boston, but Al Horford will come off the bench (if he plays at all) after playing 37 minutes yesterday. 

“We’re going to manage Al. Obviously played 37 last night so we want to manage his minutes and see who’s all available.” Udoka said. “Grant will start and Al will be on a need basis."

- Myles Turner (foot), TJ McConnell (wrist), Ricky Rubio (knee), TJ Warren (foot) are all out. Chris Duarte (toe) and Lance Stephenson (ankle) are questionable.

- Boston is favored by 9.5

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. How does this starting lineup work? The Celtics regular starting lineup is statistically the best in the NBA, but the lineup the C’s are starting today is pretty good, too. They’ve played 63 minutes together, making it the sixth-most frequently used lineup. Their 57% shooting is best of any Celtics lineup that's played 20 or more minutes together. And this group is a cumulative +38, fourth best lineup for Boston. 

So we know the lineup works. However, the consistency of Boston’s lineups has been part of their success, and starting a new group today by choice, even against a bad team like Indy, is interesting. It’s a lineup I personally called for earlier in the year, and the added focus on them in this game can give us some clues into how Ime Udoka might tweak things if needed against different matchups. 

2. Bench contribution: Assuming Horford is held out and isn’t needed, then that opens up one more spot for a contributor. Daniel Theis will get minutes backing up Robert Williams, but someone is going to have to come in for Grant Williams, and Udoka is probably going to want to limit Tatum and Brown to some degree. 

"It's a tricky one where obviously certain games call for it and then we've gotten to rest them some in fourth quarters in some of these blowouts recently,” Ime Udoka said. “You also have to start looking toward playoff minutes and building up toward that. Where they're not playing too low of minutes and have a big spike come playoff time. They're two guys that are younger guys that can kind of carry that load a little bit more so than an older guy that we want to rest somewhat.

“At the same time, with the way we've been playing and the leads we've been having, we want to shave those down a little here and there. But at the same time, not go from the low 30s to 38, 39 minute jump in the playoffs and guys get fatigued."

Payton Pritchard will get plenty of time, but there is also an opportunity for Aaron Nesmith to come in and give Boston some good minutes. How far down the bench will Udoka go, and how close a game is he willing to play in an effort to give his regulars a few extra minutes on the bench?

“We want to see Payton in an extended opportunity, which he’s done a great job,” Udoka said. “We’re confident in him all year in doing that. Adding Derrick (White) to the mix gives some versatility, but you got a guy like Theis as well for nights like this when it’s a back-to-back, and Al played heavy minutes last night, and we’re comfortable playing him. And then you have Aaron Nesmith and some other guys as well. So we’re comfortable going nine, 10 deep.”

3. Weary legs: Detroit was a physical team and the Celtics had to work hard to beat them. They're on back-to-back against another bad team, which could lend itself to a slow start. Can the Celtics come out strong and build a big lead that they hand over to the bench? If the C’s mess around too much, the unproven bench could be left shouldering too big a scoring load. The best-case scenario would be Tatum and Brown sitting on the bench with an 18 point lead and no pressure on the Nesmiths of the world to hold on in a back-and-forth battle. Give them the lead and let them play free. 

GAME THREAD

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