NBA Starting Lineups and Match Prediction - Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics

The Indiana Pacers visit the TD Garden to face the Boston Celtics in a crucial Eastern Conference matchup. This match could potentially decide who secures the 4th place in the Eastern Conference and also which team gains home court advantage in the playoffs.

The Celtics are currently 5th in the Conference and are just one game behind the Pacers. They have a 44-31 record, but will look to get back into form before the start of the playoffs.

Kyrie Irving is having one of the best individual seasons of his career for the Celtics. But his individual brilliance hasn't translated into wins for his side. In fact, the Celtics have a far better record with him out of the lineup. The Celtics are 11-2 without Irving.

The Pacers, meanwhile, have a 45-30 record and have coped brilliantly following the injury to their All-Star, Victor Oladipo.

The Pacers are getting good displays from almost everyone in the team. Bogdanovic is averaging 18 points per game for the season and is shooting a great 43% from the 3PT line. Sabonis is having a great season coming off the bench for the Pacers and is one of the leading contenders for the sixth man of the year award.

Let's have a look at the predicted starting lineups for the two teams:

Indiana Pacers: Darren Collison (PG), Wesley Matthews (SG), Bojan Bogdanovic (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Miles Turner (C).

Boston Celtics: Kyrie Irving (PG), Marcus Smart (SG), Jason Tatum (SF), Marcus Morris (PF), Al Horford (C).

Match Prediction:

This match can turn out to be a very intriguing contest especially since these two teams are set to clash in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics have been very inconsistent this season. The Pacers have also struggled in recent weeks and that has kept these two teams close to each other in the standings.

I predict the Celtics to come away with a win in a very tight encounter.