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Free Picks: Boston vs. Indiana Gambling Lines & Handicapping Preview

NBA Betting? Celtics vs Pacers Predictions

Friday night NBA betting action sees the Boston Celtics taking on the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cappers Picks provides free NBA handicapping tips all season long.

Taking pride in being the best defensive team in basketball, the Pacers look to rebound from allowing 117 points on Wednesday night.

NBA Odds

Boston Celtics (12-21) vs. Indiana Pacers (14-23)
Friday, Jan 9
7:00 PM ET
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, Indiana)
FSMW
NBA Betting Lines: Indiana -5
NBA O/U: 197.5
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They’ll have another tough task as they get the 7th best offensive in town on Friday when Evan Turner and company invade Indianapolis.

Boston

The Celtics finally got back into the win column in a rare low scoring affair against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

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Avery Bradley dropped in 21 points and the Celtics dropped Brooklyn 89-81. Evan Turner finally got himself going in the right direction, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists.

Head coach Brad Stevens is hoping his team can find some consistency as they’ve gone just 3-7 over their last 10 games. They’ve struggled on the road so far in the 2014-2015 season going just 4-10 S.U.

While the Celtics hold the 7th best offense in the NBA (102.6 PPG), they allow 103.6 against (25th). Their losses usually consist of high scoring shoot outs that end with lack of clutch defensive stops down the stretch of games. In their last 8 losses, Boston has allowed 100 points or more in all 8 contests.

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Brad Stevens returns to the city where he built the Butler Bulldogs program and essentially turned them from a mid major into a power team in NCAA basketball.

Indiana

Allowing 117 points on Wednesday put quite the damage on the Pacers points against average this season. Indiana dropped to the 2nd best defense in terms of points against (96.6 PPG) following their 117-102 loss at Golden State. The Pacers allowed 77 points in the 2nd half en route to their highest point goal allowed on the season.

Going 2-2 on their 4 game road trip, Indiana returns home where they are just 7-9. They have however won 2 of their last 3 home games, which includes wins over the Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans.

Things won’t be easy Friday as C Roy Hibbert is likely out after injuring himself in the loss at Golden State. Hibbert went down with a sprained ankle in the 1st quarter which changed the whole complexion of the game. Hibbert’s 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds were certainly missed, but the big loss was his presence and size in the middle of the paint.

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Indiana will look to avenge a 101-98 loss in Boston on November 7th.

NBA Handicapping Trends:

  • Celtics are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 Friday games.
  • Celtics are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. Eastern Conference.
  • Pacers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games.
  • Pacers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 vs. Eastern Conference.
  • Pacers are 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Friday NBA Action

With the Eastern Conference being so weak, both the Pacers and Celtics come in with an outside chance of sneaking back into the playoff race if they can string together a couple wins. Indiana sits in 9th place, just 1.5 games behind 8th seeded Miami. The Celtics are just 3 games behind the Heat in the win column as well.

Free 4* NBA Pick: Indiana -5

Even with Hibbert down, the Pacers are a better team than Boston.

Indiana 96, Boston 85

Coming off that embarrassing defensive performance, expect Indiana to lock down and hold Boston to a low point total on Friday night.

Check out our Updated NBA Betting Odds.

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By Tony M

Tony is new to Cappers Picks and has been betting on sports since the first day he turned 18. He is a 22 year old Cleveland native who lives and breathes Indians baseball. His dream is to be part of a championship celebration at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.