BOSTON – The In-Season Tournament produced a few new schedule quirks, one of which resulted in an additional fifth game being tacked onto the Celtics-Pacers season series.
We’re not even 50 games deep in the regular season, and that fifth matchup is already upon us Tuesday night at TD Garden.
Boston and Indiana split the first four games, including the Pacers’ IST quarterfinals win on Dec. 5 in Indy.
“It’s challenging, playing five times against a really good team,” Jayson Tatum said ahead of the series' deciding game.
Added Jaylen Brown "They’re a really tough team, a hungry team. Obviously they play fast, got a lot of young guys who are hungry. It won't be easy for us, playing on a back-to-back. We'll have to come out and be ready to play. Because if not, they can get out and get hot early.”
Indiana’s offense is ranked No. 1 in the league, one spot ahead of the C’s. Though, Boston also boasts the No. 2 defense, which has enabled it to hold Indiana to 105 points or fewer in two out of the four matchups.
However, this matchup should have a different feel to it compared to the previous four, since the Pacers have added a two-time All-Star wing to their roster since the last meeting.
On January 17, Indiana acquired Pascal Siakam in a trade with the Toronto Raptors, which has added an even deeper layer to their elite offense.
In six games with the Pacers, Siakam has averaged 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game, while shooting 57.6 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range. He’s also helped to lead them to three consecutive wins.
“They play really fast,” said Tatum, “and now adding somebody as athletic as he is who can kinda create for himself in that bigger wing position, it’s a great addition to their team. Every other game that we’ve played them so far has been a really good one, so [tonight] should be fun as well.”