The Pacers are back on the road in Boston tonight after a disappointing home loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday. For a team looking to regain momentum, Boston is a particularly daunting matchup.

After an off-season of savvy maneuvering by local legend Brad Stevens, the Celtics are a more complete version of a team that was already one of the best in the NBA over the past few years. Adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derek White makes the Celtics a team that "poses every kind of matchup problem," in the words of Rick Carlisle.

Per the stats at Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics are first in the NBA in points per possession at 122.8, just 0.4 ahead of the second-ranked Indiana Pacers. Tonight will be a tough test for a defense that (once again) bailed its opponent out by committing too many fouls – but also simply struggled to get stops down the stretch against Chicago. Tyrese Haliburton in particular was targeted by the Bulls, something I desperately hope does not become a trend as the season goes on.

In addition to poor defensive execution, turnovers plagued the Pacers on Monday. The aggressive full court pressure of Caruso slowed Haliburton's pace and led to giveaways. The competition won't be any easier tonight against Jrue Holiday, so hopefully the team has taken the off-day to come up with adjustments for that kind of press-corner coverage.

All the mistakes aside, what really doomed the Pacers was the inability to make an open three-point shot. The team made just over a quarter of its 46 (!!!) attempts for the game. If the bottom of the net continues to be elusive in Boston, we may see the deep bench get plenty of run because the game could get out of hand quickly.

Speaking of the deep bench, the Pacers have three key players questionable for tonight's game.

Jalen Smith left the Bulls game after banging knees. Mathurin and Haliburton finished the game but were unable to practice yesterday. If those three are out, we'll likely see Ben Sheppard get his first real minutes of the season... and probably Jarace Walker as well given Isaiah Jackson's propensity for fouling.

Carlisle said that the theme for this season is "detail." Win or lose, if the team can bounce back and play with great attention to detail tonight, I'll feel much better about what is achievable this season.

How to Watch

Tipoff is at 7:30 ET.

TV: Bally Sports Indiana, NBA League Pass

Radio: 93.5/107.5 The Fan

See ya in the comments!

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