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Best NBA Odds and Trends for Every Playoff Game Today (Tuesday, May 21)

Breaking down the best odds and trends for each of the NBA playoff games on Tuesday, May 21.

By Peter Dewey

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown. / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
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The Eastern Conference Finals are upon us!

The No. 1-seeded Boston Celtics will finally be back in action on Tuesday night after a lengthy layoff to take on the No. 6-seeded Indiana Pacers, who knocked out the New York Knicks in Game 7 on Sunday.

It's a quick turnaround for Indiana, who has surprised a ton of people, including oddsmakers, by making the Conference Finals.

Still, the Pacers are huge underdogs in this series against the NBA's best team. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, Indiana and Boston both benefitted from major injuries to their opponents, but luck is always a key part of finding your way into contention for a title.

This season, these teams matched up five times, with Boston winning the season series 3-2. However, Indiana won the most high-stakes matchup, beating the C's in the NBA's In-Season Tournament.

Kristaps Porzingis (calf) is likely to miss the start of this series -- at least -- for Boston, but that hasn't stopped oddsmakers from installing the Celtics as massive favorites in Game 1.

No matter how you plan to bet on this matchup, the BetSided team has you covered with the latest odds and trends for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

  • Pacers +10 (-110)
  • Celtics -10 (-110)

Moneyline

  • Pacers: +350
  • Celtics: -455

Total

  • 222 (Over -108/Under -112)

Boston has not been elite at home over the last three playoff runs, but it did handle business in Game 1 of each of its first two series this postseason, winning and covering in those games.

As a home favorite in the 2023-24 season, the Celtics are 25-20-2, winning those games by an average margin of 14.6 points per game.

As a road under, the Pacers are 16-13-1 against the spread this season, and they were able to win Game 7 outright in a hostile environment in New York.

Boston had wins of 51, 17 and five points against the Pacers during the regular season.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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