(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
After three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, it is going about as well as expected for the top-seeded Boston Celtics, with Jayson Tatum and company having a commanding 3-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers.
Although the Celtics came into the Eastern Conference Finals as the overwhelming favorite to win the series and advance to the NBA Finals, the Pacers have put up a fight, even though the team recently lost star guard Tyrese Haliburton to a hamstring injury.
In Game 1, the Pacers were on the verge of pulling off the upset, as Jaylen Brown hit a game-tying shot in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but in the end, Boston came out on top.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, Game 2 wasn’t much of a competition for the Celtics, as the top-seeded squad got a second win on their home floor before the series shifted to Indiana for Game 3, where Haliburton wouldn’t play due to the hamstring injury.
Even though many believed the Celtics would wipe the floor with the Pacers in Game 3, the opposite turned out to be the case, as Indiana should’ve come out with the win, but late-game heroics by Jrue Holiday changed that.
According to Evan Sidery of Forbes, the Pacers had exceptional odds to win Game 1 and Game 3 but now face elimination heading into Game 4.
The Pacers had over a 90% chance to win Games 1 and 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the final two minutes, per @ESPN’s probability chart:
Game 1 = 97.4%
Game 3 = 93.8%
Indiana is down 0-3 to the Celtics due to some historic late-game collapses. pic.twitter.com/FZ7VsjYrZc
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) May 26, 2024
If Haliburton remains out for Game 4, the Pacers’ chances of winning this series seem unlikely, even though the team came close to a win without him in Game 3.
However, if Haliburton can get back on the floor, the Pacers might have some light at the end of the tunnel if they continue to play at a high level and don’t let leads slip away late in games.
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