The Pacers will be without their All-Star Point Guard Tyrese Haliburton who suffered a hamstring strain in Game 2 and will now miss Game 3 resulting in TJ McConnell replacing Haliburton in the starting lineup. On the surface this may appear like a significant boost in playing time and usage for McConnell but I believe it is unlikely that McConnell plays significantly more minutes and this PRA line appears to be an overreaction. McConnell appeared in 12 games without Haliburton this season and his numbers are nearly identical despite playing 5 additional MPG. I believe McConnell benefits greatly from primarily playing against the opposing teams second unit. His inability to shoot from deep also caps his playing time.

If Brown continues to make shots at his current rate, there's a strong chance he'll approach this number on points alone. I think something similar to his Game 1 stat line (26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) is coming tonight.

Tyrese Haliburton is likely out and while I usually err on the side of the team missing the star for the overreaction you often see in the line, this line should be higher for Indiana, which has lost the non-Haliburton minutes in the first two games by 65 points. Boston has put their foot down in this series after the Game 1 scare and they win this one by double digits.

Tyrese Haliburton is unlikely to play tonight. Indiana will look towards their deep bench for more offensive production with him out. Obi Toppin has had 10 points, or more, in nine out of 13 games this season when Haliburton hasn’t played. He also had 10 points, or more, in five of the last six home playoff games and 10 of the last 13 playoff games overall.

I'm shocked this line is still 15.5 after Game 1. Derrick White had a relatively slow first half and still eclipsed this number. White had a bit of a rut in the middle of the Cavaliers series, and it feels like they are still setting lines for that Derrick White. Without those 3 games, he is 7-2 to the over in playoffs, and he is above 50% to this over on the road this season.

It looks as if Tyrese Haliburton's hamstring pull is going to keep him out of tonight's Game 3 for the Pacers, though the oddsmakers already baked his potential absence into this number as soon as Game 2 ended. Still, Indy isn't likely to wave the white flag as Rick Carlisle did in the 4th Q on Thursday, not using Myles Turner and only a few minutes to both Pascal Siakam and Aaron Nesmith, saving energy for a kamikaze effort here. The Celtics are having problems with Siakam, and the Pacers have been scoring freely in this series, hitting better than 52% FGs. This is a big number even sans Haliburton, and remember, Indy is 6-0 SU as a playoff host thus far. Play Pacers

Brown was great in Boston and now it’s his turn to let Tatum soar. Brown rarely gets over 12 reb plus assists and often falls to 7,8. The points won’t be so fruitful that he can eclipse this high line

The Pacers are fighting for their lives at home, where they have shot 54%(!) from the field in the first half of their playoff games there. They average 64 points/half there and average Pacers home playoff game totals 116 in first half. Of course, Boston can light it up way more than the Cavs or Magic. BOS is NBA best +14 in first half on road (4 games), averaging 59 points in first 24 mins. Game 1 produced 128 in the first half and first game in new arena could see the same. Celtics have had killer instinct and Pacers don't go down easy. After Carlisle called off dogs early in Game 2 they'd best come out flying here. Celtics can match them shooting outside.

No idea if Tyrese Haliburton is playing. May not until pre-game warmups. But if he does, this is a nice number considering how good the Pacers have been at home. If he doesn't, this might slide up a tad, but I believe backup TJ McConnell is one of the more underrated guys in the NBA. Frankly, I'm sorta off the Haliburton bandwagon after he personally lost Game 1 late. I mean, if the Pacers would take Dalen Terry, Torrey Craig and Onuralp Bitim in trade for him from the Bulls (guessing hard no), I'd happily welcome Haliburton to Chicago, don't get me wrong. Indy 500 weekend, first conference finals game in a decade in that city. There will definitely be a home-court advantage.