Basketball

Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Dream11 Prediction : Dream11 Fantasy Tips for BOS vs IND

Sanket Chaudhury
|PublishedApr 17, 2019

Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Dream11 Prediction: Dream11 Fantasy Tips for BOS vs IND as The SportsRush helps you with Dream11

If it wasn’t clear how desperately Indiana was missing its superstar Victor Oladipo, during the regular season, the 3rd quarter of game 1 in the playoffs made it very very clear. The Pacers were held to a historic low of 8 points in the 3rd quarter and a total slugfest of a game was ended right then and there.

The scoreline shows a close game at 84-74 (throwback to the 90s scoreline) but Pacers couldn’t fetch a bucket all night long and while their defense, as always, remains stellar, they can’t seem to find a single scorer on their roster.

Boston did its business, doesn’t mean it cant improve but Kyrie and Tatum were both solid in a game where they were missing their best defender in Marcus Smart. Kyrie had a game high 20 points with 7 assists and 5 boards for well rounded performance that also saw him engaged on the defensive end and that is a great sign for the Celtics going forward if he sticks with it.

Marcus Morris also had 20 points 7 boards off the bench for Boston. Horford did Horford things despite not finding his shooting rhythm by affecting everything else. He managed a stat line of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Gordon Hayward also had a good game off the bench with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

For Indiana a grand total of 2 players got into double figures in scoring with Bogdanovic scoring 12 points and Cory Joseph getting 14 off the bench. Thaddeus Young was their most efficient scorer on dream 11 (based on points per Cr) with a stat line of 7 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

Sabonis and Turner as always also scored high despite scoring in single digits. Surprisingly Pacers played a total of 13 players in the game whereas most playoff teams see a 9 man rotation at best unless its a blowout in which case we see more. This gives hope that low cost players can get minutes and provide value on the Pacers team.

Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics

Kyrie Irving (PG) (19.5 Cr)

Irving is the most natural scorer and finally seems like he is over his frustrations or at least showing them on court. If Indiana keeps bringing their A-game on the defensive end then players who can get their own shots will be the best scorers and boy can Kyrie make his own shots if he digs into his bag of tricks. He was among the highest dream 11 scorers in game 1 and theres very little to suggest that wont be true for the whole series.

Cory Joseph (PG) (9.5 Cr)

Cory Joseph isnt the best player on the Pacers, not by a long shot, but he seems the one most capable of getting his buckets as the Celtics remain turned on in defense. Darren Collison can be a higher scorer if he gets going, but since his return from injury (a week before playoffs) he doesn’t look like he has gotten going yet, and also is valued at 3.5 Cr higher)

R.J. Hunter (SG) (3.5 Cr)

There isnt a single shooting guard in both the teams to provide good points return for the high values they have been assigned. Jaylen Brown, Wesley Matthews and Tyreke Evans aren’t doing a great job of scoring at all, but their rebounds and assist numbers are also dispiriting. Marcus Smart could be an option, but he is on the injury list as hasn’t been upgraded to a probable yet, so he is most likely to miss the game. RJ Hunter will not play, but he is the lowest priced SG on either team’s roster and for that he gets a spot on the team.

Gordon Hayward (SF) (10.5 Cr)

Tatum doesn’t do a lot outside of scoring and Hayward does a lot more with rebounding and assisting as he did in game 1. His numbers have also increased so he isn’t a risk as he was before when he was making a comeback from the injury. He also has the ability to score more if he gets aggressive. So he is the pick here above Tatum.

Thaddeus Young (PF) (14 Cr)

Thaddeus Young has the highest price among the Pacers outside of their 2 bigs and theres a reason for that. While Young is no star in any category, he excels at providing a good number at all of them. He can score, rebound and assist, leading to a lot of points on Dream 11. In a poor game 1, Young still managed a 36 point return and that is very handy from the Pacers team that is struggling to find good providers.

Marcus Morris (PF) (12 Cr)

Morris is a good pick for tough games and playoffs are when he raises his levels. Morris, like Young is a bit of do it all player. Leave him open and he will bury 3s are a really good clip (which gets him more such looks) and he can defend, get steals and blocks and rebounds well. Statistically he provides greatest value at his price range.

Al Horford ( C ) (15 Cr)

Horford’s over under numbers for assists and boards are 5 and 8. So you know that is what is expected of him. He only scored 10 points in the previous game, but he missed a few open jumpers that he generally makes, so once those start falling, his points will catch up to the 15 point mark. That in itself is a 30+ point game. Add to that his steals and blocks (and he gets them) and you have a solid star player candidate.

Damontas Sabonis ( C ) (15 Cr)

Picking between Sabonis and Turner is always difficult. Turner often gets more minutes and has more scoring range, but Sabonis is a much better rebounder and inside scorer. Our pick is Sabonis because of the Celtics defense and Turners reliance on shooting range which is tough to execute when Baynes, Horford and Morris are playing defense on you. Sabonis is much more crafty and difficult to guard in the paint and that is where more points might be on offer against this Celtics defense.