Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers Player Prop: Can T.J. McConnell Crash the Boards in Game 4?
Boston Celtics vs. Indiana Pacers Player Prop: Can T.J. McConnell Crash the Boards in Game 4?
The Celtics and Pacers meet for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight from Cambridge Fieldhouse in Indiana. The Celtics have taken the first three meetings of the series and look like they are in complete control to sweep the series or at least make it to the NBA finals. If the Pacers want to show any fight in the series and take a game, they have to come out and be aggressive tonight. That is exactly what I’m banking on for Pacers point guard TJ McConnell.
CELTICS VS. PACERS GAME 4 DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 27, 2024
- Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN, ESPN2
BOSTON CELTICS VS. INDIANA PACERS GAME 4 PREDICTION
Tyrese Haliburton missed game three due to a hamstring injury and is now questionable for game four. Given that hamstring injuries usually do not take just a few days to recover, I seriously doubt that Tyrese Haliburton will be able to play tonight, or at least be 100% effective. That means another potential big game from backup point guard TJ McConnell.
McConnell has been one of the best bench players in the playoffs so far as he has proven to be effective in scoring, facilitating, and even rebounding. Even as a 6‘1“ guard, he had nine rebounds last game when he played a playoff-high 29 minutes in the absence of Tyrese Haliburton. McConnell was second on the team with 13 rebound chances. Over the three games in this series, TJ McConnell is averaging eight rebound chances and is converting 5.7 per game on average. The line for TJ McConnell is 4.5 rebounds with plus money on the over. I love this match-up for him against the Celtics because the Celtics shoot a lot of threes and typically give up longer rebounds to opposing teams. Because of this, guards will usually get more rebounds against the Celtics than they do against other teams. McConnell is a very aggressive player and he can certainly show up in the rebounding department when he gets decent minutes, which he likely will again with Halliburton injured and maybe even sitting again.
McConnell has now hit 5+ rebounds in back-to-back games and also had seven rebounds in a game against the Celtics back in November. Of the four games he played against the Celtics this season, only two were in his normal minutes, and he had four rebounds and seven rebounds in those two. Both of those were also coming off the bench. If he sees an increase in minutes like he did in game three once again tonight, hitting five rebounds should be no problem for him.
BOSTON CELTICS VS. INDIANA PACERS GAME 4 Player Prop
Pick: TJ McConnell Over 4.5 Rebounds +115 CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.