Free NBA Picks Today: Best Bets for Tuesday's Game 1 of Pacers at Celtics

Free NBA Picks Today: Best Bets for Tuesday's Game 1 of Pacers at Celtics

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

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Best Bets

Pascal Siakam under 7.5 rebounds (-135) at Celtics

BetMGM, 3:48 PM CT

Alex Barutha: The Celtics have held opponents to 35.8 RPG through the first two rounds -- the lowest mark in the postseason. Notably, their 6.3 opponent offensive boards per game are also the lowest mark. Siakam is averaging exactly 7.5 boards in the playoffs, but six of those 13 appearances included three or more offensive boards. Only three of his playoff performances have included more than seven defensive boards.

Celtics -6.0 First Half vs. Pacers (-110)

DraftKings Sportsbook, 3:30pm CT

Nick Whalen: The Pacers have been able to consistently get off to strong starts in the postseason, so I'm staying again from the first quarter line (BOS -3.5), but over the course of the first 24 minutes I expect the Celtics to be able to build a semi-comfortable lead. This is a major jump up in competition for the Pacers, who caught some significant injury breaks through the first two rounds.

Derrick White O16.5 points vs. Pacers (-110)

DraftKings Sportsbook, 3:30pm CT

Nick Whalen: White had a huge Round 1 series against Miami, and while he cooled off to some degree in Round 2, he's still averaging over 18 points per game for the playoffs. The Pacers are a more fantasy-friendly opponent than Miami or Cleveland, and I expect Indy to sell out to slow down Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, which should leave White plenty of opportunity.

Aaron Nesmith over 9.5 points (-115) versus Boston Celtics

DraftKings 2 p.m.

Kirien Sprecher: Nesmith spent his first two seasons in Boston but was never able to solidify a role. He has been a key piece for the Pacers over the last two seasons and will be tasked with guarding Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown throughout the series. However, Nesmith will also need to make some open shots, and I expect him to have a revenge game on the road. He's scored in double figures in seven of 13 postseason games thus far, averaging 10.5 points during that stretch.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Kirien Sprecher
Kirien Sprecher is a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate who has covered the NBA, NFL and MLB for RotoWire since early 2021. In his free time, Kirien is probably arguing a foul call during a pickup basketball game at a local rec center.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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