Last Tuesday, the Celtics used a 27-point win over the Bulls to rally and win Group C due to point differential. They are now the betting favorites to win the In-Season Tournament. They will head to Indiana for a quarterfinal matchup. Derrick White could be in a good spot.
The Pacers will be hoping to get Tyrese Haliburton back in the lineup after Saturday's game in Miami. Haliburton has taken the In-Season Tournament as seriously as anyone in the league, so I expect him to be in. However, he may be in for an off night.
In Sacramento, the Kings will host the Pelicans in a matchup that should feature a ton of points. They have had a hard time containing Brandon Ingram this season and that may just continue tonight.
Derrick White Over 19.5 Points + Assists (-118)
7:30 p.m. | TNT
This season, Derrick White is averaging 14.3 points per game. He has scored in double digits in each of his last eight games, hitting 13 points in seven of them. He has also scored at least 17 points in each of his last three games against the Pacers.
White has done much of his damage against the Pacers from beyond the arc. He has made at least three 3s in each of the last meetings, including games with four and five 3s. White has also made at least two threes in six of his past eight games. He will face a Pacers team that is 28th in 3-point percentage defense.
While White could hit this line with just points, he is also averaging 5.1 assists this season. He has had at least four assists in each of his past 10 games, including a high mark of 11 assists against Atlanta last Sunday. Having Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday among others as teammates certainly does help his assist numbers. Per NBAStats, White is averaging 7.7 potential assists per game.
White has hit this line in each of his past four games, including 26 total points and assists in two of them.
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Tyrese Haliburton Under 27.5 Points (-115)
7:30 p.m. | TNT
Along with Jrue Holiday, White will play a hand in defending Tyrese Haliburton today. They will certainly have their hands full the way Haliburton has been playing of late. He has scored 28 points in six of his past nine games and four of his past five games. He has averaged 34.6 points per game over his past five games.
However, against the Celtics, Haliburton has hit this line in just one of the past three meetings. In the games he went with under, he scored 22 and 20 points. We have a lot more cushion with this line tonight.
Now, Haliburton can start slow at times. He likes to get his teammates involved early, which is not surprising considering he is one of the best passers in the league. It may look like this will be an easy winner at halftime and then he erupts in the third quarter, usually via threes. However, tonight Haliburton will face a Celtics team that is third in the league in defensive rating.
The total for tonight's game is at 240.5 points. However, this quarterfinal is essentially a playoff game, which means it may not be as fast-paced as the Pacers typically play. The Celtics have much more playoff experience than the Pacers and I expect them to use that to their advantage to keep Haliburton under 28 points tonight.
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Brandon Ingram Over 21.5 Points (-110)
10 p.m. | TNT
In two games against the Kings this season, both wins, the Pelicans are averaging 123 points per game. In those two games, Brandon Ingram scored 31 and 23 points. Dating back to last season, Ingram has scored 22 points in each of his last four games against the Kings, averaging 25 points per game in that span.
Ingram is averaging 23.4 points per game this season, so he would hit this line with an average game. He has upped his average to 24 points per game over his last 15 games and he has went over this line in 11 of them. Tonight, he gets a Kings team that is 19th in defensive rating and 21st in scoring defense 116.7 points per game allowed per game.
While Ingram has already found a lot of success in this matchup, the Kings have struggled to defend small forwards all season. Per FantasyPros, the Kings are allowing the third-most points per game to small forwards. Over the last three weeks, they have allowed at least 23 points to Ingram (twice), Andrew Wiggins, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James. Ingram and Leonard each had a 30-point game, while Wiggins and James were not far off with 29 and 28, respectively.
With his strong play and great matchup, Ingram could be in line for a big night. He already has scored 30 points in three of his past 10 games. You can take him to score 30 points at +550 on DraftKings tonight. That is great value considering it is +350 on FanDuel.
