There are still two days remaining in the 2018-19 NBA regular season, but nothing that happens over the course of Tuesday or Wednesday will affect the playoff standing of the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers.
The Celtics and Pacers are locked into the 4 and 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference, meaning Boston will be hosting Indiana in Game 1 of the first round of the postseason next week.
Of course, this isn't the matchup that most of us would have liked to see, as the Pacers lost Victor Oladipo to a devastating knee injury back in January, severely limiting their potential in the East.
However, Indiana fought admirably throughout the remainder of the season and is still a feisty team that won't go down without a battle.
So, here are a few things to watch in what should be an entertaining first-round playoff series between the Celtics and the Pacers:
3. The Frontcourt Battle
One area where the Pacers were not adversely affected by the loss of Oladipo was up front.
Indiana has one of the better and more versatile frontcourts in the league with Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young starting and Domantas Sabonis coming off the bench.
Both Turner and Young can hurt you in numerous different ways offensively, as each player has the ability to spread the floor and both guys are also very athletic and can crash the offensive glass.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have a pretty impressive frontline of their own in Aron Baynes, Al Horford and Marcus Morris, with Daniel Theis moonlighting on occasion.
Boston's bigs are definitely more experienced, and the defensive tandem of Baynes and Horford up front is surely one of the better duos in the league. Every one of their centers and forwards possesses the ability to stretch the floor, and Horford in particular is an outstanding playmaker.
A key for the Pacers will be creating second-chance opportunities. They simply have to win the battle on the boards to have any shot of winning this series. Luckily for them, Sabonis is a master at that, and Turner and Young are no slouches, either.
For Celtics, it's the inverse. Simply limit second shots for the Pacers, and they should be alright.
2. The Kyrie Irving-Al Horford Pick-and-Roll
One of the most lethal parts of the Celtics' offense is the two-man game between Kyrie Irving and Horford, and it's something that we should expect to see a whole lot of in these playoffs.
The key for Boston will be utilizing the pick-and-roll to full effect when Sabonis is on the floor, as Sabonis does not have the footspeed of Turner to guard the play as effectively.
That could be troublesome for Indiana, as Sabonis is a huge part of what the Pacers do, and if the Celtics can keep him off the floor, it's going to put a stifling cap on Indy's potential.
A strategy the Pacers could employ is trapping Irving up top in order to kill the pick-and-roll before Boston gets a chance to use it. Of course, by doing that, you might leave another shooter open, and the C's are full of guys who can knock down threes, so Indiana would have to be careful if it does decide to exercise that plan.
Let's also remember that the Pacers would not only have to worry about the pick-and-roll, but the pick-and-pop, which might be an even more deadly set.
Horford is a terrific three-point shooting big man, and the more he can keep Sabonis out around the perimeter when he is on the floor, the better.
1. The Gordon Hayward Watch
The most interesting development over the last two months for the Celtics has been the play of Gordon Hayward, who has elevated his performance since February and has really broken out over the last month.
When Hayward is playing at his current level, Boston becomes that much more difficult to defend. You might not realize it because of how rough Hayward looked early on in the season, but he is the Celtics' second-best scorer, and if he keeps playing this way, he is going to be one of their top two or three options in the playoffs.
If the Pacers let him get going early on in the series, it's over. Indiana simply does not have the firepower to match a Celtics team that is trotting out Irving, Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Morris and a rejuvenated Hayward offensively, so Indy will have to do everything in its power to make sure that Hayward does not start seeing shots fall from the get-go.
Even with Oladipo, Indiana would be outgunned in this series. Without him, the Pacers are fighting a steep uphill battle, and if Hayward burns them for 21 points like he did in the Celtics' blowout road win over Indy last Friday, that hill will become a full 90-degree angle.
Now, for Boston? Brad Stevens probably won't force looks for Hayward, as he wants him to be comfortable. But if Hayward looks good early? You can bet his number will be called quite a bit throughout the series.
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