Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Preview & Best Bets – 12/22/2025

The Boston Celtics will host the Indiana Pacers at TD Garden in a Monday night NBA matchup featuring two teams dealing with injured stars. Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum both suffered Achilles injuries in last year’s playoffs and they will try to overcome that to get a win here. Before tip-off from Boston, you can find my breakdown of this contest below, including my Pacers vs Celtics prediction.

Our Pacers vs Celtics Pick

Game Snapshot

• Matchup: Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics
• Date & Time: Monday, December 22, 2025, 7:30 PM ET
• Venue: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
• Broadcast: NBA League Pass

Key Storylines

The Celtics enter this contest off two straight wins, including a 112-96 victory over the Toronto Raptors in which Payton Pritchard delivered a standout performance. Pritchard scored 33 points while adding 10 assists and eight rebounds. Boston has won seven of their last nine games and has shown good depth even when dealing with roster uncertainties.

Jaylen Brown has been the team’s premier scoring threat, averaging 29.3 points per game. Derrick White’s perimeter shooting remains a key offensive piece this season as well. But Brown is questionable to play in this game due to illness and any absence for him could prevent the Celtics from firing on all cylinders offensively.

The Pacers have struggled this season, with a 1-12 record on the road and injuries continuing to plague their lineup. Indiana’s offense has ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring and efficiency, partly due to the absence of key playmaker Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles. Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith are also out, further limiting Indiana’s rotation from playing to its full potential. Pascal Siakam remains the team’s leading scorer, but is doing his best to carry a unit that is missing a ton of important players.

Head-to-Head & Betting Trends

• This is the first of four meetings between the Pacers and Celtics during the regular season.
• Boston is 16-12 against the spread going into Monday night.
• Indiana is 14-14 against the spread so far this year.
• The under has gone 17-11 in Pacers games so far this season.
• Boston has seen 15 of their 28 games stay under their totals.

Best Player Props to Watch

Pacers vs Celtics Model Projection

Final Thoughts

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.