Today's Best NBA Prop Bet Picks & Predictions for Pacers vs Celtics, Tuesday 5/21: Aaron Nesmith playing with a chip on his shoulder

The NBA Eastern Conference Finals tips off tonight with the Boston Celtics hosting an unlikely opponent in the Indiana Pacers. We can delve into all the ways the dominos fell for both teams to get here, but it wouldn’t add much value to the matchup itself. Instead, we get to watch the 2 highest-scoring teams in the NBA battle it out over the next two weeks for a shot at reaching the NBA Finals. In 5 regular-season matchups, the Celtics own the series 3-2, but it is worth mentioning that Pascal Siakam was only involved in one of those matchups. Boston is expected to start the series without Kristaps Porzingis and his return will be monitored on a nightly basis. Let’s dive into today’s best NBA player prop bets for Game 1 of Pacers vs Celtics!

Read our full Indiana Pacers vs Boston Celtics Game 1 predictions

Aaron Nesmith (IND) over 14.5 points+rebounds (-112) 

Line available on DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing.

New series, new mismatches to exploit. In the series against the Knicks, Aaron Nesmith never really got going offensively outside of Game 7 where he went a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor. In the series against the Celtics, I think things will open up for him, specifically getting open looks from the three-point range. I love his over 1.5 threes made line, but feel more confident in his full body of work for Game 1.

Nesmith is 3rd on the team in offensive rebounding for three-point shots, which is great considering how many threes the Celtics allow opponents to shoot (3rd-most attempts per game with 35.5 and the most of any team remaining). The Celtics also shoot a ton of threes themselves (most of any team in the entire postseason) and I noticed that in regular-season matchups Nesmith was given weakside defenders and it allowed him open rebounds after the shot went up on the opposite side of the floor. He hit this line in 3-of-5 games against Boston in the regular season and 2 of 3 when playing 30+ minutes. 1u

You can bet on this Aaron Nesmith player prop pick at DraftKings Sportsbook, where new users can earn a No Sweat Bet up to $1,500! All you have to do to get started with DraftKings is click this link.

$10 NBA Pacers vs Celtics Player Prop Lotto, 5/21 (+1855)

• Aaron Nesmith 3+ 3PM
• Aaron Nesmith 6+ Rebounds
• Tyrese Haliburton 10+ Assists

$10 pays $185.59

Now check out our Pacers vs Celtics Same Game Parlay picks for tonight at +560 odds!