NBA Picks & Parlay of the Weekend | May 25

The Boston Celtics have jumped off to a 2-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the series is shifting back to Indiana for Game 3 on Saturday night. Since it’s the weekend, the USA Legal Betting team wanted to do something and put together a same-game parlay for this matchup. 

We’ve chosen to use BetRivers for our odds since it’s one of the top Indiana sportsbooks. However, you should feel free to look at sportsbook reviews for a variety of sites before picking one. Either way, here is the three-leg parlay we like for Saturday’s Game 3 between the Celtics and Pacers.

Pacers +7 | -108 at BetRivers

The biggest concern for Indiana is not being down 2-0 but rather the injury to Tyrese Haliburton, who left Game 2 with a hamstring injury. Obviously, the Pacers could easily be in trouble if he’s not able to play. However, Indiana actually beat Boston earlier this season in a game that Haliburton left with an injury. Even if he’s unavailable or not close to 100% while he’s on the floor, it’s not the end of the world for the Pacers.

Remember that Indiana is 6-0 straight-up at home during the playoffs and 4-2 against the spread. The Pacers have been favorites in all of their home playoff games, so being a home underdog will be a little different for them. But keep in mind that Indiana was 8-3-1 against the spread as a home underdog during the regular season. With or without Haliburton, the Pacers will get a lift from playing at home and should make this a competitive game. Boston could potentially take its foot off the gas with a 2-0 lead, which is why we feel good about the Pacers at least beating the spread.

Over 223 | -109 at BetRivers

For fans using Massachusetts sportsbooks, this may be a safer bet than banking on the Celtics to win. Game 2 ended with 236 total points, which was a lower total than Game 1, and yet the over/under at BetRivers dropped by a couple of points. Naturally, the status of Haliburton could be a factor in that. But that’s not enough to make us think this will suddenly be a low-scoring affair.

These teams have played seven games this year between the regular season and the playoffs, and all but one of those games has had a minimum of 233 total points. No matter the location of what players are available, these teams are going to keep going after it and trying to get up and down the floor. Frankly, seeing this game stay below 223 total points would be more shocking than the Pacers winning straight up.

Jaylen Brown Over 25.5 Points | -125 at BetRivers

Whether the Celtics win or not, we like Grown to have a big game. He’s fresh off a 40-point performance in Game 2 and also went over 25.5 points with 26 points in Game 1. Keep in mind that he got to 26 points in Game 1 with just one made three-pointer. With a slightly better shooting game, Brown should have no problem getting to 26 points again.

In his 12 playoff games, Brown has gone over 25.5 points six times, in part because of some bad shooting games along the way. But given Indiana’s lackluster defense, especially the way the Pacers defend the perimeter, we don’t see him slowing down. That makes Brown scoring at least 26 points one of the safest prop bets heading into Game 3.