Indiana Pacers: 5 keys to series vs. Celtics

5. Contain the Celtics’ wing players

With Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris on their roster, the Celtics have one of the most — if not the most — flexible lineups at the small forward position. Each of these players can shoot, drive, dunk and defend, and it’s certainly not good news for the Indiana Pacers.

They will have to lock down the perimeter on defense and hope to not find themselves in too many pick-and-pop or pick-and-roll mismatches with these versatile scorers.

Thaddeus Young, Bojan Bogdanovic and Tyreke Evans, who will likely have to see these matchups, certainly don’t have young legs on their side, but running these players off the perimeter, limiting their attempts to 2-pointers and forcing them to make decisions off the dribble seems to be their best bet.

Having made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, each one of these Celtics wings is poised and ready for just about any challenge. Indiana’s third-ranked defense will have to play hard one-on-one defense with little help, and hope for off-nights.