Coming into Sunday’s sport, the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards each had nothing to play for. The Celtics clinched the primary seed with 11 video games left within the season whereas the Wizards sat second to final within the Jap Convention with 15 wins. With every workforce’s star gamers sitting, it was time for function gamers and end-of-the-bench gamers to step up.
Payton Pritchard isn’t any end-of-the-bench participant; he’s a job participant on a really proficient Celtics workforce and due to that, he’s been pressured to be a job participant. Final yr, Pritchard featured in 48 video games. Regardless of his need to be on the courtroom, he couldn’t get the minutes he needed behind teammates Marcus Sensible, Derrick White, and Malcolm Brogdon.
Quick ahead to Sunday and Pritchard featured in sport 82 (one among simply 17 gamers this season to perform this feat). When he’s obtained his possibilities this yr he’s taken it, whether or not it was being one of many first guys off the bench or in spot begins.
After beginning on Friday and dropping a then career-high 31 factors in opposition to the Hornets, Pritchard obtained the beginning nod once more to conclude the common season and he impressed once more scoring a brand new career-high 38 factors on 15-21 taking pictures. Getting extra minutes over the previous couple of video games, he was requested postgame if these video games gave him momentum.
“Nah, I already knew I might do that on a nightly foundation, however when you’ve got a workforce with as a lot expertise as we have now, it’s a must to do different issues to assist successful,” Pritchard stated. “This doesn’t do something for me, it’s an excellent efficiency, however finally I’m right here to win a championship. No matter is requested of me, I’ll try this.”
After signing his four-year, $30 million extension (Thanks, Brad), Pritchard is displaying he’s greater than only a function participant on a proficient workforce. There will likely be nights when he’s requested to be extra of a facilitator however his skill to create pictures and shoot (38.5% from three this season) ought to bode properly for him within the playoffs. One query mark he had coming into the season was how would his protection maintain up in opposition to these different guards, nevertheless it doesn’t appear to be a difficulty.
On Sunday, Pritchard confirmed why he belongs within the league scoring 14 consecutive factors for the Celtics to shut the second quarter which included 4 three-pointers. Nevertheless it wasn’t simply the scoring from Pritchard that made this such an excellent efficiency by him. Pritchard understands the sport and the place the openings are when he’s driving with the ball, discovering guys for simple layups or open pictures. Pritchard completed the sport with 12 assists displaying he’s greater than only a scorer.
Joe Mazzulla talked about how Pritchard (and Sam Hauser) aren’t outlined by one factor.
“I feel they know what their function is and so they know find out how to play the sport, and know find out how to impression the sport, and so they’re not outlined by one factor. They take simply as a lot delight of their protection as they do of their offense,” Mazzulla stated. “They’re properly coached by the participant improvement employees, [and] are nice complementary components to this workforce, however on the identical time, they know they’ll impression the sport in numerous methods.”
Photograph by Brian Fluharty/Getty Pictures
On the final sport of the 2023 season, Pritchard file his first, and solely, triple-double of his profession with 30 factors, 11 assists, and 14 rebounds. It was nearly deja vu for Pritchard as he was one rebound shy of what would have been his second-ever triple-double.
In the direction of the previous couple of minutes of the sport, you could possibly see Pritchard within the paint attempting to struggle for that elusive tenth rebound however finally he got here up brief.
“If it got here, I’ll take it. However I obtained one final yr, so it wasn’t like I had strain to get my first triple-double,” Pritchard stated. “I’m a reasonably good rebounder, so if I get the minutes, I feel I’ll be capable of get one other triple-double.”
However even off the ground, Pritchard is a mentor to the youthful guys on the workforce. CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell requested Pritchard about being a frontrunner to guys like Jordan Walsh and Drew Peterson.
“A number of us have to begin from the bottom up. We’re not going to be excessive draft picks so it’s a must to get it by way of your work displaying up each day [and] grinding,” he stated. “I simply attempt to feed that to all of the younger ones coming in to do all of the little issues and present up each day and preserve getting higher and higher since you don’t understand how far you may take it.”
There will likely be occasions this postseason Pritchard should step up and ship for Boston whether or not it’s him on the lookout for his shot or creating scoring alternatives for his teammates. Whether or not he will get 10 minutes or half-hour, you realize Pritchard will give it his all each time he steps onto the courtroom.
