It wasn’t a demotion, per se.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t yank Payton Pritchard out of the beginning lineup as a result of he was enjoying poorly. Fairly the other: Pritchard was on tempo for profession highs in factors, assists and rebounds whereas serving to spearhead one of many NBA’s finest offenses.
However when Boston traded Anfernee Simons — its third guard and sixth man — to acquire veteran center Nikola Vucevic, preserving Pritchard on the highest unit wasn’t a viable choice. Doing so would have left the Celtics with no dependable second-unit ball-handler and tanked their bench scoring.
So, Mazzulla made the decision. Second-year wing Baylor Scheierman would begin, and Pritchard — after beginning every of the primary 48 video games he performed this season — would reprise the function that received him NBA Sixth Man of the 12 months honors a yr in the past.
Six video games in, that setup has labored splendidly — for each the Celtics and Pritchard.
Boston entered Sunday’s matchup in opposition to the Los Angeles Lakers with a 5-1 report for the reason that Simons commerce, with Pritchard scoring at the very least 24 factors in all 5 wins. His minutes haven’t dipped (at the very least 30 in all six video games), he’s nonetheless a part of the staff’s closing lineup and he’s been hyper-productive, averaging 22.5 factors and 6.4 assists whereas taking pictures 52.0% from the sphere and 42.9% from 3-point vary. All of these marks are effectively above his season-long averages.
The lone dud was Pritchard’s tough displaying in a blowout loss to the New York Knicks on Feb. 8 (six factors, 2-for-9, minus-27). He responded by main the Celtics in scoring in back-to-back video games, together with a 26-point, seven-assist, six-rebound effort in Thursday’s 121-110 victory over Golden State.
Pritchard went 6-for-11 from past the arc in that win, hitting deep threes on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions to assist Boston survive a late Warriors comeback.
“It was actually easy, truthfully,” Pritchard mentioned of his new, acquainted function in an interview with NBA on Prime’s postgame show. “And the actual fact is, I sit the primary 5 minutes after which I are available in and I play the starter minutes. So on the finish of the day, it virtually is healthier as a result of I’m enjoying longer stints and also you get into the circulation extra and stuff like that. However clearly, we checked out our staff. Joe talked to me after we made the commerce for Vucevic, we didn’t have a ball-handler off the bench.
“Clearly, (Jaylen Brown) and (Derrick) White can deal with that beginning unit, however for me coming in, it all the time leaves at the very least two of us on the market to run the offense and stuff like that. It simply makes the offense extra fluid, and it is smart for our staff.”
Finest recognized for his 3-point taking pictures — his 255 3-point makes final season ranked fifth within the NBA — Pritchard additionally has been one of many league’s best isolation scorers this season. He’s averaging 1.30 factors per possession in these eventualities, per NBA participant monitoring, up from 0.96 in 2024-25.
The 6-foot-1 guard has been deadly from the midrange, too, making 56.8% of his photographs from 10-14 toes. Of all gamers with at the very least 40 such makes an attempt this season, solely reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hits these photographs at a better fee than Pritchard (59.6%).
That’s all carried over via Pritchard’s transfer to the bench. During the last six video games, he’s taking pictures higher than 60% on 2-pointers.
The Celtics even have gotten encouraging minutes from one other former starter: Vucevic.
The 35-year-old massive man had began all however three of his appearances over the past 10 seasons, however Mazzulla has used him off the bench behind Neemias Queta since his arrival earlier this month. Although Vucevic additionally struggled in opposition to New York as he adjusted to his new teammates and system, Boston has outscored its opponent by double digits with him on the ground in every of his different three outings.
Vucevic was a plus-11 in opposition to Miami, plus-26 in opposition to Chicago and plus-17 in opposition to Golden State, notching double-doubles in opposition to the Warmth and Bulls. He’s a confirmed scorer, shooter and rebounder, and his passing has added a brand new aspect to the Celtics’ frontcourt.
“No matter if Payton’s coming off the bench or not, he simply performs at a stage,” Mazzulla told reporters after Thursday’s sport. “He simply has the power to affect the sport in several methods. So it doesn’t matter the place he’s at within the rotation — he’s going to affect the sport on each ends of the ground.
“Vuc, he’s simply persevering with — once more, it’s the stability: ‘That is what we’d like from you. That is how we are able to make issues simpler for you.’ So I believe you’re seeing the connection simply form of develop. … His reads versus completely different coverages, his reads versus completely different screens are simply getting higher, and that basically impacts him, and it helps different guys, as effectively.”
The Celtics’ rotation ought to get even deeper within the coming weeks, as Jayson Tatum seems to be nearing a return from Achilles surgical procedure.
