Boston Celtics: Pros and cons of Payton Pritchard earning a starting role

Payton Pritchard has been a welcome surprise for the Boston Celtics, but should he be starting? Let’s look at the pros and cons of starting the rookie.

The most surprising thing about the start of the Boston Celtics’ 2020-21 season hasn’t been the emergence of Jaylen Brown as a budding star, the drop in the C’s defensive prowess, or how close many of Boston’s wins have been; so far, the biggest–and best–surprise for the Celtics has been the stellar play of rookie point guard Payton Pritchard.

Last week, I wrote about Pritchard’s impact on the Celtics and how he could turn out to be the steal of the 2020 NBA Draft. After a phenomenal night against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, I’m again taking a look at the rookie out of Oregon…because something may be happening here (and what it is ain’t exactly clear yet).

So far this season, Pritchard has come off the bench in all eight of Boston’s games. He’s had a noticeable impact in almost all of those contests, and the biggest night of his young career came against the Raptors on Monday when he totaled 23 points, eight assists, and two rebounds in 32 minutes of action.

Aka “starter minutes”.

In doing so, Pritchard did something only Boston legend Larry Bird had accomplished as a Celtic.

With that in mind, is it time for Pritchard to earn a starting role for the Celtics for the foreseeable future?

Pritchard played more on Monday because both Marcus Smart and Jeff Teague sat out. Even then, the rookie didn’t get the start, as Brad Stevens turned to Tremont Waters to begin the game. Waters wasn’t nearly as effective as Pritchard, though, managing 5 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 4 turnovers in 24 minutes.

Even if Smart and Teague are good to go, has Pritchard done enough to warrant starting just a few weeks into his NBA career?

Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of Pritchard getting the starting point guard gig.