Boston Celtics rookie Payton Pritchard is getting national attention for his play early on in the 2020-21 season, even getting a shoutout from the NY Post.
In terms of news, the New York Post is somewhat of a sensational paper…although not when it comes to sports. That’s why Jeremy Layton’s shoutout of Boston Celtics rookie Payton Pritchard was notable.
In his piece, Layton called the Oregon product an NBA Draft steal. He writes:
"The other steal is Payton Pritchard, and he too had an eye-opening game on Wednesday night. Pritchard was taken with the 26th pick out of Oregon, and has found himself playing 22 minutes per game and averaging 8.3 points, good for fifth on the team.Pritchard only scored six points in the Celtics’ victory over the heat, but two of them were the game-winning putback with 0.2 seconds left to play. Two nights before, in a win over the Raptors, Pritchard scored a career-high 23 points and went 8-of-13 from the field."
Amen.
Our own Nathanael Rutherford was a bit ahead of the national media–which isn’t the first time, ESPN aired a segment in July 2019 that claimed Robin Lopez was a target for the Cs that summer after signing Kemba Walker that was broadcast hours after both Mark Nilon and I covered it in different pieces–in saying Pritchard could be the steal of the draft:
"Pritchard’s impact goes beyond just the box score, though. Watching him in Boston’s first three games, I’ve been impressed with his poise, confidence, and his knack for making plays on defense that lead to good scoring opportunities on the other end.For a Boston backcourt looking for help while Kemba Walker recovers, Pritchard seems like an answered prayer. He could prove to be the biggest steal of the 2020 draft, as well."
Rutherford even backed this point further in pondering whether Pritchard could start. The rookie guard didn’t make the strongest case but came in clutch with the game-winning bucket last night against the Miami Heat after a colossal 10-point blown lead almost gave the Houdini a heart attack.
As Rutherford pointed out, now may be the time to experiment with Pritchard in the first five:
"Ultimately, now is the time to tweak with the lineup and make sure you’re getting your players prepared for a postseason run. Pritchard gives the Boston Celtics a nice ace up their sleeve to use how they see fit, but this spot is still Kemba Walker’s to take over as long as he’s his old self again."
I agree. In fact, I think the Cs can maximize their bench with a few changes that I think I’ll reveal tomorrow…