Boston Celtics: 3 ways Payton Pritchard can improve in 2021-22

Area of improvement for Payton Pritchard No. 3) On-ball decision making

Depending on what moves Brad Stevens makes this summer, Payton Pritchard may end up being one of the primary ball handlers for the Boston Celtics. Ideally, the Cs should look to avoid this scenario as tasking a second-year guard with such a role would not be the best for contention, but Pritchard should be ready to do his best to fulfill what’s being asked of him.

Pritchard displayed craftiness in college and flashed it in the NBA in the few ball-handling possessions he was gifted.

He was excellent in the pick-and-roll next to Robert Williams, who took a lot of pressure off of him with his rim gravity.

As an elite shooter, Pritchard sometimes ran defenses off the line and drove to the paint, where he was forced to make decisions off the dribble, and for the most part, he did a good job.

Now, he’s going to have to take his processing speed to the next level.

With more weapons around him, Pritchard will need to start making the best decision instead of just the right decision to maximize the C’s bench.

This means breaking down defenses then looking for the best shot the Celtics can get.

Sometimes that’s a lob up to Williams, a kick out to Horford from deep, or a dump off to a cutting Jaylen Brown.

However, sometimes there are no excellent shots available at all, or they are all there at once.

Having multiple outlets is a good problem to have. Still, Pritchard should learn to leverage these options against the opposing defense and learn how to find them efficiently if he wants to contribute the most off the bench for the Boston Celtics.