Boston Celtics stud: Payton Pritchard
These last 11 games of the regular season have proven to be a great stretch for the likes of Payton Pritchard, and Sunday’s bout against the Grizzlies proved to be the cherry on top of what has been an overall tremendous campaign for the point guard.
All year long, the sophomore has found himself being relied upon as a highly utilized backcourt talent who can make an impact in many different facets of the game, be it as a scorer, facilitator, or, simply, an energy boost off the pine.
Coming into the game against Memphis, since mid-March we’ve seen the 24-year-old putting up sound and highly efficient averages of 11.3 points, 2.8 assists, and three rebounds on 53 percent shooting from the floor and 41 percent shooting from deep.
Sunday, the second-year pro saw himself continuing this type of production in his high usage reserve role.
Seeing 15 minutes on the night, Pritchard went on to put up 12 points (the fourth-highest mark on the team), four assists, four boards (two of which came on the offensive side of the ball), and a steal whilst shooting 4-for-8 from the field and 2-for-5 from deep.
Being that Marcus Smart and Derrick White were shelved early on in the outing due to the team’s substantial advantage, we were able to witness No. 11 serve as the main floor general for a decent number of stretches and, in this role, he looked rather effective.
From leading the charge on fast breaks that, on one occasion led to a swift lob pass for a Luke Kornet slam to driving the lane on half-court sets, keeping his head up, and kicking it out to the open man, Pritchard performed like a true point guard on the night which, frankly, will absolutely come in handy once the playoffs roll around.