Boston Celtics: 2 unsung studs from redemption win over Miami in Game 2

Boston Celtics stud No. 1) Payton Pritchard

Payton Pritchard has been an absolute gem for the Boston Celtics throughout this year’s postseason run, and he continued his hot stretch into Thursday night’s blowout win over Miami.

Though Marcus Smart wound up coming back for this pivotal Game 2, hours before tip-off it was announced that typical sixth man and the team’s main backup point guard Derrick White would miss the contest, as he flew back to Boston to be with his wife for the birth of their child (congratulations you two!).

With this, once again Pritchard was given a bigger role within the rotation due to a player’s absence and, once again, he delivered in a big way.

Logging 23 minutes on the night, the 24-year-old finished with a solid final stat-line of 10 points, two boards, two assists, and a steal on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.

Now, though these numbers may not be eye-popping on the surface, it is the way in which he registered them, and the hustle and energy that he provided throughout the game that is what made his performance so studly.

Despite being just 6-1, Pritchard played much larger than that in this outing, both on the offensive end where he fearlessly drove down the lane and finished in traffic on several occasions (he even hilariously hit Tyler Herro with the “too small” gesture after draining a stop-and-pop jumper down low in the second) and when on defense where, in the C’s “switch everything” scheme, he squared off against Jimmy Butler at times and, for the most part, actually wound up holding his own.

Over his last three games Payton Pritchard has truly been a game-changer off the bench for Boston, especially on the offensive side of the ball, averaging 14 points on 45 percent shooting from the field, and, in this latest showing, from the eye test to the advanced stats (finished with a game-high +39 plus-minus rating) he yet again showcased his ascent from being known as Robin to Nightwing!