Boston Celtics: 2 players that must see more minutes in Game 2

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Payton Pritchard

Unlike Grant Williams and his lack of minutes in Game 1, we were surprised that Payton Pritchard didn’t see more playing time despite showing out throughout this year’s postseason and being that he played tremendously well in the limited action he did see on the hardwood.

Registering just around 15 minutes on the night, the second-year point guard finished the contest with eight points, six boards, and two assists on 75 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 percent shooting from deep.

Coming into the series, we at the Houdini believed that there was already a strong argument to be made that Pritchard deserved seeing a bump in playing time considering the fact that Golden State’s style of play causes their opponents to frequently gasp for air (rank second in total possessions and fifth in pace of play this postseason), thus warranting Udoka to dig deep into his backcourt depth as starter, Marcus Smart, continues to heal from nagging injuries.

On top of this, it has been a well-documented factoid that, when the guard has received significant action in the postseason, he’s only managed to contribute at an effective rate, posting a sound stat-line of 12 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 52 percent shooting from the floor and 43 percent shooting from deep.

With Smart still hobbled and the obvious need for offensive weapons to try and match a high-scoring team like the Warriors (first in points per game this postseason), Payton Pritchard may be a solid choice off the pine for Udoka to lean on in Game 2.