Payton Pritchard has been one of the Boston Celtics best-kept secrets for years. The league already knows how good he is, and yet, he is poised to take it to another level. It won't matter whether Pritchard starts, as the Celtics have put him in a position where he can take full advantage and be the player he and they want him to be.
After the moves they have made this summer, it would seem obvious that Pritchard will start. He started for half of the 2025-26 season without Jayson Tatum, but even when he was put back on the bench, his numbers didn't change a bit. The Mike Conley Jr. addition signifies that Pritchard won't come off the bench, but Pritchard should be able to take it to a whole new level, even if he does.
With Jaylen Brown gone, there are more touches to go around. Some of them are sure to go to Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Paul George, but Pritchard is sure to get more usage. What fell under the radar last season was how good Pritchard was for the Celtics in games where Jaylen Brown didn't play.
The fact that Boston went 9-2 without Brown shows how strong the foundation remains even after trading him. Not to fire any shots at Brown, who became a legend in his own right as a Celtic, but the fact that Pritchard excelled even more shows that the Celtics have every reason to believe there's another level in his game that is begging to come out.
Payton Pritchard will be in the Celtics' closing lineup
Regardless of how Joe Mazzulla utilizes Pritchard, there's no reason for him to be on the bench when the going gets tough. Pritchard brings way too much for Boston to keep a weapon like that hidden.
Truth be told, starting is a bit overrated. Look no further than the Sixth Man of the Year award. That award exists in part because the sixth man is typically someone who both comes off the bench and plays in a close game's final minutes.
So really, it doesn't matter if Pritchard starts or finishes the games he plays. What matters is that he will be a key cog of Boston's crunchtime lineups. There's little reason to think he won't be. A crafty three-level scorer who can make the right play, Pritchard is poised to break out for a Celtics team that definitely will need it.
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