All offseason, the point was belabored about how Payton Pritchard wasn’t involved enough for the Celtics in their playoff collapse to the 76ers. So, after the season, Boston traded away Jaylen Brown, in part to elevate Pritchard, giving him more minutes, more responsibility, and more usage on offense.
They even rewarded him with a new two-year, $44.2 million contract extension, further showing their belief in Payton and the leap they expected him to make this season. There was even some chatter about promoting him to the starting lineup and playing him alongside Derrick White in the backcourt.
But after one game, it doesn’t seem like anything has changed. Pritchard came off the bench in the season opener and played just 27 minutes in a gruesome 121-113 collapse of a loss to the Pistons on Tuesday afternoon.
Pritchard's role looked identical to last season
And even when he was on the court, he wasn’t nearly involved enough, as he put up just nine shot attempts and had one assist. It was even more frustrating, as Pritchard was one of the only players consistently getting into the lane and attacking the rim, drawing eight free-throw attempts, which tied for a team high.
He also hit 4-of-9 shots and 2-of-5 from three-point range, so it’s not like he wasn’t making the most of his opportunities, finishing with 17 points, which was tied with White for the second-most on the team.
His lack of involvement was even more infuriating and inexplicable because the team was completely cratering on the offensive end in the second half, settling for jump shots off the dribble, forcing up bad looks, and turning the ball over.
Pritchard's offensive juice is badly needed in Celtics' offense
At least when Pritchard was in there, he was forcing the issue and getting into the paint as much as anyone on the team. Even when he’s playing off the ball, he provides as much spacing as anyone on the team (outside of maybe Sam Hauser) and is well equipped to attack a closeout or a compromised defense in rotation.
These are all things that the Celtics could have used and desperately needed as they blew a 22-point second-half lead, allowed a 23-0 run in the fourth quarter, and struggled to create any advantages or rim pressure.
It’s only one game. It’s a long season. I’m aware of these things. But it was painful to watch this play out after the offseason we just endured and all of the hype around Pritchard. We’ve heard about an All-Star leap and even comparisons to Jalen Brunson, as crazy as that may sound. And maybe those are fantasies, but we have to at least find out.
I don't even necessarily think he has to start, but it's clear he needs a bigger role and needs to be a much bigger part of the offense. But at least after one game, things looked just about exactly the same as they did last season, and that has to change going forward.
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