Most of the time, a player moving from a starting spot to a bench role is viewed as a demotion in the NBA. But for Payton Pritchard, last year's Sixth Man of the Year, his recent move out of the starting five doesn't feel dreary at all.
Instead, it feels like Joe Mazzulla is simply putting a player back into a role they're comfortable in — and after the Celtics trade of Anfernee Simons, it makes sense to let Pritchard lead the second unit.
Simons was the Celtics' go-to offensive option off the bench, and with that presence no longer available, the second unit was lacking some offensive creation, which Pritchard provides in spades. His ability to create his own shot is essential for the second unit — even if it remains underrated by the league at large.
Plus, it's not like Pritchard's role has decreased with this team. In five games coming off the bench, he has still averaged over 30 minutes per game, and scored over 20 points in four of them. That's surely not a demotion, just an adjustment.
Payton Pritchard thrives in a sixth man role
Calling Pritchard a backup doesn't really do his role justice. Yes, he comes off the bench originally, but he's in the team's closing lineup (which is more important) and still gets starters minutes. He simply comes off the bench in the first quarter to prevent a huge drop off in offensive firepower from the first unit to the second.
Pritchard moving back to the bench might have an unexpected impact on Derrick White's game, too, as it allows White to be the primary point guard instead of he and Pritchard both playing a half-point guard role. In those past five games, White has averaged about 7 assists per game, including nine on Wednesday against the Bulls. Whether that was Mazzulla's intention with this move, I'm not sure, but it's a positive result nonetheless.
In Pritchard's place is Baylor Scheierman, who the C's have been high on for a while. He's not expected to replicate Pritchard's production in the starting backcourt, but he's played well enough over the past few games to at least justify keeping this experiment going after the All-Star break.
February in the NBA is the time for experimentation. Moving Pritchard back to the bench is not much of an experiment because we know how comfortable he is there, but doing it without an established starter to fill his place definitely is an experiment. Schierman is playing well right now, but even if he's inconsistent, Pritchard is so good off the bench that it may be worth sticking with this format anyway.