Payton Pritchard has had two big games this season, both coming against the Chicago Bulls, but outside of that, he has been pretty underwhelming. It’s a little disappointing coming on the heels of a big offseason and a contract extension, with many expecting a true breakout season, with the 28-year-old guard possibly becoming a 20-point-per-game type of scorer.
But through six games, we’ve seen Pritchard in a pretty similar role as last year: a spark plug off the bench. He’s getting more minutes than a typical bench player, and he’s often in the closing lineup, but far too often, he’s still an afterthought in the offense.
It hasn’t come back to bite the Celtics, as they’re off to a 5-1 start with Jayson Tatum looking like an MVP candidate, Paul George finding the fountain of youth, and the depth offering different options on different nights. But at some point, if Boston wants to reach their ceiling as championship contenders, they need Pritchard to show up as a number two or three option on a nightly basis.
When you look at Payton’s numbers for the season, while they are a little lower than you’d like, they don’t jump out as bad or anything like that. He’s averaging 15 points per game and 3.5 assists, which are respectable stats for a sixth man.
Celtics need Pritchard to be more than an occasional spark plug
The problem is that he has had a 30-point and a 28-point outburst, and outside of those, he has had two four-point games and a seven-point game on Sunday against the Magic. In some cases, that’s just an off night, like in Orlando when Pritchard went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc and simply couldn’t buy one.
But three times now in six games, Pritchard has had under 10 field goal attempts, and that can’t happen. They need his scoring, playmaking, and threat of shooting. He’s a great floor-spacer and spot-up guy even when the threes aren’t falling, and he’s also among the best on the team at getting into the lane, pressuring the rim, and getting to the free throw line.
Pritchard is now a core part of Boston's offense
These are all elements of offense that the Celtics need badly, and they don’t have great options to find them anywhere else on the roster, at least not consistently. They can make it work with different guys here and there, but there’s no reason that Pritchard shouldn’t be a staple in this offense every single night, with the others being additive.
I don’t know if they need to put him in the starting lineup, call more plays for him, or what, but he needs to be featured more, and they have to get him going. For his career, the Celtics are 12-0 when Payton scores 30+ points. It’s an amazing stat, but it’s also a sign that he needs to be a bigger part of the offense more often. That doesn’t mean 30 points a night, but he should be above 15 with the occasional blow-up.
When things are really humming, it’s Tatum, George, Derrick White, and Pritchard leading the way. The big men will chip in, the wings will cause chaos, hit shots, and do the dirty work, but it has to be those four leading the charge and carrying the offense. There’s no second star to make up the difference with Jaylen Brown gone, so the Celtics need their main guys to be extremely steady, and Pritchard is now one of those guys.
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