The Celtics have been one of the most surprising teams in the league this season, and just when they seem like they’ve been figured out, they’ll make an adjustment. Coach Mazzulla has explained that his substitution patterns are not “patterns” and he has backed it up by constantly tweaking his starting lineup and rotations all season long.
It has kept opponents confused, but it also has kept the Celtics on their toes, and players have seemed ready for any role, at any time, which has been a huge part of hte team’s success this year.
But the most recent change was a far more high-profile move that was necessitated by actions at the trade deadline. When the Cs flipped Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic, they lost their primary bench ballhandler and scorer, leaving no clear replacement on the team’s bench.
So, Joe went back to a tried-and-true method and moved his starting point guard back to a familiar bench role. Payton Pritchard had started in his first 48 appearances after winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award last season. But everyone put their egos aside, made the switch that was best for the team, and we’ve seen all parties benefit.
Pritchard is lighting it up off the bench
Since moving back to the bench, Pritchard has actually seen his numbers go way up, including his minutes. While he doesn’t start, he still comes into the game early and plays starter minutes; he’s just staggered so that he can come out and lead the second unit, and boy, has he ever.
In the seven games since the move, PP is averaging 23.6 points and 6.4 assists in 34 minutes per game. He’s doing it while shooting 54% from the field and 47% from three. Those numbers are all up from his 48 games as a starter, when he was playing 32.8 minutes per game, and averaging 16.8 points and 5.3 assists on 46% shooting and 35% three-point shooting.
The sample size isn’t huge, but that’s a massive shift, and it has Pritchard’s play going from role player to star over the last few weeks. Furthermore, Boston is 6-1 since the change, and the team has been playing some of its best basketball of the season on both ends recently.
Pritchard has been a huge part of that, and he looks so natural coming off the bench. Something about his demeanor changes as he’s able to watch the tone get set for a few minutes, then come in fresh with a burst of energy and aggression that has allowed him to take over games.
Who knows how long this lineup will stick? With Joe at the helm, you can never really get too sure, as there are no patterns. But this particular move makes a lot of sense and seems to be working out quite well. Given a possible return of Jayson Tatum on the horizon to boot, I’d bet that 6th Man PP is here to stay.