BOSTON — Threes haven’t been falling for Payton Pritchard. Through the first 16 days of the regular season, 39 players have attempted at least 50 three-pointers. Of them, Pritchard ranks dead last in efficiency at 22.4%. He’s shot just 15-of-67. Shrink that parameter to at least 20 three-point attempts, and Pritchard is still 188th out of 193 NBA players. To say it’s been a disastrous start to the season from long range would be an understatement for the career 39.3% three-point shooter.
But Pritchard is also shooting 90.9%. And 70.0%. And 66.7%. And 62.5%.
Those are his numbers from everywhere inside the arc. He’s 10-of-11 from five to nine feet from the basket, 14-of-20 from 10-14 feet, 8-of-12 from inside eight feet, and 5-of-8 from 15 to 19 feet.
Behind the three-point line, Pritchard can’t find a rhythm. But inside it, everything he touches turns to gold.
“He's always had that,” said Joe Mazzulla. “He's always been a three-level scorer. Played with good pace. I think that's something that he's always had.”
And Pritchard’s Midas Touch has been the way he creates contact.
Payton Pritchard is constantly creating contact, and it's leading to efficient basketball
With 8:43 left in the second quarter on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics were in the process of clawing back from an ugly first quarter. The Washington Wizards were still up by three when Pritchard got the ball above the break. Alex Sarr switched onto him, and he went to work.
Pritchard crossed over to the left, spun back to the right, and Sarr ended up on his left hip. He leaned into the Wizards big man, pushing him away, before stopping on a dime for a one-legged fall-away shot in the paint.
It was a picture-perfect move. One that has become a staple in Pritchard’s bag of tricks.
“With me not shooting the three-ball as well to start the year, as efficient as I would like—obviously, that will come—but I know getting to the paint can be like easier looks, and can be my bread and butter,” he said.
But it’s way more than just the body contact he creates.
“It's a combination of using my body and also with my handle,” Pritchard said. “Being able to control it, bump, change the direction off of it, and then get to a spot.”
Late in the third quarter, after the Celtics had successfully mounted their comeback (and then some), Pritchard found himself being guarded by Wizards rookie Tre Johnson on the wing. He put a shoulder into Johnson’s chest, got into the paint, dribbled back out to the elbow, spun to the right, and found a layup at the rim.
Bump shots under the basket. Getting away with a quick push-off forearm at the free-throw line. A spin move from a post position to fake out a taller defender. Pritchard’s work inside the arc has been a foundational piece of Boston’s offensive success this season, especially with their three-point woes.
The ball is in Pritchard’s hands more than ever, and the Celtics are happy to let him work.
“Just a couple tweaks he made offensively,” said Mazzulla. “He's got the space to be able to play. He's gotten fouled on that one. It's also, he's shooting really well on his paint shots, I think, right? So, just another guy that can get to the line, and he can also just kind of play off of two feet, whether it's a shot or whether it's a lob.”
And Pritchard’s interior success is doing more than just getting him buckets.
“Every time he gets to the paint, it flattens the defense,” said Josh Minott. “So, I mean, his ability to do that is just exceptional. And I mean, once you have to, I guess, like, turn your head and really focus on the downhill traction he's getting, it opens up the offense for everybody.
“So, I mean, he's perfected that. So, that's something that's really helping us. That's something that creates offense for everybody, including him.”
The more buckets Pritchard finds in the paint, the more defenses have to pay attention. They’ll send help, or, at the very least, shoot glances in Pritchard’s direction. From there, Boston is free to cut, shift, and screen for each other off the ball. It’s all connected.
Pritchard’s bump shots started popping up last season. He’d get two feet in the paint, put a shoulder into his defender, and rise up for a layup once they were off-balance.
This season, he’s taken those types of plays to another level. Literally. From the paint to the mid-range. From standing still to driving with the ball. But none of it feels new.
To Pritchard, it’s just basketball.
“I've trained so many hours that now it's so instinctual,” Pritchard said. “I'm just finding—It could be a foul, it could be an opening. I don't even think when I'm doing a move, it just happens so naturally.”