Payton Pritchard's All-Star leap is an easy bet for Celtics to make

With the moves they've made, the Boston Celtics are making a lot of bets next season. Chief among them is that they will hold steady even after trading Jaylen Brown, let alone to a division rival. One of the ways the Celtics have likely justified that bet is the incoming leap Payton Pritchard will likely take next season.

Pritchard has always rewarded the Celtics as they've entrusted him more. The higher he's vaulted himself in the hierarchy, the better he's become. There's also plenty of subtle evidence suggesting that in what will definitely be the biggest role he's ever had, Pritchard will have an All-Star campaign this season.

It's already been brought up how much better Pritchard was in the Celtics games without Jaylen Brown last season, and there's only been more evidence of how much better the former was without the latter.

However, Pritchard's leap this coming season will go beyond how he does without Brown. More stats have insinuated how underutilized he has been, as it turns out Pritchard is among the most efficient players in isolation this decade. The only reason why he hasn't been better is because Boston hasn't depended on him to.

That will change this coming season.

Still unconvinced? More numbers insinuate how efficient FastPP is with pullup jumpers throughout the 2020s. Again, the reason why it hasn't gotten much shine is because Boston hasn't really depended on him.

But wait! There's more! Pritchard led the NBA in highest points per possession as the bring-up ball handler where the score was within 10 points. As an added bonus, Brown wasn't too far behind him, showing that Pritchard should be able to replace a lot of what Brown brought.

Pritchard's incoming leap is Boston's best-hidden secret

Many have been left scratching their heads about the Brown trade because of how undeniably talented he is. None of what we're saying about Pritchard is intended to be a dig at Brown because those scratching their heads are justified in doing so.

However, Pritchard's pretty telling efficiency both last year and throughout the decade likely gave Boston to confidence to believe that in a bigger role. That efficiency will likely take somewhat of a hit with more touches, but even so, all signs point to Pritchard taking that All-Star leap from the jump.

It's not that the Celtics are better off without Brown by any means. They made this move primarily for CBA reasons more than anything else. However, they made this move because they believe their roster as a whole will be able to make up for his absence in what can be seen as a Moneyball like move.

Pritchard won't have to be Brown to keep the Celtics among the elites in the East, he more of less has to be what Scott Hatteberg was once Oakland lost Jason Giambi.

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