Payton Pritchard finally gave Celtics missing element to be true title contenders

They may not need it to get past the 76ers in round one, but to go all the way and win a title, the Celtics need a reliable third scorer behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. On Sunday night in Game 4, they finally got that from super sixth man, Payton Pritchard.

Payton has been up and down in the first three games. He hit a massive shot to help close out Game 3, but overall, he hasn’t given them the scoring punch they’ve become used to, and that they’ll need to advance through the playoffs. 

He seemed to get the message that more was needed, though, because he came off the bench early in Game 4 and wasted no time in putting on a show for the ages. He came in halfway through the first quarter and put up 13 quick points on 5-7 shooting, including a running, one-legged buzzer-beating three to help the Celtics open up a 34-18 lead that they’d never look back from.

Pritchard finished the night with 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists on 12-21 shooting and 6-12 from three, as Boston was +22 in his minutes. This was a slow, low-scoring affair early on, but Pritchard came in and immediately shifted the energy and pace of the game, helping run Philly off the floor before halftime.

Getting into the paint key for Pritchard and Celtics’ offense

It’s no coincidence that when Pritchard showed up and played like a third star, the Celtics dominated the game and looked like a juggernaut. The Jays can carry the mail, and have mostly done so in the first three games, but you can see the difference in the Game 3 slog versus the Game 4 demolition.

This was Celtics basketball. This was the recipe for competing with the best teams in the league. And this is what sets them apart from the other elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

And the key was that Pritchard was puncturing the paint, getting in the lane, and compromising the defense, not just being a shooter. That has quietly been the key to his improvement, and sure enough, when he started driving aggressively, the Sixers' defense got into rotation, and the entire offense opened up. It can’t just be Jayson and Jaylen putting their heads down and driving to create offense. Pritchard has to be a huge part of that to make it all work. In Game 4, he delivered.

Celtics unbeatable with this version of Pritchard

They have a true weapon sitting on the bench who can come in and score 30+ points on any given night. They don’t necessarily need a 30-burger every night, but they need consistency from Payton. His offense has been more of a luxury in years past with a deep guard rotation, but now, it’s his time to step up and embrace his role as a third or fourth option game in and game out.

The way he played in Game 2 simply isn’t going to cut it, and that’s a big part of why Philly won, as the Celtics didn’t have a player in double figures beyond the Jays. Pritchard has to be that guy. He’s more than capable, and even at his size, he can score at all three levels and cause a lot of problems for defenses that are going to be hyper-focused on Brown and Tatum.

If he can keep doing his job and providing a legitimate third option for the offense, the Celtics are impossible to stop. The Jays are going to get theirs, and the other role players will be able to slot into place, getting open looks and easy baskets. But if he fades back into a streaky shooter, we are going to see more low-scoring dogfights.

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