Payton Pritchard playoff stat will make Celtics fans pull their hair out

We’re almost two weeks removed from the absolute debacle of a playoff loss the Celtics just went through, and yet, the hits keep coming. The All City, All NBA Podcast tweeted a stat highlighting the actions that have been run the most (per 100 possessions) during these playoffs and how effective they have been.

The biggest takeaway from the graph was that picks for Payton Pritchard were the most efficient actions run by any team and any player in these NBA playoffs, resulting in a whopping 1.36 points per possession.

And yet, the Celtics didn’t lean into those actions nearly enough, and in some of the biggest moments, Pritchard wasn’t even on the floor. To make matters worse, screens for Jaylen Brown were by far the least efficient direct actions in the NBA playoffs, resulting in just 0.71 points per possession.

Brown isolations weren’t much better, accounting for just 0.84 points per possession, while Derrick White screens put up 0.86, and Jayson Tatum screens were 0.94. Those were the only four Celtics actions to appear on the chart (75 most run actions), with the Pritchard numbers sticking out like a sore thumb.

Pritchard’s role needs to be emphasized even more 

It was apparent just from watching the games that good things were happening when Payton was running the offense, but far too often, he was off the court or operating off the ball. He’s the closest thing the team has to a true point guard, and this stat just proves that they need to be more confident putting the ball in his hands going forward.

Regardless of who is on the team next season, there’s no reason that PP can’t be the starting point guard, running the show, and handling the ball down the stretch. He can get to the cup, make plays, and bury shots. Tatum and Brown, or whichever stars are on the team, can all play off of Pritchard, and their looks should only be improved with a point guard setting the table.

With White’s shot falling off a cliff, Tatum still showing a little rust, and Brown forcing the issue a bit much, there should have been an even heavier dose of Pritchard. Whenever he was running pick-and-rolls, it was basically free points for the Celtics. It allows the stars to operate as screeners or spacers, giving them opportunities for easy catch-and-shoot looks or to attack closeouts against compromised defenses.

Meanwhile, Pritchard and his screening partner get to go at weaker defenders and give the team impeccable spacing all over the court. With how much Joe Mazzulla values these elements of offense, it’s incredible and incredibly frustrating that they weren’t used more. Hopefully, he and his staff will learn from these mistakes and empower Pritchard even more going forward.

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