3 Studs, 3 duds from Celtics blowout preseason win over Nuggets

Dud - Payton Pritchard’s first minute

Okay. This is cheating.

Payton Pritchard looked solid again in this game. He was red-hot in the first game, and that continued in the second, as he once again packed the stat sheet.

Pritchard finished the game with 14 points, two rebounds, and five assists while shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-3 from behind the three-point arc.

However, his first minute of the game was a complete disaster.

As soon as Pritchard checked in, he ended up on a mismatch, guarding Nuggets big man Dario Saric. He committed a foul, giving him one.

Shortly after, a similar situation occurred, and he picked up a second foul. Then he fouled Julian Strawther when he was going up for a shot.

In less than a minute of action, Pritchard had already accrued three of the six fouls he’s allowed to pick up. He motioned to the sideline, letting the coaching staff know that he already had three, but they left him in the game.

Obviously, this didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Pritchard stayed out of foul trouble for the remainder of the contest and played well. But it was certainly funny to watch. And in a game where the Celtics got a blowout win, that’s enough to get a dud.