Payton Pritchard hasn’t fairly appeared like himself currently, and that’s OK.
The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the 12 months, poised to make his newest profession leap with elevated duty as one of many top-3 premier scorers within the 2025-26 Celtics lineup, hasn’t been in a position to depend on his biggest offensive power: his 3-point shot.
Pritchard entered Wednesday night time’s recreation in opposition to the Wizards taking pictures a career-low 21.3% from past the arc via his first eight video games of the season. The droop even took an early-season toll on the retooled Celtics, whose offense struggled to seek out rhythm and consistency, resulting in back-to-back losses to the Rockets and Jazz to start a three-game homestand.
That left the undersized guard with no selection however to seek out new methods to provide and keep impactful.
“Clearly, with me not taking pictures the three ball as nicely to begin the 12 months as effectively as I would love,” Pritchard stated after Boston’s 136-107 blowout win over Washington at TD Backyard. “Clearly, that may come, however I do know attending to the paint will be simpler seems to be and will be my bread and butter. It’s a mixture of utilizing my physique and likewise, with my deal with, with the ability to management it — bump, change path off of it, after which get to a spot.”
In recent times, Pritchard has included rigorous one-on-one drills into his offseason routine. He usually goes the additional mile, paying professionals and school prospects to assist him simulate real-game conditions designed to drive him to attain throughout the limitations of his 6-foot-1, 194-pound body and with out counting on the 3-point line as a security web.
After the Celtics fell to the Warmth within the 2023 Jap Convention Finals, Pritchard reached out to 6-foot-9 ahead Brooks DeBisschop, then enjoying professionally in Europe, to work out simply days after Boston’s elimination. The classes pushed Pritchard to demand one of the best from DeBisschop defensively whereas increasing his personal offensive arsenal — and it paid off. Over the subsequent two seasons, Pritchard averaged a career-high 9.6 factors, then topped that with 14.3 factors throughout Boston’s championship run and repeat bid, elevating his worth and incomes larger belief throughout the group.
It’s now turn out to be part of Pritchard’s behind-the-scenes preparation, completely.
“I’ve skilled so many hours that now it’s so instinctual,” he defined. “I’m simply discovering it may very well be a foul, it may very well be a gap. I don’t even assume after I’m doing a transfer, it simply occurs so naturally.”
Pritchard performed a key position in getting the Celtics again within the win column Wednesday night time in opposition to a struggling Washington staff that ranks twenty ninth within the league in defensive ranking (121.4). He scored 18 factors on 7-of-12 taking pictures, tallied two rebounds and 5 assists, and logged a season-high +36 in 24 minutes. Pritchard used his quickness to dribble round 6-foot-5 guard Tre Johnson for straightforward layup alternatives and drew defenders into the paint, creating open seems to be for Jordan Walsh and Sam Hauser within the third quarter.
The method of leaning on his offseason work when the 3-pointer isn’t falling has paid dividends for the Celtics in different methods. Pritchard is averaging a staff and career-high 5.2 assists per recreation this season, persistently involving teammates to maintain the offense flowing, even when he’s out of sync. When defenders lure him, he defers; when he sneaks inside and finds a gap, he makes even taller, extra bodily imposing defenders look silly by scoring in tougher methods.
“I believe he’s all the time had that,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla stated. “He’s all the time been a three-level scorer and performed with good tempo. I believe it’s one thing that he’s all the time had.”
Pritchard definitely turned extra aggressive in trying to find methods to attain inside final season. This 12 months, he has taken it a step additional, doubling his 2-point makes an attempt from 3.0 per recreation final season to six.1 and changing them at a career-high 67.3%. With the velocity, ball management, and basketball IQ required for a vertically challenged guard to assault the basket, Pritchard is showcasing this talent extra prominently than at any level in his profession.
That each one got here collectively throughout Boston’s homestand-ending win, though Pritchard wouldn’t take into account the efficiency worthy of an A-plus by his personal requirements.
He dedicated two turnovers, which he described as “unhealthy,” however promised he wouldn’t dwell on them lengthy sufficient for them to have an effect on him.
“I like basketball an excessive amount of to get unfavourable,” Pritchard stated. “I wanna are available in and play and present it. In order that’s the place my thoughts was at — simply be prepared.”
It’s simple to think about that when the 3-pointer begins to fall for Pritchard, it’ll unlock a model of the Oregon product the Celtics haven’t seen earlier than.
