In a recent article for Hardwood Houdini, Bobby Krivitsky opined that the Boston Celtics should move Payton Pritchard back into the starting lineup (he started 50 of his 79 games for the team this past season but moved back to the bench when they traded Anfernee Simons).
Krivitsky brought up some great points (namely that Pritchard does a fantastic job of getting to the rim, which the Celtics need more of), and it got me to thinking.
Starting Pritchard has its benefits. It takes a ton of pressure off of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (and even Derrick White, who mostly struggled shooting the ball in a bigger role last season), and given how dynamic he can be as a scorer, it would make sense to give him a bigger role on a team whose offense can often go stagnant.
However, making this shift would also cause a whole new problem for Boston: its already lackluster bench offense would become even worse. And that is why, though it could make sense for the team to start Pritchard next season, they can really only do it under one condition.
If the Celtics start Payton Pritchard, they will need Anfernee Simons back
Yep. Signing Anfernee Simons this offseason after trading him just three months ago would solve a lot of Boston's problems and open up a whole new dynamic for next season.
The Celtics acquired Simons from the Portland Trail Blazers last year as part of the Jrue Holiday trade, and for the most part, he excelled with the team.
In 49 games in Boston last season (all off the bench), the Florida native averaged 14.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and shot 44% from the field and 39.5% from beyond the arc. In the month of January (his last full month with the team), he averaged 15.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and shot 45.6% from the field and 42.1% from deep.
Simons is a certified bucket-getter who can get hot in an instant. And when he's on, he's tough to guard. (Plus, I always felt like his defense was much better than advertised. He did look lost at times, and I wouldn't trust him to guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander one-on-one, but the effort was there, and it clicked for him at times.)
He was missed during the playoffs this year, and assuming the money is right, bringing him back should be a no-brainer decision for the team.
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