The Boston Celtics have surprised everyone this season, currently sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 35-19 record. Although they’ve remained one of the better teams in the conference, only a few games separate them from the second seed to the fifth seed.Â
With 28 games left in the regular season and a challenging stretch ahead, Boston must raise their level of play during this playoff push. Building momentum in the playoffs and securing home-court advantage in the first round will be essential, and a key factor during this stretch is guard Payton Pritchard.Â
Pritchard Must Elevate His Play During Playoff Push
At the beginning of the season, the Celtics tasked Pritchard as a primary starter for the first time in his career. In this role, he gave the Celtics the much-needed scoring boost they desperately needed after losing several key contributors in the offseason.Â
He’s provided the Celtics with strong scoring outputs, like his 42-point effort in the team’s victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only that, but Pritchard has also been a quality playmaker and active on the glass, posting a career-high in assists (5.3) and rebounds (4.2).Â
Pritchard has played an essential part in the Celtics’ success this season and has been undoubtedly one of their best players. However, Pritchard has been plagued by inconsistencies, leading to streaky play throughout the season.Â
Even though his overall shooting numbers have been good this season, shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from 3, Pritchard has had stretches of poor shooting. In December, Pritchard shot 42.2 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from three on 7.8 attempts.Â
While his shooting numbers have rebounded since then, his all-around performance is reliant on his scoring ability. When he’s not scoring, the Celtics tend to struggle. Looking at his stats in the Celtics’ losses this season, Pritchard is averaging 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, shooting 28.1 percent from deep. In wins, meanwhile, he’s averaging 19.4 points, 5.9 assists, and shooting 39.4 percent from three.Â
The Celtics have depended on Pritchard more this season, and while he’s been great for the most part, it’s evident that they cannot continue to rely on his unpredictable play. This is one of the reasons why Boston moved him back to the bench.Â
With guard Anfernee Simons gone, the Celtics revert Pritchard to his old role, leading the second unit as a scoring option off the bench. Since returning to his sixth-man role, Pritchard has thrived, averaging 21.8 points, six assists, shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from long distance.Â
This decision by head coach Joe Mazzulla may be the adjustment both Pritchard and Boston needed, as he’s arguably been playing his best stretch of basketball. Hopefully, the move to the bench woke Pritchard up a bit, and he sees it as a sign to improve his effort in all phases of his game.
Regardless of whether he’s starting or not, Pritchard is still an integral piece to their title hopes, and the Celtics will be counting on him. For Boston to end the season strong, Pritchard must bring the same level of consistency each night, as he’s proven that he can do more than just score.Â
This means getting stops on defense, being active on the glass, and setting up his teammates with scoring opportunities. If Pritchard can do this, it puts the Celtics in an excellent position to enter the playoffs with home-court advantage.