As we near the start of the NBA playoffs, the Boston Celtics currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 43-18 record. The Celtics are third in league standings behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder but remain favorites to repeat. On FanDuel Sportsbook, they have the best odds at +180 to win the title.
While the Celtics record may not resemble their dominance from last season, their starting lineup has only played 20 games together compared to 37 last year. With 21 games left in regular season play, the Celtics need to enter the playoffs healthy.
We know how great the Celtics are when their starting five is available, and with Jrue Holiday’s return from injury unknown, Payton Pritchard needs to step up his game ahead of the Celtics playoff run.
Payton Pritchard’s Play Needs to Hit Another Level
Payton Pritchard is the leading candidate to win this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award because of his play. Pritchard went from averaging 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and shooting 38.5% from the three-point line last season to averaging 13.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and shooting 41.6% from downtown this season.
His minutes have increased from 22.3 last year to 27.9 this year, and he has emerged as a crucial player in Joe Mazzulla’s ‘killer whale’ offense. Pritchard has made 31.1% of the team’s three-pointers, ranking eighth in the NBA for most threes this season with 193.
While Pritchard has been a key contributor to the Celtics' success this season, Pritchard needs to improve his overall game by providing the Celtics with consistency, as his best games are too reliant on him having a great shooting night.
In the loss to the Cavaliers last Friday, Pritchard, in 25 minutes, had six points, two turnovers, one assist, and zero rebounds. However, in their previous game against the Detroit Pistons, Pritchard had 18 points, four assists, and three rebounds in 31 minutes.
When he has an off-night shooting, Pritchard needs to produce in other areas such as rebounding, being a playmaker, or making a play on defense. I understand Pritchard’s game is providing a scoring spark to the offense, but he’s only limiting himself by just trying to score.
In their win against the Miami Heat on February 10th, Pritchard was 2-9 from the field and 1-8 from three, but he had 10 rebounds and 8 assists in a Celtics win. Pritchard is capable of impacting the game elsewhere, and I think he's underrated in rebounding, having two games with ten or more rebounds this season.
In the 21 remaining games, I’d like to see Pritchard’s all-around production increase. His scoring output needs to be consistent. If the threes aren’t falling, he needs to drive to the rim and get to the free-throw line. Pritchard must get to the line more, having only attempted 11 free throws in February.
If he has an off-night shooting, he must crash the boards and be a playmaker. He’s shown his capability of having games with seven assists or four rebounds. The Celtics need more of this with the absence of Holiday, having both their rebounding and assist averages drop from last year.
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