After a surprising rookie season, in an overall disappointing campaign for Boston, Payton Pritchard had a complicated sophomore season, his poor exterior address having caused him to lose playing time in a very dense rotation of the Celtics on the back lines.
But with the departures of Dennis Schröder and Josh Richardson for the only Derrick White on the “backcourt”, Brad Stevens has clarified things a bit for Ime Udoka, who now relies on the former Oregon again.
Enough to allow Payton Pritchard to regain confidence, by performing one of his best games of the season against the Pistons last night (19 points at 8/12, 6 assists), serving as a spark for the Celtics.
“It’s obviously a great feeling to win, but also to contribute in this way”, confirms the person concerned. “For me, in my role as for all substitutes, it’s about finding ways to weigh on the game. It’s not always about scoring, but also weighing in defense. Do all those little things that matter. »
Ime Udoka confirmed that Dennis Schröder left, the role of Payton Pritchard was necessarily more important.
“He was huge for us. Obviously, he’s had more opportunities lately, compared to the start of the season with Dennis. Now that Dennis is gone, it opens up options for him. Derrick (White) was not in great shape tonight so Payton stayed on the court more, especially with Marcus (Smart) limited by fouls. So we continued to rely on him.” explained the coach.
A logical decision, as the substitute was essential during a 15-2 in the fourth quarter which tipped the game definitively in favor of the Celtics.
“For me, all year, it was necessary not to lower our heads too much” explained Payton Pritchard. “It’s frustrating but you have to focus on your job and I saw this situation as a way to improve, on non-match days, even on match days. By continuing to work hard while waiting for opportunities to present themselves. »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQdlCTpC60w
| Payton Pritchard | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2020-21 | BUNCH | 66 | 19 | 44.0 | 41.1 | 88.9 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 7.7 |
| 2021-22 | BUNCH | 50 | 12 | 37.7 | 36.0 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 4.7 |
| Total | 116 | 16 | 41.8 | 39.3 | 91.5 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 6.4 | |