The Celtics have a clear Payton Pritchard problem, and it’s the kind that usually comes from having too much talent in one place. He’s eligible for a three-year, $69 million extension, and that shouldn’t be much of a debate - Boston needs to sign him. But the bigger question is how to get the most out of him next season, especially after trading Jaylen Brown and with Jayson Tatum’s usage rate about to jump.
The answer is to stop treating Pritchard like a permanent reserve and put him in the starting lineup full time.
That’s the move that would raise both his ceiling and Boston’s. Pritchard has already proven he can handle a bigger role.
Last season, when he started 50 games before the Celtics traded Anfernee Simons and Tatum came back, he posted the best numbers of his career: 16.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game on 45.6/34.8/86.7 shooting, according to StatMuse. That wasn’t a small sample fluke.
It was the one stretch in his career where he got to operate like a real starter, and he delivered.
For a player who has spent his whole NBA career coming off the bench, that matters. Pritchard has already won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2024-25, but Boston’s needs are different now.
The Celtics need more shot creation in the starting group, and Pritchard gives them exactly that. He’s the kind of microwave scorer who can catch fire anywhere on the floor, and when the ball is in his hands, he can be a nightmare to contain.
His perimeter game fits what Boston wants to do, and giving him more on-ball responsibility could unlock another level.
It would also make life easier for the rest of the core. Adding Pritchard to the first unit would take pressure off Tatum, help Paul George settle more comfortably into a connector role, and give Derrick White a chance to bounce back after struggling with a bigger offensive burden last season. If Boston still wants to chase a title, it needs as much scoring punch in the opening group as possible.
There are obvious concerns, though. If Pritchard starts, the backup point guard options become a question mark, with Mike Conley and Devin Carter not exactly an ideal pair. And the bench would lose a built-in scorer.
But there are answers there, too. Carter is a name worth watching.
His shooting has been rough - 40.1/27.4/67.4 through 74 games - but he brings defensive value, he’s only 24, and he was a lottery pick just two years ago. Boston has already shown it can help fix his biggest weakness.
If he makes the roster, giving him real backup point guard minutes would be a sensible way to let him grow.
The same logic applies to the second unit as a whole. Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr. and even Sam Hauser to some extent could all benefit from a larger opportunity to step forward and help carry the bench.
Boston has options. What it really needs is to be bold with Pritchard. The Celtics should give him the chance to run wild, and the cleanest way to do that is to put him in the starting lineup.
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