The Celtics keep learning about their new roster this preseason, and Wednesday night offered one more useful clue. In a 114-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden, Payton Pritchard did something that fit Boston’s evolving offense better than a scoring binge ever could: he handed out 11 assists and didn’t turn the ball over once.
That kind of line can get buried when Jayson Tatum and Derrick White both put up 19 points and Boston is rolling. But for a team still sorting out how all of its pieces fit after a major offseason shakeup, Pritchard’s night may have been just as important as the final margin.
Boston finished with 31 assists on 44 made field goals, and the Celtics’ control of the ball was just as sharp on the other end. They committed only 11 turnovers while forcing 30 from Charlotte, creating a massive edge in possession battle. Pritchard’s stat line stood out even inside that team-wide efficiency.
The veteran guard has built his name as a shot-maker, the kind of player who can heat up and swing a game with aggressive scoring. What Wednesday showed is that his value isn’t limited to points.
With Tatum, Paul George, White and other options on the floor, Boston needs players who know when to press and when to move the ball. Pritchard showed he can do both without losing the edge that makes him dangerous.
That gives Joe Mazzulla another tool as he shapes the rotation. The Celtics are not just trying to stack talent. They’re trying to make the offense work cleanly with the talent they have.
Mitchell Robinson was part of that picture too, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting and adding three blocks. Tatum logged 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes, continuing to sit at the center of everything Boston wants to build offensively.
Pritchard’s passing matters because it gives the Celtics another way to keep the offense humming when Tatum sits or when defenses load up on the main creators. Boston doesn’t need another high-volume scorer. It needs players who can make the stars more efficient and keep the ball moving.
The Celtics moved to 3-0 in preseason with the win and will wrap up exhibition play Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers before opening the regular season Tuesday at Detroit.
Preseason scores only tell so much, but individual performances can still reveal a lot about how a team wants to play. Pritchard’s 11 assists without a turnover looked like more than a strong night. It looked like a useful answer.
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