Payton Pritchard is coming off the best season of his career, and the Celtics look ready to ask for even more.
Whether he opens next season in the starting five or comes off the bench again, there’s a real case that Boston’s guard is set up for another jump. The Oregon native put together his strongest campaign yet, averaging 17 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 46.4/37.7/89% in 79 games. He also logged a career-high 50 starts.
Last season’s bigger workload came while Jayson Tatum was sidelined for most of the year with an Achilles tear, but that arrangement was always temporary. Now the setup has changed again, and Boston is expected to lean harder on Pritchard with Jaylen Brown no longer in the picture after his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers. That means more responsibility to create offense, more chances to initiate, and more time with the ball in his hands.
Nobody is saying Pritchard is about to make some massive Jalen Brunson-type leap, but the Celtics have already seen how effective he can be when his role expands. That’s enough to make next season an interesting one.
The need is obvious. With Tatum now the clear No. 1 option, Boston needs other players to help lighten the scoring load. Pritchard fits that job as well as anyone on the roster.
When he’s rolling, he can be a nightmare to guard. He’s quick, annoying to deal with, and capable of scoring from all three levels.
He can stretch the floor, create his own shot, and take defenders one-on-one. For years, he’s been a valuable piece because of what he brings off the bench, but the Celtics are going to need a bigger version of that production now.
There’s also a strong argument that he should be in the starting lineup full-time. That would put the ball in his hands more often and let him ease some of the pressure on Tatum, Paul George, and Derrick White. Pritchard already showed he can help a team win as a starter, with Boston going 31-19 in the games he started last season, according to StatMuse.
The tricky part for Boston is what happens behind him. Moving Pritchard into the starting group would leave the team without an obvious backup point guard, since Mike Conley isn’t someone to count on for real minutes and it’s still too early to know whether Devin Carter can make an impact. It would also make a bench scoring group that was already thin even thinner.
Still, the direction is clear enough: Boston is going to need more from Pritchard, and he’s already shown he can handle more. If last season was only a preview, then next year could be his best yet.
In Other News...
Neemias Queta Gets Honest About Celtics Losing Jaylen Brown
At a community event unveiling a basketball court celebrating the Portuguese diaspora, Neemias Queta stepped into a different kind of spotlight while still keeping one eye on the Celtics offseason reshuffle. The Boston center, who continues to carry a meaningful connection to his roots, spoke candidly about the recent trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers and brought Paul George to Boston, calling Browns exit a sad part of the business while recognizing the realities that come with roster change.
Queta also spent time talking about another new addition in Mitchell Robinson, and the fit could matter just as much as the headline move. He praised Robinsons rebounding ability and described the possibility of the two sharing the frontcourt as a potentially useful look for Boston, giving the Celtics a different kind of interior presence as they sort through what the post-Brown roster is going to become. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Stevens Admits Why The Jaylen Brown Trade Hurt So Much
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Brown now joins a 76ers group that is suddenly loaded with star power, including LeBron James, and the move only raises the stakes in the Eastern Conference. For Boston, it is the kind of trade that can make sense on paper and still sting in the gut, especially when it involves a player who spent so much of his career as part of the Celtics core identity. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Brown Trade Debate Just Took On New Meaning For Celtics Fans
Contract decisions can reshape a team long before the games start, and the Pistons standoff with Jalen Duren has reopened an old Celtics conversation in a new way. For Boston fans, it is a familiar reminder of how front offices sometimes choose to move a young piece early rather than let an extension talks loom over the roster and the cap sheet.
Jaylen Browns trade still stands as the cleanest example of that kind of forward thinking, with Boston opting to act before he reached extension eligibility and the negotiation could become more complicated. Seen through the Pistons current situation, the move looks less like a simple basketball decision and more like a way to preserve flexibility, avoid an internal tug-of-war and keep the franchise from being boxed in by one difficult contract discussion. [Read more 🡒]