Payton Pritchard has the kind of game that makes you wonder, at least for a second, if he could slide into a starting job and never look back. But the numbers around his minutes with Jayson Tatum tell a different story. They show why Boston’s sixth man label fits him so well right now.
Pritchard has been useful next to Tatum, but the split is pretty stark. In 151 minutes together, Tatum has averaged 2.7 more points, 2.4 more assists, and 3.1 more rebounds per 100 possessions while shooting 4.3 percent better from beyond the arc. Pritchard, meanwhile, has seen his own line dip hard in those same minutes, with 13.4 fewer points, 5.5 fewer assists, and 3.2 fewer rebounds per 100 possessions, plus a 21.5 percent drop from three.
The efficiency numbers are just as rough. Pritchard has posted a true shooting percentage of 49.5 in those shared minutes, which sits 7.7 percent below the current league average, and he’s making only 26.5 percent of his threes.
That doesn’t mean Boston is losing those minutes. It means the fit is more complicated than a simple starting-vs-bench debate. The Celtics are winning the time Pritchard and Tatum spend together, and the sixth man role still looks like the cleanest way to maximize both the team and Pritchard himself.
The contrast without Tatum is where Pritchard really pops. In 116 minutes without him, he’s averaging 31.7 points, 10.3 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and only 1.8 turnovers per 100 possessions. His true shooting jumps to 63.2, which is 6.0 percent above league average.
He’s also scorching from deep in those minutes, hitting 48.0 percent of his threes without Tatum on the floor. That matters for a Celtics team that ranks No. 7 in three-point attempts.
Still, the point isn’t that Pritchard and Tatum should be kept apart. There’s real value when they share the court. Tatum improves in virtually every area, and Boston sits in the 88th percentile in net rating with the two of them together.
The bigger takeaway is that Pritchard’s best role lets him do both things at once: help Tatum and thrive when he runs the offense himself. That’s especially true when Tatum sits, because Pritchard has been a major driver of those lineups. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics rank in the 97th percentile in net rating when Pritchard is on the court but Tatum isn’t.
So Boston isn’t exactly hurting when Pritchard comes in to steer the offense while Tatum rests. And that rest comes in meaningful chunks because Pritchard is coming off the bench instead of opening games. Joe Mazzulla could try to stagger the two more, but Tatum is playing 33.8 per game and shares the offensive load with Paul George, who isn’t far behind at 27.9 usage.
That leaves limited room for Pritchard to play the way he likes best with the starters. He’s not just a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s a shot creator who needs the ball, volume, and rhythm to get rolling.
When he’s with the reserves, or even with lineups that don’t include Tatum, he can handle more, create more, and attack more freely. That opens up the full range of his game as a scorer, floor-spacer, and passer.
It also helps explain why the sixth man role works. Pritchard can boost Boston in the minutes that matter most while still getting the kind of usage that lets him shine individually. He’s talented enough to start, but in this Celtics setup, the bench role is the one that makes the most sense.
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What makes this one stand out from the usual early-season measuring stick is the personal thread running through it. Irving sounded eager to watch it unfold, and the game will also bring Tatum and Brown into a new kind of spotlight as they face a former teammate in a setting that carries real conference weight. For a Celtics team trying to keep pace at the top of the East, it is the kind of night that feels bigger than the schedule line suggests. [Read more 🡒]