Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

  Payton Pritchard verified once again that he needed more playing time to show what he can do to to help his team win. In the victory over the Blazers last night, the s hort, not-extremely-quick-or-athletic combo guard registered (in 41 minutes) 43 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. This season, Payton is averaging (almost) starter minutes (28.1 MPG) . He appears to be the front runner for 6th-Man of the Year . With increased floor time, it is not inconceivable for him to gain All-Star status before the end of his career. But the question still remains whether he will remain in Boston or end up as trade bait during the off-season. Pritchard has two more seasons after this one on his current 4-year deal with the Celtics. He will earn $8.3 million in the 2027-28 season under the current contract. That will be cheap money considering what the Celtics stars are making now and down the road. And Boston is certainly into cost-cutting of late. But a starting job with another team...

 Do you remember Payton Pritchard in the 2022-23 season? You are forgiven if you don't. The undersized combo guard only saw action in 48 games and averaged a mere 13.4 minutes/game. That has all changed this season . In the last four games, the 28th pick (first round) in the 2020 draft is averaging: 30.5 MPG - 24.5 PPG - 5.3 RPG - 3.0 APG - 1.3 SPG - +11.5 plus/minus And how about his shooting accuracy in those four games! He nailed 55% from the field , 4 9% on threes and 90% from the foul line. Pritchard is currently leading all bench players in most ratings for 2025 Sixth-Man-of-the-Yea r - and frankly - he is already in the conversation for NBA-Most-Improved. And Payton-as-All-Star talk might begin if he keeps up these performances.  I have previously compared Payton to 6'1" former-Laker guard, Gail Goodrich , who garnered five All-Star appearances when he was finally given ample floor time. Also, on two occasions, I wrote about Pritchard's lack of minutes an...

 This is not the first time I have strongly advocated that Payton Pritchard either needs more floor time in Boston - or needs to be traded. My comparisons to 5-time All-Star, Gail Goodrich, have gone missing. Goodrich played at a time most NBA fans don't recall. I am not basing my argument on only today's win over the Hawks and the triple-double by the short, not-particularly-athletic white guy Boston fans know as Payton Pritchard. His 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists were no fluke ( per NBA.Coms Ken Powtak ): "He (Payton Pritchard) became just the third player in team history to reach 30 points, with 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a game, joining Hall of Famers Larry Bird and John Havlicek." Hey Celtics fans, do you remember Bird and Hondo? As I remember, they were pretty good. Sorry to get so cynical.  Let me explain my bias on this issue.   Pritchard is the guy many of us, including me, can relate to. He is undersized by NBA standards and is not particularly...

Payton Pritchard doesn't blink . I even wrote about it a while ago. This kid just doesn't blink - either literally or figuratively.  Pritchard has only seen action in 31-of-Boston's 47 games thus far and has only averaged 11.2 MPG in those. Many of his no-plays were DNP-CDs . But his energy, interest, intensity and fire have never wavered. Did I mention he doesn't blink. Payton Pritchard, detailed self-description. "I wouldn't be in the position I am today without having a tough mindset. A lot of people look at me and I’m a 6-foot-1, white, American guard. A lot of us aren't there. So you’ve got to be tough and bring it every day.” — Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 22, 2023 Payton is undersized by today's League standards at 6'1". A quick view affirms that he is indeed white and does not possess overwhelming speed or athleticism . But he is smart and determined to succeed in the NBA. Pritchard uses great body control to accomplis...

 If you viewed the per-36-minutes stats below, your reaction might be, "Not bad. A long distance shooter that can do other things on the court." Should be a keeper - right? Maybe not. 15.1 PPG - 4.6 RPG - 4.1 APG - 1.0 SPG - 1.5 TOPG - .434 FG - .412 3s Those stats belong to the Celtics Payton Pritchard , but there is one number that badly hurts his chances to shine, at least in Boston - and that number is his height of 6'1". Even Luke Kornet (7'2") is logging more minutes than Pritchard . Payton has logged a total of 17 minutes this season, while Luke has see 59 minutes. In a past article, I compared Pritchard to Gail Goodrich , an eventual 5-Time All-Star and NBA Champion (1972). It took a trade for the 6'1" Goodrich to get the needed floor time and stardom. It may be the same for Pritchard. I am not advocating a trade of the undersized combo guard, but one may be required if he doesn't get more of a chance to shine in Boston. It should be...

For those that don't remember Gail Goodrich, he was a 6'1" shooting guard drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with their Territorial Pick in 1965. He was nicknamed "Stumpy" due to his (lack of) height and short legs. Goodrich languished as a sub in LA for the first years of his career but blossomed at the age of 24 as a starter in Phoenix in his first season there - his fourth in the NBA. The Celtics Payton Pritchard, also 6'1" , came into the League as a shooting guard and will be entering his third season in Boston slated as a substitute at the age of 24. This kid just has put his heart and soul into his game since his arrived in Beantown. He works his ass off on the defensive end, pushes the pace on offense - and can put on a blistering display when he starts firing away from everywhere but the locker room. Take a look at the 2nd-season stats for both : Goodrich: 23.1 MPG - 12.4 PPG - 3.3 RPG - 2.7 APG Pritchard:  14.1 MPG - 6.2 PPG - 1.9 RPG - 2.0 ...