Payton Pritchard poured in a game-high 27 points and shot 7-for-15 from 3-point range in Thursday night’s battering of the Detroit Pistons. That scoring outburst was nothing new for the Celtics’ backup guard, for whom 20-point outings have become a near-nightly occurrence.
What was new for Pritchard was the number in the next column: 10 assists.
It was just the fifth time the 26-year-old had hit double-digit helpers in his career and his second time doing so in a game he did not start. His blend of outside shooting and facilitation yielded a stat line never before recorded by a Boston reserve.
Pritchard was the first player in Celtics history to score 25-plus points, notch 10-plus assists and hit at least five threes in a game while coming off the bench.
“I just feel like people are playing my 3-ball so heavy, and obviously I shoot it from a deep range, so if they come and close out on me, it allows me to get in the paint, and then obviously I just manipulate the bigs,” Pritchard said postgame. “If they play me, I dump it off. If they don’t, I finish it. I try to make the game very simple. If there’s two on the ball, I’ve got to get off of it. If it’s single coverage, then I try to finish.”
Pritchard’s ascent from useful bench player to bona fide weapon has been one of the biggest stories of this Celtics season so far. He’s not only solidified himself as the unquestioned favorite for NBA Sixth Man of the Year, but he’s also producing at a rate that rivals some of the league’s best starters.
He ranks sixth in made 3-pointers per game (3.8), and of the 18 players averaging at least eight attempted threes, he’s converting them at the highest rate (43.2%). He’s scored 19 or more points in seven of Boston’s last eight contests and is the only Celtics player who’s seen action in every game this season.
Add in his improvements as a playmaker and on-ball defender (he’s on pace for a career high in steals), and Pritchard has been invaluable for a Celtics team that’s off to a 20-5 start despite not yet playing a full game with its top eight rotation players all available.
Boston was without Jayson Tatum (knee) and Sam Hauser (adductor) on Thursday and breezed past the Pistons 123-99.
“He just loves to compete,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Pritchard, who was the last Celtics regular to exit the game. “So at the end of the day, I enjoy it. Teammates enjoy it. It’s fun just watching him compete at a higher level. He doesn’t really play to a scoreboard. He just plays to compete, and that’s a beautiful gift that he has.”
Celtics fans have yet to see the peak version of Kristaps Porzingis on the court this season, according to the newly healthy big man.
Porzingis said he’s still ramping up to where he wants to be physically after undergoing offseason leg surgery and isn’t shooting the ball as efficiently as he’d like. His field-goal (45.7%) and 3-point percentage (33.3%) both are down considerably from last season’s marks (51.6% and 37.5%, respectively), which ranked among the best of Porzingis’ career.
But despite these early hiccups, Porzingis has been consistently productive in his return to Boston’s lineup.
Over six appearances since his Nov. 25 season debut, the 7-foot-2 center is averaging 25.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.2 steals per 36 minutes while providing a substantial boost to the Celtics’ rim protection.
“I’m getting there,” Porzingis said after Thursday’s win. “Honestly, I’m always better when I’m in a rhythm of games. Now we have, again, like three days off, so it’s almost like it takes me one game to get back, to open my lungs a little bit more. During the summer, I (went) three months without really being able to go up and down — like, really get some good cardio in. That also plays a role, obviously.
“I think a couple more games, and I’ll be where I need to be.”
Porzingis recorded just two assists against Detroit, but one of them produced one of the game’s prettiest highlights.
Midway through the first quarter, Porzingis drew two Pistons defenders while posting up near the left block, including the man who was marking Pritchard (Tobias Harris). So, when Pritchard lofted a pass inside to Porzingis and Harris turned his head toward the big man, Porzingis plucked the ball with his outstretched right hand and one-timed it back to Pritchard, who drilled an open three before Detroit’s defense could adjust.
Porzingis said he wants get better at manipulating defenses with those types of quick-touch passes — a skill three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has mastered.
“It was in the moment, honestly,” Porzingis said. “It wasn’t a perfect pass. This is like, Jokic is so good at this. I want to learn how to do it even better. But yeah, guys are anticipating for that pass to come in. If they overhelp, especially with a shooter like Sam or Payton or any of these guys that are shooters like that, it’s a quick one for me.
“And honestly, it looks good, so I’m going to keep doing it. I want to get more of those. Especially if they make the shots, it’s perfect for me.”
Pritchard returned the favor, assisting on three of Porzingis’ eight made baskets in the win.
“I mean, he’s a matchup problem,” Pritchard said. “Because if you switch him — we always tell him, like, if he gets two feet in the paint and we throw it to him, it’s almost automatic, or you’ve got to foul him. And then obviously, if a big is guarding him and he’s on the perimeter, you have to guard him way out. And what does that do for us? The driving lanes are open, there’s no rim protection, and obviously that’s a that’s a big problem with the guards we have.
“Him and Al (Horford) just open the game up so much for us, the way they can space the floor. So it is huge, and that’s why he’s a tremendous player.”