The Boston Celtics Are Betting Big on Payton Pritchard
The Boston Celtics are making one of the biggest bets of the offseason by handing the keys to Payton Pritchard following the blockbuster trade that sends Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. Rather than immediately replacing Brown with another high-volume scorer, Boston is putting its faith in Pritchard taking a major leap and becoming a much bigger part of the offense.
There is plenty of reason for that confidence. Whenever Brown is off the floor, Pritchard’s production jumps across the board. His scoring, playmaking, shooting efficiency, and overall usage all see significant increases, showing he is capable of handling a much larger offensive role. The Celtics believe those flashes are a sign of what he can become over a full season with expanded opportunities.
The hope in Boston is that Pritchard follows a path similar to Jalen Brunson, who blossomed into a star once he was given the chance to run an offense full-time. Pritchard has always been a confident scorer and elite shooter, but with more touches and the ball in his hands consistently, the Celtics believe there is another level to his game that has yet to be unlocked.
With Jayson Tatum expected to have even more control of the offense and Paul George now in the fold after the Brown trade, Pritchard should find himself in an ideal situation to thrive. If he makes the leap Boston is expecting, the Celtics won’t just survive life after Jaylen Brown—they could come out of this transition with one of the NBA’s biggest breakout stars.
