<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-unfazed-starting-lineup-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard unfazed by starting lineup rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Payton-Pritchard-and-Anfernee-Simon.jpg"><figcaption>Winslow Townson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard unfazed by starting lineup rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-25T14:50:17-07:00">August 25th, 2:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-25T14:50:17-07:00">August 25th, 2:50pm</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Everything is up in the air for the Boston Celtics heading into the 2025-26 regular season. And that includes the starting lineup, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatums-boston-teammate-provides-update-after-injury">Jayson Tatum is out indefinitely with an Achilles injury</a> and former starters <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-breaks-silence-jrue-holiday-kristaps-porzingis-trades">Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are no longer in Beantown</a>.</p><p>Although these offseason changes dismantled Boston’s 2024 championship core, they also gifted several players newfound opportunities. For example, Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard could be named a starter next season despite previously coming off the bench for most of his NBA career.</p><p>Pritchard, who once <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/nba-rumors-celtics-payton-pritchard-offseason-trade">requested a trade out of Boston</a> due to a lack of playing time, flourished during the 2024-25 season. He averaged career-highs in every major statistical category and earned Sixth Man of the Year honors as a result.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard, the 2024-25 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year!</p><p>☘️ Most 3PM in a season off the bench in NBA history (246)<br>☘️ Most PTS off the bench this season (1,079)<a href="https://twitter.com/Kia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kia</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KiaSixth?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KiaSixth</a> <a href="https://t.co/wZaDQXgDOd">pic.twitter.com/wZaDQXgDOd</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1914821518246158437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Will Payton Pritchard start for the Celtics?</b></h2><p>Despite the Oregon native’s astounding year, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-rumors-payton-pritchard-set-lineup-change-6moy-jrue-holiday-trade">he still isn’t guaranteed a starting role</a>. In exchange for Holiday, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/3-reasons-celtics-won-jrue-holiday-anfernee-simons-trade">Celtics landed another guard, former Portland Trail Blazer Anfernee Simons</a>.</p><p>Unlike Pritchard, Simons has started every game he’s played in since the beginning of the 2022-23 season. The 26-year-old has averaged 15 points per game over the course of seven years and thrives from the 3-point line, shooting a little over 38% for his career.</p><p>Since Simons has more experience as a starter and Pritchard excels off the bench, perhaps the former is the logical choice for the opening rotation. No matter what the Celtics decide, Pritchard <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/boston-celtics-news/120827/its-not-a-gap-year-payton-pritchard-talks-celtics-expectations-starting-chance-and-more" rel="noopener">just wants to contribute to winning</a>, per Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter to me,” Pritchard said. “For me, it’s about controlling what I can control — and that’s coming into games and changing the game, and being an unbelievable player and helping my team win. So that’s the only thing I’m focused on, ever. It’s not about accolades, it’s not about starting or anything like that. It’s about: how can I become the best player possible?”</p><p>Given Pritchard’s well-documented work ethic, this isn’t a surprising answer. The 2024 NBA champion has always been a team player who knows what it takes to win.</p><p>However, he might have to get used to losing more than usual next season. According to FanDuel, <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=regular-season-wins" rel="noopener">Vegas is betting <i>against</i></a> the Celtics winning more than 45 games. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-sends-championship-message-despite-trades-jayson-tatum-injury">Tatum’s injury and the aforementioned roster shakeup</a> have a lot to do with that underwhelming projection, and it’s up to Pritchard, Simons, and the rest of the healthy C’s to prove those oddsmakers wrong.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Al Horford started smiling as soon as he heard the Sixth Man of the Year Award mentioned, as he’s confident Payton Pritchard has it:</p><p>“Instead of going for him, he's making an extra pass because it's the right thing to do…I don’t think [him winning] is any secret.” <a href="https://t.co/YxcfLNVRIG">pic.twitter.com/YxcfLNVRIG</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1914718240565035149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard unfazed by starting lineup rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-rumors-payton-pritchard-set-lineup-change-6moy-jrue-holiday-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics rumors: Payton Pritchard set for lineup change after 6MOY, Jrue Holiday trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Celtics-guard-Payton-Pritchard-i.jpg"><figcaption>Winslow Townson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics rumors: Payton Pritchard set for lineup change after 6MOY, Jrue Holiday trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-14T07:27:45-07:00">August 14th, 7:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-14T07:27:45-07:00">August 14th, 7:27am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Boston Celtics are reportedly positioning their Sixth Man of the Year guard, Payton Pritchard, for a promotion into the starting lineup. Despite losing All-Star Jayson Tatum due to a ruptured Achilles, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-sends-championship-message-despite-trades-jayson-tatum-injury">Pritchard still has championship aspirations for 2025-26</a> heading into his sixth NBA season.</p><p>Ever since he was selected with the 26th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Pritchard has improved facets of his game to eventually become recognized as the league’s best sixth man off the bench. Now, Pritchard has earned the <a href="https://fastbreakjournal.com/boston-celtics-payton-pritchard-start-anfernee-simons-bench-nba-news/" rel="noopener">opportunity to start</a> for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, per Fastbreak Journal’s Grant Afseth.</p><p>“The Boston Celtics appear poised to elevate Payton Pritchard into the starting lineup while using Anfernee Simons as a high-scoring option off the bench for the 2025–26 season if he remains on the roster,” Afseth reported.</p><p>Pritchard averaged 14.3 points on 47.2% shooting, including 40.7% from deep, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per game last year. After the Celtics traded Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers for Simons, many considered Anfernee to be a potential trade piece for Boston to utilize in a second trade, which never materialized.</p><p>Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens still managed to shed enough salary cap space to take Boston out of the CBA’s dreaded second luxury tax apron. Trading Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Georges Niang, who the Celtics acquired in the three-team deal that sent Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks, led the Celtics out of the second apron. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-rumors-anfernee-simons-trade-buzz-continues-latest-jazz-move">Anfernee Simons is still rumored to be traded</a>, while moving Payton into the starting 5 makes a lot of sense.</p><h2><b>Payton Pritchard sends Celtics championship message</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Celtics-guard-Payton-Pritchard-ii.jpg"><figcaption>Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While many anticipate the Celtics won’t be contending for a championship in 2025-26, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, thinks otherwise, as he prepares for an increased role. Despite losing Jayson Tatum for the majority of the upcoming season, Pritchard doesn’t see why the Celtics won’t be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su3g66ZOxzs&amp;list=PLgWubNzoFtLELJP-pHGiJsz01QBqrGRnn&amp;index=2" rel="noopener">in a position to compete</a> for a second title in three years, he said, per NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.</p><p>“We’re definitely trying to be a playoff team,” Pritchard told Forsberg. “We’re trying to win the championship. It’s not even about the playoffs. We have one standard in Boston, and it’s to win the championship. So, everybody in that locker room will have the goal of competing for a championship, and we will do everything in our power to go for that. That’s what [fans] should know.”</p><p>The 2025-26 Celtics could be more competitive than fans anticipate.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics rumors: Payton Pritchard set for lineup change after 6MOY, Jrue Holiday trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-sends-championship-message-despite-trades-jayson-tatum-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard sends championship message despite trades, Jayson Tatum injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Payton-Pritchard.jpg"><figcaption>Winslow Townson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard sends championship message despite trades, Jayson Tatum injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-08-05T13:13:58-07:00">August 5th, 1:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-08-05T13:13:58-07:00">August 5th, 1:13pm</time><address><a>Daniel Donabedian</a>Daniel Donabedian is a beat reporter for ClutchPoints covering the Boston Celtics. He's also covered Villanova men's basketball and Big East basketball, building a strong reputation in the northeast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics are expected to compete for championships year in and year out, and they’ve been able to operate at that level for much of the 2010s and 2020s. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-bill-simmons-defiant-take-2024-boston-funeral">less than two years removed from their most recent ring</a>, the Celtics’ title hopes have suffered a big blow. And while some discuss the potential upside of a less competitive 2025-26 campaign, point guard Payton Pritchard refuses to entertain that idea.</p><p>The reigning Sixth Man of the Year is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su3g66ZOxzs&amp;list=PLgWubNzoFtLELJP-pHGiJsz01QBqrGRnn&amp;index=2" rel="noopener">focused on winning</a>, regardless of the uncertainties surrounding the team, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.</p><p>“We’re definitely trying to be a playoff team,” Pritchard told Forsberg. “We’re trying to win the championship. It’s not even about the playoffs. We have one standard in Boston, and it’s to win the championship. So, everybody in that locker room will have the goal of competing for a championship, and we will do everything in our power to go for that. That’s what [fans] should know.”</p><p>This isn’t a surprising message from Pritchard, who’s exemplified his commitment to winning by earning four straight high school titles, multiple NCAA Tournament appearances with the Oregon Ducks, and an NBA championship in 2024.</p><h2><b>Are the Celtics entering a down year?</b></h2><p>The rest of the league may view the Celtics’ chances differently, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-walking-without-boot-boston-fans-hopeful">Boston could be without star Jayson Tatum</a> for the entire season. Plus, after a busy offseason, former starting center Kristaps Porzingis, former starting guard Jrue Holiday, and backup big man Luke Kornet are all no longer with the C’s.</p><p>Pritchard aims to overcome those absences with the help of 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and fringe All-Star Derrick White. With that foundation, Celtics President of Basketball Operations <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-brad-stevens-expectations-jayson-tatum-injury-bombshell-trades">Brad Stevens still believes his team can contend</a> in an unpredictable Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Brad Stevens mentioned Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard when talking about the “foundation” of the Celtics:</p><p>“A lot of teams would love to have [that foundation].” <a href="https://t.co/L8l0PA5EI9">pic.twitter.com/L8l0PA5EI9</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1938083338595799146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“My expectations are always the same,” Stevens said during a press conference in early July. “Compete like hell to win the next game. That’s always going to be it, that will always be it, and that’s the way that we’re going to try to put our foot forward…We believe in the guys that have been in the building, and we look forward to getting the guys that haven’t and all working together to try to create a team that functions well together and plays hard as hell. That’ll be it. I’ve said many times, the North Star, for me, is winning championships.”</p><p>How close that North Star is remains to be seen, but ESPN Bet gives the Celtics the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/futures" rel="noopener">15th-best odds</a> (+5,000) to win the championship. In comparison, the Celtics had the <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_preseason_odds.html" rel="noopener">best preseason odds</a> to win it all last year and the year before, via Basketball Reference.</p><p>Although they’re far from title favorites, Pritchard doesn’t care. He seems to enjoy being an underdog, and that could be Boston’s mentality heading into an uncertain season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard sends championship message despite trades, Jayson Tatum injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-reveals-must-win-mindset-for-game-2-vs-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard reveals ‘must-win’ mindset for Game 2 vs. Knicks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Celtics-Payton-Pritchard-reveals-must-win-mindset-for-Game-2-vs.-Knicks.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard reveals ‘must-win’ mindset for Game 2 vs. Knicks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-07T11:10:55-07:00">May 7th, 11:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-07T11:14:33-07:00">May 7th, 11:14am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/chris.spiering.3" rel="facebook">Chris Spiering</a>Chris Spiering graduated from the University of San Diego with a Communication Studies Degree. He spent his final year as the Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris manages the betting team at ClutchPoints and contributes about the NFL, MLB, and NBA, but he follows most sports, including NCAA Basketball. Chris also covers San Diego State men's basketball for East Village Times.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics will play their biggest game of the season in just over five hours. Boston <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-jay-williams-claims-dumbest-second-half-game-1-loss">lost Game 1 in overtime after a late collapse</a>. Celtics guard and 2024-25 Sixth Man of the Year winner, Payton Pritchard, says that Game 2 against the Knicks at <a href="https://x.com/NoaDalzell/status/1920144816836374824" rel="noopener">TD Garden is a “must-win.”</a></p><p>“We have to take care of homecourt tonight,” Pritchard told the media. “We’ll come out with a lot of energy, especially after watching the Cleveland/Pacers game. It’s a full 48-minute fight tonight. We let off the throttle last game up 20 and let it slip. So we can’t let that happen.”</p><p>Pritchard mentioned the Cavs/Pacers Game 2 on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers controlled that game from the beginning, and the Pacers, just as the Knicks did in Game 1 at Boston, came back and won late. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-tyrese-haliburton-stepback-3-steal-game-2-cavs">Tyrese Haliburton nailed a game-winner</a> with 1 second left to put the Pacers up 2-0 heading back to Indiana.</p><p>The Cleveland Cavaliers owned the top record in the Eastern Conference and were a dominant team all year long. Seeing them fall 2-0 and losing two straight home games was not expected. This proves that anything can happen in these playoffs, especially in the second round, with the best of the best going at it.</p><p>Pritchard, as well as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the rest of the Celtics, understand that the Knicks are capable of stealing Game 2, which would put Boston in a bad spot. We have seen the Celtics storm back from down 3-0 in the series against the Miami Heat, just two seasons ago. However, this Celtics team is too talented to put themselves in that position again. Based on everything we have seen on this team from the last two seasons, we expect they will respond in a big way.</p><p>The Celtics are getting <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-kristaps-porzingis-expected-back-game-2-injury-report-vs-knicks">Kristaps Porzingis back after he left Game 1</a> with an illness. Sam Hauser is listed as Doubtful with an ankle sprain, and he should miss tonight’s action.</p><p>Pritchard and the Celtics aim to take care of business in Game 2 and head to New York tied at 1-1.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard reveals ‘must-win’ mindset for Game 2 vs. Knicks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/boston-celtics/how-sixth-man-of-the-year-win-proves-payton-pritchard-is-on-the-right-path');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Sixth Man of the Year win proves Payton Pritchard is on the ‘right path’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Payton-Pritchard-with-a-strong-drive.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Sixth Man of the Year win proves Payton Pritchard is on the ‘right path’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-23T17:10:42-07:00">April 23rd, 5:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-23T17:12:38-07:00">April 23rd, 5:12pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions, and by many accounts, are a top favorite to repeat. While the Celtics have star power in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they boast a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-gets-real-selfless-duo-game-1-win-vs-magic">deep roster with multiple players capable of having big games</a>. One of those players for the Celtics is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-breaks-silence-winning-nba-sixth-man-year">Payton Pritchard, who is fresh off winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award</a>.</p><p>Payton Pritchard has steadily improved each season, and <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1915162683500032236" rel="noopener">he spoke about what winning</a> Sixth Man means, ahead of the Celtics’ Game 2 against the Orlando Magic.</p><p>“It just shows that I feel like I’m on the right path,” Pritchard said. “The hard work that I put in, the grind and everything, it’s paying off. And so it just shows me that I’m going to continue to do what I’m gonna do.”</p><p>In the Celtics’ Game 1 win against the Magic in the opening round of the playoff series, Pritchard finished with 19 points and three assists in 25 minutes off the bench. He shot 6-of-8 from the field, 4-0f-6 from the three-point line and a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. He was the Celtics’ second leading scorer in the game behind Derrick White’s 30 points.</p><p>Early in Game 2, he had six points and was the third leading scorer so far behind the 12 points apiece for Brown and Kristaps Porzingis.</p><p>On the season, Pritchard appeared in 80 games, including three starts, at a little over 28 minutes per game. He averaged a career-high 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists with splits of 47.2 percent shooting from the field, 40.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>Pritchard was originally selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and he’s played five seasons now for the Celtics. In addition to his points, his assists and rebounds are career-highs as well.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.3	3.8	3.5	0.2	0.9

2023-24 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
14.3	3.8	3.5	0.2	0.9

Payton Pritchard

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How Sixth Man of the Year win proves Payton Pritchard is on the ‘right path’

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