<!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>

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

<!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-breaks-silence-winning-nba-sixth-man-year');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard breaks silence on winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year');   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/2025/04/Celtics-guard-Payton-Pritchard-reacts-after-making-a-three-pointer.jpg"><figcaption>Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard breaks silence on winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-22T17:48:17-07:00">April 22nd, 5:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-22T17:48:47-07:00">April 22nd, 5:48pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On a team full of stars, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-sixth-man-year-win-helps-boston-make-history">Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard has found a way to stand out</a> and shine. And for that, the Oregon Ducks basketball product has been rewarded with the 2024-25 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award.</p><p>During an appearance on NBA on TNT on Tuesday night, Pritchard <a href="https://x.com/NBAonTNT/status/1914826050095472832" rel="noopener">opened up about his achievement</a> while talking with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.</p><p>“I mean, it’s just a lot of people in the Celtics organization,” Pritchard said when asked what it’s like to be the latest Boston player to win the award that is also named after one of the greatest players of the franchise.</p><p>“Obviously, John Havlicek being named…Kevin McHale. Obviously, a couple of other guys, Malcolm Brogdon. When I was here with him, I watched him win it. Yeah, Bill Walton. So, yeah, this is definitely an honor.”</p><p>Operating within a roster featuring the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-why-payton-pritchard-not-intimidated-magic-playoffs">Pritchard found his niche</a> behind those stars while still being able to contribute significantly for Boston, particularly on offense. That role was not what he was used to having during his time in Eugene with the Ducks, but Pritchard clearly has learned to embrace it.</p><p>“It was definitely tough,” Pritchard said about his transition from college to the pros with the Celtics.</p><p>“It’s a learning curve coming from college. Everything ran through me. So then, you know, coming here, I got to play with a lot of stars. So it’s definitely a feel. I feel like I’m still getting better at it. But it’s just reading the game, knowing when, you know, maybe the defense is keying in on JT [Tatum], JB [Brown] more, and they kind of leaving gaps open, then you’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities. And then, you know, once they loosen it up, then you give it back to them and let them rock again. And then, you know, just kind of a feel.”</p><p>Taken in the first round (26th overall) of the 2020 NBA draft by the Celtics, Pritchard averaged a career-high 14.3 points with a 40.7 percent shooting from behind the arc through 80 games in the 2024-25 NBA regular season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard breaks silence on winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year

<!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-why-payton-pritchard-not-intimidated-magic-playoffs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Celtics’ Payton Pritchard is not ‘intimidated’ by Magic in playoffs');   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/2025/04/Pritchard-drives.jpg"><figcaption>Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Celtics’ Payton Pritchard is not ‘intimidated’ by Magic in playoffs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-22T11:20:09-07:00">April 22nd, 11:20am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-22T11:20:09-07:00">April 22nd, 11:20am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-paolo-banchero-opens-up-about-celtics-guys-who-kill-you-game-1-loss">Boston Celtics recently got off to</a> a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first round playoff matchup <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/orlando-magic/magic-news-shaq-hits-orlando-hard-reality-after-game-1-loss-celtics">against the Orlando Magic.</a> The Celtics got off to a slow start in this one but were ultimately able to find their footing down the stretch against an overmatched Orlando team.</p><p>One major reason why the Celtics were able to stay afloat in the first half was the play of Payton Pritchard, who provided an immediate spark off the bench that reminded the world why he is a Sixth Man of the Year finalist.</p><p>Ahead of Wednesday evening’s Game 2, Pritchard got 100% real on why the Celtics <a href="https://x.com/danield1214/status/1914721077122539656?s=46&amp;t=4r6zr4OnPB62QXf6qjobPw" rel="noopener">are not afraid</a> of the Magic’s imposing physicality.</p><p>“I don’t feel intimidated…No matter what a hard foul is we’re just gonna get up and play ball and just check it back up,” said Pritchard, per Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints on X.</p><p>The Magic committed several “playoff fouls” during Sunday afternoon’s game, including a hard foul on superstar Jayson Tatum that had the 1st Team All-NBA member grabbing his wrist.</p><p>Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was ultimately given a flagrant foul penalty one for the play.</p><h2><b>A strong start for the Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jaylen-Brown-7-hangs-on-the-rim-after-dunking-the-ball-during-the-second-half.jpg"><figcaption>© Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s no surprise that the Magic would try to muck things up and out-physical the Celtics considering the clear talent deficit they are facing in this series.</p><p>In some ways, it’s similar to what the Miami Heat tried to do with Boston in round one of last year’s playoffs, which started out on a similar note to this series, with Boston picking up a Game 1 victory. The Heat were able to conjure up some of their postseason magic for a win in Game 2, but Boston took the next three contests in blowout fashion.</p><p>Still, the Celtics are hoping to avoid a similar Game 2 letdown on Wednesday evening for Game 2 against Orlando. The good news for Boston is that both Tatum and co-star Jaylen Brown struggled from the field in Game 1, and they were still able to cruise to a relatively easy win.</p><p>In any case, Game 2 is slated for Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM ET from Boston.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Celtics’ Payton Pritchard is not ‘intimidated’ by Magic in playoffs

<!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-how-payton-pritchard-let-game-talking-6moy-campaign');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Celtics’ Payton Pritchard let game do talking for 6MOY campaign');   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/2025/04/Celtics-news-How-Payton-Pritchard-let-game-do-talking-for-6MOY-campaign.jpg"></figure><h1>How Celtics’ Payton Pritchard let game do talking for 6MOY campaign</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-13T16:48:14-07:00">April 13th, 4:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-13T16:48:14-07:00">April 13th, 4:48pm</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>BOSTON — Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard isn’t the loudest voice in the room. He doesn’t need to be because his game does all the talking for him. That was especially evident on Sunday afternoon when he led the Celtics to a 93-86 victory over the Charlotte Hornets in their final contest of the regular season.</p><p>The fifth-year Celtic <a href="https://x.com/CelticsNationCP/status/1911471643085492430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1911471643085492430%7Ctwgr%5Ebb1cc0511ff58aa4a974b1ae32d7d67a90f6f64f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D3333090action%3Dedit" rel="noopener">finished with a game-high</a> 34 points in 38 minutes. He also contributed a game-high seven assists and, despite his 6-foot-1 stature, corralled seven rebounds. Charlotte’s top rebounder, 7-foot center Jusuf Nurkic, grabbed the same amount of boards as Pritchard.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard making it look EASY 😈<a href="https://t.co/cRq6UYjfui">pic.twitter.com/cRq6UYjfui</a></p><p>— Celtics Nation (@CelticsNationCP) <a href="https://twitter.com/CelticsNationCP/status/1911471643085492430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Pritchard’s impressive performance won’t be discussed much for two reasons. Firstly, the second-place Celtics locked up their seeding and received no boost in the standings for beating the lackluster Hornets. Secondly, this kind of game from Pritchard isn’t the anomaly it once was.</p><p>The Boston backup set career-highs across the board this season. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per outing. In addition, he shot a career-high 47.2% from the floor and a remarkable 40.7% from deep while attempting almost eight triples a game.</p><p>Due to his efforts, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-gets-100-real-about-growing-sixth-man-of-the-year-buzz">Pritchard is the frontrunner for the prestigious Sixth Man of the Year Award</a>. When asked if he’s had a 2024-25 campaign worthy of such an honor, the 27-year-old chose to focus on whether or not he fulfilled his role for his team.</p><p>“I feel like I put myself in the best situation possible to win it, so I’m proud of that,” he answered during his postgame press conference. “I feel like I’ve done my job as far as helping this team by coming off the bench and being a spark. And, you know, trying to be the best bench player in the league.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard on his odds for 6th Man of the Year:</p><p>“I put myself in the best situation possible to win it, and so I'm proud of that.”</p><p>When asked if he wanted to campaign for himself more:</p><p>“There’s no need for that.” <a href="https://t.co/j7hWvjJqHF">pic.twitter.com/j7hWvjJqHF</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1911507619002409042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Why won’t Payton Pritchard campaign more for Sixth Man of the Year?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Payton-Pritchard_419e34.jpg"><figcaption>© Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Following Pritchard’s humble reply, he was given another opportunity to promote himself for Sixth Man of the Year. He refused.</p><p>“There’s no need for that,” he stressed. “If I get it, like I said, it’s not gonna stop my journey. It’s not gonna stop the work I’m gonna put in. This would just be another stepping stone. People can write about it if I get it, saying that I have an award. But at the end of the day, I’m just looking to keep growing and growing.”</p><p>This understated approach is different from what’s going on with the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Golden State Warriors center <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-draymond-green-declares-himself-dpoy-winner">Draymond Green openly declared that he should win</a>, forcing Cleveland Cavaliers center <a href="https://cavsnation.com/news/cavs-news-what-evan-mobley-thinks-huge-incentive-win-dpoy#:~:text=Evan%20Mobley%20endorses%20himself%20for%20DPOY%20after%20Cavs%20win&amp;text=%E2%80%9CMy%20biggest%20thing%20is%20a,%2C%20I%20don't%20foul.">Evan Mobley to push his own agenda</a>.</p><p>Meanwhile, Pritchard is content with letting the voters decide.</p><p>“If I get voted for it, it’s an unbelievable award, and it’d be a great honor,” he stated. “But at the end of the day, it’s outside my control if they vote for me or not. So, we’ll see.”</p><p>Three different Celtics have earned Sixth Man of the Year honors since the award’s inception in 1982. The trophy is even named after <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/10-greatest-celtics-in-franchise-history-ranked">Celtics legend John Havlicek</a>. If Pritchard took home the historic hardware, that’d give the Celtics five Sixth Man of the Year Awards, tying the Los Angeles Clippers for the most in NBA history.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard didn't wait his turn— he took it. Instant offense, nonstop hustle, and fearless play. He's not just holding it down off the bench-he's running it.</p><p>Need a dagger three? Done. Need a spark? He's the flame. Pritchard's been everywhere this season-diving for loose… <a href="https://t.co/JsZr34bw4X">pic.twitter.com/JsZr34bw4X</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1911182743565918611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>However, Pritchard and company are more concerned with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy than the John Havlicek Trophy. In the wake of a stellar 61-21 regular season, the reigning champions will enter the 2025 NBA Playoffs with the second seed in the Eastern Conference and a shot at back-to-back titles.</p><p>Although the road to consecutive championships will be difficult, Pritchard is confident that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-why-boston-title-defense-been-fun-jayson-tatum">Celtics will be ready to defend their title</a>.</p><p>“With the playoffs, it’s just a seven-game series,” he said. “No matter how long it takes, we’ve got to get it done. And we’re battle-tested. But hopefully we can take steps and keep getting better and better and get another championship.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Celtics’ Payton Pritchard let game do talking for 6MOY campaign

<!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-health-admission-nba-playoffs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard makes big health admission before NBA Playoffs');   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/2025/04/Payton-Pritchard_bd8695.jpg"><figcaption>Mike Watters-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard makes big health admission before NBA Playoffs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-09T21:18:19-07:00">April 9th, 9:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-09T21:18:19-07:00">April 9th, 9:18pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/celtics-news-boston-replicating-warriors-dynasty-amid-nba-finals-pursuit">Boston Celtics have been humming along</a> through the Eastern Conference and have been playing without many stakes for quite a while now. The Cleveland Cavaliers are far ahead in the top spot out East, but the Celtics have plenty of cushion between them and the rest of the Eastern Conference.</p><p>That hasn’t stopped the Celtics from playing some very good basketball of late. Boston has only lost three games since the start of March, and one of those losses came in a 96-76 blowout on Wednesday <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/magic-news-orlando-clinching-hopes-get-boost-with-celtics-injury-report">against the Orlando Magic without the team’s top six players</a>.</p><p>Some of those players were just resting, while others are banged up and are trying to get healthy before the postseason gets underway. The best Celtic that did suit up on Wednesday night, Payton Pritchard, <a href="https://x.com/NoaDalzell/status/1910153818592981336" rel="noopener">provided a positive update</a> on his own health heading into the playoffs according to Noa Dalzell of Celtics on CLNS.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Asked Payton Pritchard about his health status entering the playoffs:</p><p>“The hip strain is pretty much gone now. So that was the only thing this year that bugged me a little bit.” <a href="https://t.co/qP6IRVLjYe">pic.twitter.com/qP6IRVLjYe</a></p><p>— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) <a href="https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1910153818592981336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“The hip strain is pretty much gone now,” Pritchard said. “So that was the only thing this year that bugged me a little bit.”</p><p>Pritchard has been battling a hip injury in recent weeks, but that seems to be behind him now and he is ready to play a big role on a Celtics team that is trying to become the first repeat champion in the NBA since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.</p><p>Pritchard has taken a massive leap forward this season and is having his best year as a pro. Despite coming off the bench, the Oregon product is averaging 13.9 points per game while shooting better than 40% from the 3-point line. As a result, he is one of the top candidates for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.</p><p>If the Celtics are going to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference and then whoever comes out of the West, they will need Pritchard to be at his best. His shooting and overall scoring ability has been a huge asset for them this season and will make them very difficult to beat in the playoffs if it keeps up.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard makes big health admission before NBA Playoffs

<!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-boston-make-nba-history-payton-pritchard-3');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics make NBA history with Payton Pritchard 3');   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/2025/04/Payton-Pritchard.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics make NBA history with Payton Pritchard 3</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-04T17:43:29-07:00">April 4th, 5:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-04T17:43:29-07:00">April 4th, 5:43pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Thanks to Payton Pritchard, the Boston Celtics now hold the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a season.</p><p>The Celtics achieved the historic feat in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/suns-vs-celtics-prediction-odds-pick-spread-4-4-2025">Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns</a>. They surpassed the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors, who made 1,363 3-pointers throughout the season.</p><p>Going into the game, the Celtics made 1,356 shots from downtown, requiring eight triples to take the record. Luckily for them, they only needed less than 16 minutes of game time to do it.</p><p>Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford started off with their barrage of 3-pointers to begin the chase. This allowed the Celtics to have a lot of momentum with their shooting.</p><p>Tying the record in the second quarter, they only needed one more to overtake the record. That is where Pritchard entered the fold, <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1908312753154252884" rel="noopener">knocking down the triple</a> four minutes into the period to make history.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">With this Payton Pritchard three, the Celtics have officially made NBA history for the most threes in a single season:</p><p>🎯’24-25 Celtics (1,364)<br>🎯’22-23 Warriors (1,363)</p><p><a href="https://t.co/8Vtu9qbdvI">pic.twitter.com/8Vtu9qbdvI</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1908312753154252884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>What’s next for Payton Pritchard, Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Payton-Pritchard-2.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It makes sense for a talented squad like the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/celtics-news-boston-inches-closer-to-breaking-warriors-3-point-record">Celtics to make history</a> in the way they did, having the right players and system to now have an NBA record.</p><p>It is also noteworthy to see them surpass a Warriors squad that had volume 3-point shooters in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole among others. With the record now belonging to them, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Payton Pritchard can have that satisfaction.</p><p>This season, the Celtics make 17.8 3-pointers on 48.4 attempts per game. This is good for first in the league for both categories. They are also eighth in 3-point percentage, knocking down their triples at a 36.9% clip.</p><p>Boston boasts a 56-20 record on the season, holding the second spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are five games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top seed.</p><p>Following Friday’s game against the Phoenix Suns, Payton Pritchard and the Celtics will prepare for their next matchup. They host the Washington Wizards on April 6 at 6 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics make NBA history with Payton Pritchard 3

<!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/payton-pritchard-historic-celtics-milestone-bodes-well-6moy-campaign');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Payton Pritchard’s historic Celtics milestone bodes well for 6MOY campaign');   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/2025/03/Why-Payton-Pritchards-historic-Celtics-milestone-bodes-well-for-6MOY-campaign.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Payton Pritchard’s historic Celtics milestone bodes well for 6MOY campaign</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T04:27:32-07:00">March 28th, 4:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T04:27:32-07:00">March 28th, 4:27am</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>Unlike most of his teammates on Wednesday night, Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard didn’t light up the Phoenix Suns. However, he did just enough in the 132-102 blowout win to accomplish something only three other Celtics have.</p><p>After the first quarter of Boston’s seventh consecutive win, Pritchard reached 1,000 points off the bench for the 2024-25 season. Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, NBA journeyman Ricky Davis, and current Washington Wizards guard Malcolm Brogdon are the only other former Green Teamers to <a href="https://x.com/celtics_stats/status/1905090383459082709" rel="noopener">achieve the same feat</a>, per Celtics Stats.</p><p>McHale received two Sixth Man of the Year awards four decades ago and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-malcolm-brogdon-wins-sixth-man-of-the-year-award">Brogdon captured one during his only season with the Celtics</a> in 2023. Pritchard is hoping to follow in their footsteps, as he has the numbers to become just the fourth player in franchise history to take home the John Havlicek Trophy.</p><h2><b>Could Payton Pritchard actually win Sixth Man of the Year?</b></h2><p>Although Pritchard finished with seven points off the pine and made just three of his 10 attempts from the field in Phoenix, those kinds of off nights are rare for the fifth-year Celtic. In fact, prior to Wednesday, he scored in double figures in six straight games.</p><p>That helps explain <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-4set-career-high-scoring-marks-last-week">Pritchard’s monstrous numbers</a> throughout the 2024-25 campaign. He’s currently averaging a career-high 14.2 points per game while shooting an impressive 46.6% from the floor. The Oregon native is also shooting a career-high 41.3% from deep despite his increased 3-point volume.</p><p>Speaking of triples, Pritchard has netted a whopping 237 of them in 72 games, enough for the fourth-most in a single season by a Celtic. The three guys ahead of him are all starters, including Celtics guard Derrick White, who is now five triples shy of breaking the franchise record.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Derrick White on Saturday, playing back in San Antonio where he spent the first 4½ years of his career, has a chance to be the first to cross this finish line… <a href="https://t.co/fcxBa4hzdg">pic.twitter.com/fcxBa4hzdg</a></p><p>— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/1905137821469605979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Compared to the rest of the NBA, Pritchard has the fifth-most 3-point makes as of Thursday. Every person in front of him has attempted at least 625 triples, while he’s only at 574 shots from beyond the arc. Simply put, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-payton-pritchard-makes-history-in-win-over-nets">Pritchard is having a historic season</a> that may culminate in the ultimate recognition for a bench player.</p><p>The biggest threat to his Sixth Man of the Year campaign is arguably <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/detroit-pistons/pistons-news-malik-beasley-record-setting-night-anchors-blowout-victory-bulls">Detroit Pistons sharp-shooter Malik Beasley</a>. The first-year Piston is averaging 16.2 points per outing and shooting a stellar 42.1% from 3-point land.</p><p>Yet, Pritchard has the advantage in blocks, rebounds (despite being 6-foot-1), assists, and overall field goal percentage. And, perhaps most importantly, the Celtics standout has only started one game out of his 72 appearances. Meanwhile, Beasley is up to 15 starts in 73 games.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-gets-100-real-about-growing-sixth-man-of-the-year-buzz">After scorching the Pistons with 27 point</a>s in a mid-December drubbing, Pritchard told the media he isn’t living or dying by his push for Sixth Man of the Year. That doesn’t mean the reigning NBA champion wouldn’t love to win it, though.</p><p>“It’s not something I really think about,” he said of the award. “If I’m fortunate enough to win, I guess [it’s] a testament to the hard work I put in. It just means that I’ve helped my team coming off the bench and I’m doing my job at a high level…If I win or don’t win, it’s not make or break for me. I’m gonna continue with what I’m doing. But yeah, it’d be an honor.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard hasn’t really been focused on the Sixth Man of the Year race, but he knows winning the award would be a testament to his game:</p><p>“It’s not something I really think about … But yeah, it’d be an honor.” <a href="https://t.co/5ytEJ4alTf">pic.twitter.com/5ytEJ4alTf</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1867408687067005080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Regardless of whether or not Pritchard earns some hardware, the 54-19 Celtics are focused on a bigger trophy. The C’s already seized their 18th Larry O’Brien in franchise history last season, but they’re hoping to become the first back-to-back champions since the Golden State Warriors seven years ago.</p><p>Pritchard, who was once an afterthought in Beantown, is now essential to the Celtics’ quest for basketball domination.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Payton Pritchard’s historic Celtics milestone bodes well for 6MOY campaign

<!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-payton-pritchard-makes-history-in-win-over-nets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard makes history in win over Nets');   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/2025/03/Celtics-news-Payton-Pritchard-makes-history-in-win-over-Nets.jpg"><figcaption>3/15/25</figcaption></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard makes history in win over Nets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-15T18:58:02-07:00">March 15th, 6:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-15T18:58:02-07:00">March 15th, 6:58pm</time><address><a>Steve Silverman</a>Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including "Who's Better, Who's Best in the NFL." He has won multiple awards from the Pro Football Writers of America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/celtics-news-how-boston-is-1-step-closer-to-defending-title-with-win-vs-heat">Boston Celtics are a team</a> that depends on their remarkable depth and 3-point shooting in order to maintain the success that helped them become a dominant team in the NBA. The usual stars are Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but the contributions of Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Derrick White may have been just as influential when it came to winning the NBA title last year. It doesn’t stop there, as the Celtics get amazing contributions from bench players like Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard has set an NBA record for most 3-pointers made off the bench in a single season!</p><p>🎯 219 and counting!<a href="https://t.co/mEV1AkZkdN">pic.twitter.com/mEV1AkZkdN</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1901062686697550184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Pritchard was a key contributor for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/celtics-vs-nets-prediction-odds-pick-spread-3-15-2025">the Celtics as they defeated</a> the Brooklyn Nets 115-113 Saturday night. Pritchard scored 22 points in the win, and became the <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1901062686697550184">NBA’s all-time</a> single-season record holder in most 3-pointers made when coming off the bench.</p><p>The aggressive guard became the record holder when he hit his 219th 3-pointer. He connected on 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc in the win over the Nets.</p><p>Pritchard has a big advantage over any of the other bench players in the NBA. Pritchard now has 220 for the season, followed by Malik Beasley of the Detroit Pistons who is second with 198. Gary Trent Jr. of the Milwaukee Bucks is third with 124 three-pointers.</p><h2><b>Celtics bounce back with second straight win after loss to Oklahoma City</b></h2><p>The Celtics have rebounded from their 118-112 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with consecutive victories over the Miami Heat and the Nets.</p><p>Their 3-point shooting against the Thunder was an issue as they made just 20 of 63 shots from beyond the arc. Pritchard made just 2 of 9 in that game</p><p>In their Friday night 103-91 win at Miami, the Celtics made 19 of 50 3-point shots and Pritchard hit just 3 of 9.</p><p>The Celtics only attempted 38 shots from distance against the Nets and made just 13 of them. Pritchard had the best night of any of Boston’s long-range shooters, while Sam Hauser contributed 3 of 6 from distance.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard makes history in win over Nets

<!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/nba-stories/payton-pritchard-and-9-most-impactful-nba-late-bloomers-in-recent-memory');   ga('set', 'title', 'Payton Pritchard and 9 most impactful NBA late bloomers in recent memory');   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-and-the-9-most-impactful-late-bloomers-in-recent-memory.jpg"></figure><h1>Payton Pritchard and 9 most impactful NBA late bloomers in recent memory</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-06T12:48:21-08:00">March 6th, 12:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-06T12:48:21-08:00">March 6th, 12:48pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/spencersee10" rel="facebook">Spencer See</a>Spencer See is a part-time writer at ClutchPoints focusing on the NBA, evergreen content and celebrity lifestyle. He is also a lifelong fan of LeBron James. In his free time, he either goes fishing or watches basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Having a good start to an NBA career is ideal for any player to stay in the league. However, not every player gets the opportunities they need early on. In fact, some of those chances may never come.</p><p>Nonetheless, there are still players who made the most out of the chances they got, no matter how late they came. In fact, a clear example has been the Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard, who has been balling out for the defending champions. Here is a look at Payton Pritchard and the 9 most impactful late bloomers in recent memory.</p><p>Check out the gallery.</p><h2><b>Kobe Bryant</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kobe-Bryant-shoots-a-fadeaway-1.jpg"><figcaption>Howard Smith-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Although Kobe Bryant ended up as a basketball great, he didn’t exactly have a smooth start to his NBA career. After skipping college, the Black Mamba actually had a forgettable rookie season. He only put up 7.6 points per game while shooting 41.7% from the field overall. Despite the poor start, Bryant’s Mamba Mentality ultimately propelled him to become a Hall of Famer, accumulating five NBA championships and a pair of Finals MVPs.</p><h2><b>Giannis Antetokounmpo</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-powers-his-way-for-a-lay-up.jpg"><figcaption>Benny Sieu-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It wasn’t long ago when Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the NBA as a raw prospect from Greece. In fact, he only averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a rookie. But thanks to the patience and development by the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis transformed into an MVP-caliber player, winning back-to-back MVPs. But more importantly, he led the franchise to its first NBA title in five decades in 2021. In addition to his, the two-time NBA MVP also led the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/milwaukee-bucks/bucks-news-fans-go-wild-milwaukee-nba-cup-dominance-vs-thunder">Bucks to an NBA Cup title</a>.</p><h2><b>Jimmy Butler</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jimmy-Butler-dribbles-the-ball.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Often overlooked and underrated prior to making the leap into the NBA, Jimmy Butler spent his first two seasons in the NBA on the Chicago Bulls’ bench. It was until the 2013-14 season when he finally showcased his true form before successfully becoming an All-Star-caliber player a year later.</p><p>Butler won the NBA Most Improved Player Award before eventually leading the Miami Heat to a pair of NBA Finals appearances. He’s looking to finally win the elusive NBA title with the Golden State Warriors after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-jimmy-butler-heat-trade">Heat traded Butler in a blockbuster deal</a> at the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline.</p><h2><b>James Harden</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/James-Harden-attempts-a-jumpshot.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>At the 2009 NBA Draft, the Oklahoma City Thunder drafted James Harden with the third-overall pick. But with a lineup that already had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the team decided to bring him off the bench.</p><p>Harden averaged fewer than 10 points per game in his rookie year before becoming an NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner in his third year while helping the Thunder make an appearance at the 2012 NBA Finals. He only transformed into an MVP-caliber player when he joined the Houston Rockets, winning the top individual award in 2018 while leading the NBA in scoring.</p><h2><b>Bam Adebayo</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bam-Adebayo-looks-on.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Another Heat player that blossomed late is Bam Adebayo. He mostly came off the bench in his first two years in the league. He averaged 6.9 and 8.9 points per game in his first and second seasons, respectively. But in his third year in the NBA, when the Heat made him a starter, the 6-foot-9 big man rose to prominence. He averaged a double-double, elevating himself to All-Star status. But more importantly, Adebayo emerged as the franchise’s pillar, propelling the Heat to a pair of Finals appearances.</p><h2><b>Kyle Lowry</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Kyle-Lowry-shoots-the-ball.jpg"><figcaption>John Hefti-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Kyle Lowry never really had a smooth NBA career from the get-go. Without many minutes, Lowry had to be patient about his opportunities. They finally came when he was sent to the Houston Rockets before finally breaking out with the Toronto Raptors in his ninth year in the NBA. From reserve guard to full-time starter, it was a long journey for Lowry to rise to relevancy. The five-time NBA All-Star was also a crucial piece in the Raptors’ <a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/game-6-kawhi-leonard-leads-the-way-as-raptors-claim-first-ever-nba-title?plsrc=nba&amp;collection=nba-finals-2019" rel="noopener">championship run in 2019</a>.</p><h2><b>Pascal Siakam</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Pascal-Siakam-navigates-through-the-defense.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Speaking of the Raptors’ 2019 championship run, another late bloomer who played an instrumental role for the team was Pascal Siakam. Siakam was easily a quiet developmental project for the franchise, as he even spent time at the G-League to hone his skills. But in the 2018-19 season, his third year in the league, Siakam won the NBA Most Improved Player honors before showcasing All-Star form to bring home the Raptors’ first NBA championship.</p><h2><b>Jalen Brunson</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jalen-Brunson-drives-to-the-basket.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>As a second-round draft pick, Jalen Brunson had to earn his minutes for a Dallas Mavericks squad that already included Luka Doncic. Nonetheless, after showing flashes, he convinced coaches that he was a valuable sixth man during his third year in the NBA.</p><p>But with contract extension talks failing to materialize, Brunson took his talents to New York, where he’s currently the face of the Knicks franchise and an All-Star-caliber point guard. This year, he is averaging 26.1 points and 7.4 assists per game, a huge jump in production compared to his first few years in the league. He also earned his second straight All-Star nod.</p><h2><b>Payton Pritchard</b></h2><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><p>At the 2020 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics selected Payton Pritchard in the first round. But with a stacked Celtics team led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Pritchard was mainly brought off the bench. Nonetheless, the team was patient with the 6-foot-1 guard before finally giving him a consistent spot in their rotation.</p><p>Fast-forward to today, Pritchard is emerging as the Celtics’ best weapon off the bench. He’s averaging career-high numbers, posting 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. With Pritchard making a case to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, his ascent is s welcome sight for the defending champions that already have a menacing core.</p><h2><b>Norman Powell</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Norman-Powell-runs-back-on-defense.jpg"><figcaption>Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>During his first few years in the NBA, Norman Powell mostly rode on the Raptors’ bench, even during their championship run in 2019. It was only until the key departures of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green when Powell started to shine for the Raptors. But in the ongoing 2024-25 season, Powell has unlocked a whole new level to his game.</p><p>He is having the best season of his career, putting up 23.8 points per game. Despite the Los Angeles Clippers entering the season with low expectations, with the departure of Paul George and an injured Kawhi Leonard, the rise of Powell has been defying the odds.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Payton Pritchard and 9 most impactful NBA late bloomers in recent memory

<!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-classy-reason-shots-record-chase');   ga('set', 'title', 'Celtics’ Payton Pritchard’s classy reason for refusing to force shots amid record chase');   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/2025/03/Payton-Pritchards-classy-reason-for-refusing-to-force-shots-amid-record-chase.jpg"></figure><h1>Celtics’ Payton Pritchard’s classy reason for refusing to force shots amid record chase</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-05T22:26:44-08:00">March 5th, 10:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-05T22:26:44-08:00">March 5th, 10:26pm</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>BOSTON — On Wednesday night, Boston Celtics point guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-unreal-career-high-night-has-fans-going-bonkers">Payton Pritchard earned the right to take whatever kind of shot he wanted</a> heading into the fourth quarter of the Green Team’s 128-118 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-gets-100-real-about-growing-sixth-man-of-the-year-buzz">Sixth Man of the Year hopeful</a> was up to 37 points and so on fire that a circus shot from 80-feet away still would’ve received cheers from the TD Garden faithful.</p><p>Instead, the 27-year-old took the right shots. Although he was just one 3-pointer shy of tying Boston’s record for the most triples in a single game—held by former Celtic and current Washington Wizard Marcus Smart—Pritchard didn’t launch from deep. In fact, <a href="https://x.com/danield1214/status/1897484220450169174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1897484220450169174%7Ctwgr%5E7db3cf80261f98e32e7259ba6ab3957a7efebefc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D3280760action%3Dedit" rel="noopener">he wasn’t aware</a> he was on the verge of making history.</p><p>“I didn’t even know I had 10 threes at the moment,” he revealed in his postgame press conference. “But I wouldn’t have gunned for it anyways because then it just sets a new standard. So I got something to eventually go for, and hopefully break one day.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard refused to force shots to break Boston’s single-game 3-point record:</p><p>“That’s disrespectful to the game, disrespectful to my teammates. If I got in the flow and took a shot that was a good shot for us, and I broke it that way, then that's the right way to do it.” <a href="https://t.co/a1A8tFQB5a">pic.twitter.com/a1A8tFQB5a</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1897484220450169174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Pritchard had just one 3-point attempt in the final 12 minutes of the game. He used all the attention Portland’s defense gave him to create for others, opening the fourth quarter by faking a shot from beyond the arc and driving to the rim to find center Neemias Queta for an easy floater. The fifth-year Celtic finished with a career-high 43 points and a game-high 10 rebounds despite being the smallest player on the court. He contributed five assists as well, the third-most of any player on either side.</p><p>“The biggest thing was just about getting a W,” Pritchard stated. “And they made a little push, so I wasn’t going to force a look that wasn’t there. I feel like that’s disrespectful to the game, disrespectful to my teammates. But if I got in the flow and took a shot that was a good shot for us and broke [the 3-point record] that way, then that’s the right way to break it.”</p><h2><b>Besides Payton Pritchard, who else shined for the Celtics?</b></h2><p>Smart’s 3-point record remains after the double-digit win, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-derrick-white-payton-pritchard-franchise-feat">Pritchard still managed to make history with a little help</a>. Fellow Celtic Derrick White also posted a career-high with 41 points, resulting in the first game in franchise history where multiple C’s scored 40-plus points.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Payton Pritchard and Derrick White become the first Celtics duo in franchise history to have 40+ points EACH in the same game 👀 <a href="https://t.co/ElvHUXKjhu">pic.twitter.com/ElvHUXKjhu</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1897469845962186754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“The way those two played shows a lot about who they are,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Pritchard and White. “They do a lot of the dirty stuff when we’re fully healthy. They do a lot of things for the team, and to have a night where these two can show what they’re capable of was good for us. So, we’re lucky to have them and it was a lot of fun to watch them.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Joe Mazzulla told <a href="https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NoaDalzell</a> that, more than anything, he’s grateful for Payton Pritchard and Derrick White:</p><p>“We’re lucky to have them.” <a href="https://t.co/j7IhPHi75l">pic.twitter.com/j7IhPHi75l</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1897476027523141721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Celtics were without multiple starters on Wednesday as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-headline-celtics-injury-report-vs-blazers">Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis all sat</a> on the first night of a back-to-back set. That gave Pritchard and White plenty of room to work. Both members of the impressive duo put up at least 20 shots and 16 attempts from 3-point land, and Pritchard stayed on the court for a season-high 43 minutes.</p><p>The aforementioned absences also gave the Trail Blazers, who had previously won five of their last six games, room to fight back. With 2:35 remaining in the final frame, the Celtics’ 25-point lead was cut to just eight points. A few defensive lapses from Boston nearly made it a game down the stretch, yet White swooped in with another clutch jumper to give the C’s a 126-116 lead with 2:11 left in the quarter, effectively sealing the win.</p><p>“Unbelievable,” Pritchard replied when asked about White’s performance. “It was amazing to watch because some of the shots he was hitting were incredible.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">What a night for Payton Pritchard and Derrick White.</p><p>Pritchard:<br>– 43 points<br>– 10 3s (one short of franchise record)<br>– 10 rebounds (game-high)</p><p>White:<br>– 41 points (career-high)<br>– 9 3s (two short of franchise record) <a href="https://t.co/4APmXPomJd">pic.twitter.com/4APmXPomJd</a></p><p>— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) <a href="https://twitter.com/danield1214/status/1897471485121347634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Following the historic victory, the Celtics are 44-18 overall and in second place in the Eastern Conference. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-cleveland-championship-contenders-win-celtics">Catching the Cleveland Cavaliers</a>, who are eight games up on the C’s and currently on a 12-game winning streak, may be impossible. However, if Boston can get the kind of production and unselfish play Pritchard and White displayed against Portland, it shouldn’t worry about retaking the top seed.</p><p>For now, all the Celtics have to concern themselves with is entering the playoffs healthy and with some momentum. They host the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday evening and probably won’t have every member of their regular starting five available, perhaps giving Pritchard and White another chance to step up in a big way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard’s classy reason for refusing to force shots amid record chase

<!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-unreal-career-high-night-has-fans-going-bonkers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Payton Pritchard’s unreal career-high night has Celtics fans going bonkers');   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/2025/03/Peyton-Pritchards-unreal-career-high-night-has-fans-going-bonkers.jpg"></figure><h1>Payton Pritchard’s unreal career-high night has Celtics fans going bonkers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-05T20:18:41-08:00">March 5th, 8:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-05T20:18:41-08:00">March 5th, 8:18pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On the first night of a back-to-back, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-headline-celtics-injury-report-vs-blazers">Boston Celtics decided to rest a few of their key guys</a>, including Jayson Tatum. Joining Tatum on the inactive list were Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday as the Celtics continue to preserve their most important players’ health heading into the stretch run of the season. What makes them so confident to rest their key players is that they have more than enough quality players to make up for this loss, and on Wednesday night, it was Payton Pritchard who took charge in the Celtics’ 128-118 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><p>Pritchard has been brilliant all season long; he’s the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-news-payton-pritchard-gets-100-real-about-growing-sixth-man-of-the-year-buzz">favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award</a> for a reason. Against the Blazers, Pritchard went out and had his best game of the season, going bonkers from deep (10-16 from three, 14-20 overall) en route to a career-high 43-point night. And as if that wasn’t good enough, Pritchard even added 10 rebounds and five assists — emerging as the Celtics’ best player on a night where they had this Tatum-sized void.</p><p>The 27-year-old guard has truly come a long way; the Celtics guard became just the third player in NBA history to record 40 points with 10+ threes while coming off the bench, joining JR Smith and Bogdan Bogdanovic <a href="https://x.com/Underdog__NBA/status/1897467655654981812" rel="noopener">in that exclusive club</a>, as pointed out by Underdog on X (formerly Twitter).</p><p>Celtics fans exploded in celebration over another epic performance from Pritchard that has endeared himself even further to their very loyal fanbase.</p><p>“I feel like that Pritchard game might’ve secured 6MOY for him,” X user @fndology <a href="https://x.com/fndology/status/1897496409777066253" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p><p>“I don’t think there are many contracts in the league that are more “bang for your buck” like getting Payton Pritchard (front runner for 6MOY) for $7M/yr,” @PPritchardGOAT <a href="https://x.com/PPritchardGOAT/status/1897494712333766656" rel="noopener">added</a>.</p><p>“HOLY S**T PRITCHARD HAD 43!?!?” @PencilCasePat <a href="https://x.com/PencilCasePat/status/1897493830305202606" rel="noopener">exclaimed</a>.</p><h2><b>Derrick White, Payton Pritchard lead Celtics to victory with epic shooting night</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Celtics-guard-Payton-Pritchard.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Payton Pritchard may garner the most headlines for his 43-5-10 performance in the Celtics victory, but he wasn’t alone in torching the Blazers on Wednesday night. Derrick White was also on point from beyond the arc, nearly matching Pritchard band for band with nine three-pointers of his own.</p><p>Pritchard and White made history by being the duo to combine for the most three-pointers in a single game, and the Celtics continue to thrive with their emphasis on the three-ball. Can this Celtics duo go for an encore on Thursday night against a struggling Philadelphia 76ers team?</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 news

Payton
Pritchard news