Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Cleared to play Tuesday
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Pritchard (thumb) is available for Tuesday's game against the Cavaliers, Justin Turpin of WEEI.com reports.
Pritchard will shake off a questionable tag and suit up despite a left thumb sprain. Over his last eight appearances, the backup guard has averaged 16.1 points, 2.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals in 28.5 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Dealing with thumb sprain
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Pritchard is questionable for Tuesday's game against the Cavaliers due to a left thumb sprain, Justin Turpin of WEEI.com reports.
Pritchard has yet to miss a game this season, but he's coming off a poor performance against the Raptors on Saturday. Before the dud, Pritchard averaged 17.3 points, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 28.8 minutes per game across his prior 12 appearances. If he's sidelined, Jordan Walsh and Sam Hauser would be candidates for increased roles.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Bounces back in win
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Pritchard finished Wednesday's 139-114 victory over Brooklyn with 23 points (8-13 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 2-4 FT), six rebounds, eight assists, one block and two steals in 36 minutes.
Pritchard shot just 2-for-8 from the field in his last appearance Tuesday against the Hawks, but he made up for it with a big night Wednesday. He led the Boston bench with 23 points and set top marks on the season in rebounds and assists. Pritchard has now reached the 20-point threshold three times in November.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Rough shooting night
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Pritchard registered six points (2-8 FG, 2-8 3Pt), one rebound, two assists and three steals over 25 minutes during Tuesday's 117-116 loss to the Hawks.
Pritchard struggled from the field, a blip on what has been an otherwise strong season thus far. Despite the talented roster surrounding him, Pritchard has established himself as one of the more reliable bench scorers in the NBA. While this was far from his best outing, his role is secure and he should look to bounce back against the Nets on Wednesday.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Shines from deep in win
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Pritchard produced 18 points (6-10 FG, 5-8 3Pt, 1-1 FT), three assists and one rebound across 23 minutes during Sunday's 113-107 win over the Bucks.
Pritchard is positioning himself for a Sixth Man of The Year campaign through 11 regular-season outings. The 26-year-old has drained three or more three-pointers in five consecutive games, during which he has also scored at least 16 points in each game. Pritchard continues to provide a crucial spark off the bench, and he has averaged 16.5 points, 3.9 three-pointers, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals across 28.1 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Drops 20 points Friday
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Pritchard finished Friday's 108-104 overtime win over the Nets with 20 points (6-11 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 5-5 FT), one rebound and one steal over 34 minutes.
Pritchard continues to be the Celtics' spark plug off the bench this season, as he logged 20 points Friday for the third time. With Jaylen Brown (hip) sidelined, Pritchard has stepped into a larger scoring role alongside Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, and the fifth-year point guard has been particularly lethal from three-point range. Through the first 10 games of the 2024-25 regular season, Pritchard is averaging 16.4 points on 46.5 percent shooting (including 41.3 percent from three on 9.2 3PA/G), 2.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals over 28.7 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Extends impressive start to season
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Pritchard finished with 18 points (7-12 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 1-1 FT), three rebounds, four assists and one steal across 25 minutes during Monday's 123-93 victory over Atlanta.
Pritchard has been one of the most productive bench players in the first two weeks of the regular season, and the numbers back him up. He's scored at least 15 points in all but one of his last seven outings, a span in which he's averaging 17.9 points per game while shooting an impressive 47.7 percent from three-point range.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Lethal from deep Saturday
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Pritchard logged 22 points (8-15 FG, 6-12 3Pt), three rebounds and two assists over 29 minutes during Saturday's 113-103 victory over Charlotte.
Pritchard continued his strong play off the bench Saturday, and he had the ball in his hands more due to Jaylen Brown (hip) being sidelined. Pritchard hit five of his six threes in the first quarter, and he finished Saturday's game as the Celtics' second-leading scorer behind Jayson Tatum (29). Through the first seven games of the regular season, Pritchard is averaging 15.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals across 27.9 minutes per contest.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: On court during crunch time
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Pritchard registered 16 points (5-14 FGT, 4-11 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, four assists and one steal over 38 minutes during Wednesday's 135-132 overtime loss to Indiana.
Pritchard has bounced back from the 1-for-10 outing on Opening Night to score 15-plus points over his last four regular-season outings. Interestingly, Pritchard found himself on the floor during the fourth quarter and overtime alongside Derrick White as Jrue Holiday watched from the bench. It may have been a matchup decision by head coach Joe Mazulla to have Pritchard on the floor instead of Holiday, but it's clear the Celtics trust Pritchard during high-pressure moments. Over his last four outings, Pritchard has averaged 19.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists across 28.4 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Ties franchise record in win
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Pritchard racked up 28 points (10-14 FG, 8-12 3Pt), five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 28 minutes during Monday's 119-108 win over the Bucks.
Pritchard tied Eddie House's franchise record for three-pointers made off the bench, hitting eight in the contest, including a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter. The sharpshooter was a problem for Milwaukee all night long as he scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half, ending as the club's second-highest scorer behind Jaylen Brown (30). Pritchard will continue to provide a spark off the bench for the Celtics, and he has now tallied 15-plus points in three consecutive matchups.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Shines off bench once again
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Pritchard recorded 19 points (5-8 FG, 5-7 3Pt, 4-4 FT), two rebounds and a steal across 19 minutes off the bench in Saturday's 124-118 win over the Pistons.
Pritchard has scored at least 15 points while draining at least five threes in his last two outings off the bench, and the former Oregon standout is enjoying an excellent start to the campaign. His overall fantasy upside shouldn't be very high due to the uncertainty that comes with his bench role. That said, Pritchard is turning quite a few heads with his play as an elite three-point shooting threat on a stacked Boston roster.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Strong numbers off bench
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Pritchard registered 15 points (5-11 FG, 5-10 3Pt), one rebound and two assists in 28 minutes during Thursday's 122-102 win over the Wizards.
The Celtics cruised to an easy victory against the Wizards, and Pritchard made his presence felt off the bench with his efficient shooting from beyond the arc. He was limited to just three points across 25 minutes in the season-opening win against the Knicks on Tuesday, but he bounced back admirably here. If Pritchard finds a way to score in double digits off the bench regularly, he could play his way into fantasy relevancy in category-based leagues and deep formats.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Struggles from the field
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Pritchard provided three points (1-10 FG, 1-9 3Pt), four rebounds and four assists over 25 minutes during Tuesday's 132-109 win over the Knicks.
Pritchard was part of a messy fourth quarter where the Celtics missed their last 13 three-point attempts as they tried to break the single-game record for most made threes. The game was well in hand for Boston by that point, so hunting for an NBA record was all in good fun. Expect Pritchard's shot to return Friday in Washington, and he should continue his role as a score-first guard off the bench moving forward.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Coming off bench Opening Night
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Pritchard will come off the bench for Tuesday's game against the Knicks.
Pritchard entered the starting lineup often during the preseason, though Jrue Holiday will reclaim his starting spot Opening Night. Pritchard will likely play a significant role off the bench, but he will have to compete for playing time with Sam Hauser and Jaden Springer on the wing.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Drains five threes Tuesday
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Pritchard scored 15 points (5-11 FG, 5-10 3Pt) while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes during Tuesday's 119-118 preseason loss to the Raptors.
Getting the start in place of Jrue Holiday (rest), Pritchard put on an impressive display from long range. The fifth-year guard will be the floor leader for Boston's second unit this season, with his primary fantasy value coming from beyond the arc -- Pritchard averaged a career-high 1.8 threes per game in 2023-24 on 38.5 percent shooting.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Hands out nine dimes
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Pritchard delivered 19 points (7-13 FG, 5-11 3Pt), five rebounds and nine assists across 24 minutes in Sunday's 115-111 preseason win over the Raptors.
Pritchard had an excellent showing, and there's no question he took advantage of the opportunity after the Celtics decided to rest several players who featured in the win over the 76ers on Saturday. He will be the backup guard behind Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, but given how the Celtics' rotation is currently constructed, Pritchard is not expected to have a lot of fantasy upside outside of being a streaming alternative in deep formats.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Gets spot start
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Pritchard will start Sunday's preseason game against the Raptors, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Pritchard steps into the starting lineup with Boston electing to rest the majority of their key players. Pritchard will likely be the focal point offensively for a very limited Celtics squad.
Pritchard finished with 21 points (6-13 FG, 6-12 3Pt, 3-4 FT), four rebounds and six assists across 25 minutes in Friday's 107-103 preseason win over the Nuggets.
There's no question Pritchard made the most of his opportunity in this preseason opener, carrying the Celtics in scoring and showing he's ready to handle a bigger role off the bench if called upon duty. Pritchard averaged a career-high 9.6 points per game in 2023-24 while making 38.5 percent of his threes over 82 regular-season games, so he should be a reliable weapon off the bench for Boston, though his fantasy upside will be minimal if he continues to play almost exclusively off the bench.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Drains clutch 3 in Game 5 win
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Pritchard posted three points (1-1 FG, 1-1 3Pt) in under one minute of playing time during Monday's 106-88 win over Dallas in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
As he did periodically during the regular season and postseason, Pritchard once again drained a half-court end-of-quarter three just when the Celtics needed a boost. In Game 5, he heaved a half-court triple with under four seconds to help Boston take a 21-point lead into halftime. It was a lead the Celtics would never relinquish as Boston earned its 18th banner. Pritchard hit three triples over five 2024 NBA Finals games. He has three years remaining on his current contract, so expect more off-the-bench heroics moving forward.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Records eight points off bench
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Pritchard logged eight points (3-4 FG, 2-3 3Pt) and two assists over 23 minutes during Tuesday's 133-128 overtime win over the Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics are using a very tight eight-man rotation right now, but Pritchard is pretty clearly the sixth man for the foreseeable future. He's been excellent through 11 playoff appearances, averaging 7.8 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds while hitting 47.0 percent from the field and 44.7 percent from beyond the arc.
