Backup guard Payton Pritchard has cemented himself as one of the Boston Celtics’ most underrated players.
Pritchard will enter a matchup with the host Washington Wizards on Sunday with averages of 16.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists across 25 games this season. He’s shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from 3-point range.
Pritchard is Boston’s fifth-leading scorer behind Jayson Tatum (28.2 points per game), Jaylen Brown (24.5), Kristaps Porzingis (20.3) and Derrick White (17.5).
“I just feel like people are playing my 3-ball so heavy and obviously I shoot it from a deep range, so if they come and close out on me, it allows me to get in the paint,” Pritchard said. “And then, obviously, I just manipulate the bigs. If they play me, I dump it off. If they don’t, I finish it. I try to make the game very simple.”
Pritchard came off the bench to hit seven threes on the way to 27 points while dishing out 10 assists during a 123-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. He also became the 10th player in franchise history to connect on at least 500 career 3-pointers.
The impressive start to the season has Pritchard as the favorite to be named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
“It’s not something I really think about,” Pritchard said of the award. “If I’m fortunate enough to win, that’s, I guess, a testament to the hard work I put in and I think it just means that I helped this team coming off the bench and doing my job at a high level.”
The Wizards have the worst record in the NBA (3-20) but are coming off a spirited effort in a 115-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, as they were within five points with less than two minutes to play. It was Washington’s 18th loss in the past 19 games.
Cleveland attempted 40 free throws in that game, 29 more than Washington.
“Our guys really played their tails off (Friday),” Washington coach Brian Keefe said. “We were attacking the rim, and we didn’t get the same calls. Totally inconsistent. Not right.”
Although Jordan Poole is Washington’s leading scorer (20.2 points per game), Bilal Coulibaly matched his career high by scoring 27 points — 14.5 more than his season average — in the loss to Cleveland. He tossed in a career-high five 3-pointers.
The Wizards have also been getting significant offensive contributions from Justin Champagnie, who has started the past three games and averaged 17.7 points and 8.0 rebounds during that stretch. Champagnie, 23, is on a two-way contract with Washington.
Boston was without Tatum (knee) and Sam Hauser (adductor strain) for the victory over Detroit, but both took part in a team workout on Friday.
“Yeah, there’s a chance (they will play Sunday),” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They’re doing better. We had a walkthrough (Friday) and they went through everything in the walkthrough. They’re feeling better, so we’ll see obviously on Sunday, but they’re both definitely progressing.”
Boston is 2-0 against Washington this season, with both wins coming on the road. The Wizards, who are 2-10 at home this season, have lost their past six meetings overall with the Celtics.
–Field Level Media
