SAN FRANCISCO - After trading Anfernee Simons, the Celtics were left with just two primary ball-handlers: Derrick White and Payton Pritchard.
Both had started the first 49 games of the season. But with Simons gone, Boston needed another ball-handler to anchor the second unit. That meant sliding Pritchard back into the role he dominated last season — one that earned him Sixth Man of the Year honors and placed him alongside Malcolm Brogdon (2023), Kevin McHale (1984, 1985), and Bill Walton (1986) as the only Celtics to win the award.
“As you can see, how our team is constructed, you need somebody to come off the bench and handle the rock,” Pritchard said after the trade. “And it’s good. D-White comes out, and then I come in, like there is always somebody who can bring it up, get us into the flow, stuff like that. So, it just makes the most sense for our team.”
In his 48 games as a starter, Pritchard averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds, shooting 45.6% (on 13.8 attempts) from the field and 35.2% (on 7.2 attempts) from three.
Albeit in a small sample size, Pritchard has seen an uptick in production since the trade and his move to the bench. In six games, the Oregon product has averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.5 rebounds, shooting 52.0% (on 16.7 attempts) from the field and 42.9% (on 8.2 attempts) from three. He has scored 24 points or more in five of those six games and 26 or more in four of those six.
“I think regardless of if Payton’s coming off the bench or not, he just plays at a level, and he just has the ability to impact the game in different ways,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It doesn’t matter where he’s at in the rotation, he’s going to impact the game on both ends of the floor.”
For some players, moving out of the starting lineup after nearly 50 games can be sensitive territory. Pritchard had already started almost three times as many games this season (48) as he had in his previous five NBA seasons combined (17).
Pritchard, however, has embraced the change.
“It’s funny, like, the starting thing is kind of pointless, because I played probably more minutes than I did as a starter. I just don’t play the first five minutes, and then I check in,” Pritchard said. “I actually would rather play longer stints like that. As a starter, sometimes you play like eight to nine, and then you sub out for a while and come back in. But at the end of the day, the way our team is built allows D-White and JB to handle the flow of that offense. And I come in, and when one of them comes out, like always, there are two of us out there.”
Pritchard is averaging slightly more minutes off the bench (33.4) than as a starter (32.6).
With the spark and energy he provides, Pritchard fits the Sixth Man role perfectly, and that’s not to take away from what he accomplished as a starter. He has picked up right where he left off last season, giving the Celtics’ second unit balance and elite production in a role where he thrives.
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