The Boston Celtics have played 32 games in 2021 and it’s fair to say that head coach Ime Udoka does not enjoy utilizing his young players. Perhaps as a first-year head coach, Udoka would rather equip a veteran squad. Nevertheless, whether he wants to or not, Udoka is going to have to use his entire roster.
One of the common trends following the Boston Celtics this season is the limited roster that Udoka uses on a nightly basis. However, due to health and safety protocols, the Celtics are currently down eight of their players, resulting in opportunities opening up for Payton Pritchard, a young and promising former first-round pick in the middle of his sophomore season in Boston.
Boston Celtics sophomore Payton Pritchard is finally getting the minutes we all expected him to have this season
Pritchard was able to get meaningful minutes for what feels like the first time this season against the New York Knicks last Saturday night. He finished the game with 16 points, connecting on four shots from behind the arc and adding three assists in 28 minutes.
When given the opportunity, Prichard seized the moment. So it’s hard to understand why there haven’t been many minutes going his way. In fact, he’s even logged in DNP-CDs more times this season than did as a rookie last year. When he was asked about his lack of usage, Pritchard said it’s been challenging.
"“As a competitor, it is tough. It’s a daily thing. But for me, I try to go to work every day, and I try to get better and better each and every day so when my opportunity comes like tonight, I can help my team win.”"
During times when the Celtics have lacked scoring and offensive production, why is Udoka not playing one of the best shooters on the team? When asked about it, Udoka didn’t really have a reason to give.
"“It’s nothing that Payton has done or has not done that has limited the minutes there. I’m from the same city as him, I’ve seen him in high school win state championships, watched him in college and have extreme confidence in him, knowing when he gets the opportunity, he’s always going to be ready. So it was good to see him do what he did, but not surprising.”"
There are stretches in games when the Celtics find themselves in a drought and lack energy. The team and Udoka desperately need a spark plug guy who can come in and provide that missing spark to get things started back up again. I believe Pritchard is that guy and should be playing more minutes.
There is speculation that Pritchard isn’t getting the opportunity we all expected him to have due to the surprise signing of Dennis Schroder. Although there is some truth to that, however, Udoka needs to find a better way to disperse minutes throughout his team.
The biggest rookie coaching woe that Udoka needs to overcome is proper minute distribution. Without a consistent rotation and allowing Pritchard to play in meaningful minutes, Udoka is doing both the team and Pritchard an incredible disservice. Even though Pritchard is only in his second NBA season, he’s extremely poised for a young player.
In the month of December, Pritchard has three DNP-CDs. However, in their last four games, Pritchard is averaging 21 minutes per game – which is the most in any four-game stretch this season for him.
It’s fair to say that Udoka is finally learning how to best utilize an offensively talented player like Pritchard- which as I mentioned earlier should be the spark plug off the bench for the Celtics.
Payton Pritchard proved why he’s one of the best young players in the NBA during Summer League
It’s worth mentioning that Pritchard followed up his great rookie season by being one of the best players at Summer League. In just four games, he averaged 16.8 points, 8.5 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 46.9 percent from behind the arc. He landed on the All-Summer League First Team.
Pritchard didn’t finish out the Summer League with Boston, as he took part in a Pro Am tournament in Portland. In doing so, the Portland native dropped a jaw dropping 92 points and further proved that the Boston Celtics have a more than capable producer and contributor in Pritchard.
With the Boston Celtics managing a minor COVID outbreak that has them missing more than a handful of their players, it’s fair to say that Pritchard should continue to see an increase in overall usage and minutes. That said, it would greatly benefit the team and Udoka to have a solidified rotation.