It was a subtle shift made by the Boston Celtics to switch Payton Pritchard from shooting guard to the point, but the results appear to be paying off for the Celtics in recent games. Both Pritchard and fellow Boston guard Derrick White have been playing better, their early-season slumps improving if not quite going away entirely just yet.
The West Linn, Oregon native spoke about his early-season yips and the shift to floor general after the Celtics’ 113-99 road win over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday (Nov. 18) night, saying (via CLNS Media), “I just went through a little rut there” of his uneven start to the season in terms of his efficiency from beyond the arc.
“Sometimes with great shooters, you just start to overcomplicate your shot,” he added. “I want to tuck my wrist more. How do I get it to be even more consistent rather than just going to basics and just, like, one motion, one motion, one motion?”
“But I’m still going to go through little ruts,” suggested Pritchard. “I mean, I think I didn’t even hit a 3 in the second half. It’s part of the game.” As for how the move to the point has impacted his game, the Oregon alum remained noncommittal as to whether it was boosting his play.
“I don’t know — I really don’t know,” he said. “I would have to look at the stats of the data on that. To be honest, I’m just out there just playing and having a focus of pushing the pace.”
Listen to “Havlicek Stole the Pod” on:
Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3