It was clear Payton Pritchard was on against the Raptors, and after every make, it was shaping up to be one of those nights. Pritchard exploded for 33 points in Saturday’s win in Toronto, pacing a Celtics team that was without Jaylen Brown.
It was just the latest massive scoring night for Pritchard that continued a peculiar trend. The C’s guard has, at least early on, been at his best on the second game of a back-to-back. Players are usually tired, but some of Pritchard’s best games this season have come when he played the prior night.
“I feel like I had it going earlier in the game, honestly,” Pritchard said, via the NBC Sports Boston broadcast. “Sometimes you gotta take what the defense gives you. I had some easy assists. So you loosen the defense up a little bit. I think I had maybe only one turnover or something, so getting off the ball. Hit the shots that I can. Then the third quarter happened and the defense kind of expands, opened up the floor a little bit, then you gotta hit those shots.”
Pritchard is averaging 24.3 points and 6.7 assists in six games this season playing the second game of a back-to-back. He’s also knocking down 43.8% of his 3-pointers in those scenarios. All those numbers are much higher than his normal averages. Of course, a sample size of six games isn’t much, but it’s still an impressive start to the season for Pritchard. “I train for these moments,” he said, “so back-to-backs don’t really bother me.”
His best night of the season came in his 42-point outing against the Cavaliers, when he seemingly couldn’t miss. That outing also came when the C’s were down two starters in Neemias Queta and Derrick White. So Pritchard has stepped up in a big way when the Celtics need someone to pick up the slack offensively.
Pritchard scored 19 points in the third quarter alone Saturday, though his playmaking also stood out. Pritchard has remarked he wants an all-around great offensive game, and that’s what he delivered Saturday. He added 10 points to just one turnover for the Celtics, showcasing what he does at his best.
“Just trying to turn up the pace,” Pritchard said.” Get out in transition. Make things happen early. I feel like our team is at its best when we’re really running even after makes. That was kind of the mindset. Just trying to play with like this relentless feel. I feel like I haven’t had that defensively, offensively, playing like my hair is on fire. Up and down.”