It wasn\u2019t a demotion, per se.<\/p>\n
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn\u2019t yank Payton Pritchard out of the starting lineup because he was playing poorly. Quite the opposite: Pritchard was on pace for career highs in points, assists and rebounds while helping spearhead one of the NBA\u2019s best offenses.<\/p>\n
But when Boston traded Anfernee Simons \u2014 its third guard and sixth man \u2014 to acquire veteran center Nikola Vucevic<\/a>, keeping Pritchard on the top unit wasn\u2019t a viable option. Doing so would have left the Celtics without a reliable second-unit ball-handler and tanked their bench scoring.<\/p>\n So, Mazzulla made the call. Second-year wing Baylor Scheierman would start, and Pritchard \u2014 after starting each of the first 48 games he played this season \u2014 would reprise the role that won him NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors a year ago.<\/p>\n Six games in, that setup has worked wonderfully \u2014 for both the Celtics and Pritchard.<\/p>\n Boston entered Sunday\u2019s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 5-1 record since the Simons trade, with Pritchard scoring at least 24 points in all five wins. His minutes have not dipped (at least 30 in all six games), he\u2019s still part of the team\u2019s closing lineup, and he\u2019s been hyper-productive, averaging 22.5 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 52.0% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range. All of those marks are well above his season-long averages.<\/p>\n The lone dud was Pritchard\u2019s rough showing in a blowout loss to the New York Knicks<\/a> on Feb. 8 (six points, 2-for-9, minus-27). He responded by leading the Celtics in scoring in back-to-back games, including a 26-point, seven-assist, six-rebound effort in Thursday\u2019s 121-110 victory over Golden State<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pritchard went 6-for-11 from beyond the arc in that win, hitting deep threes on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions to help Boston survive a late Warriors comeback.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really simple, honestly,\u201d Pritchard said of his new, familiar role in an interview with NBA on Prime\u2019s postgame show<\/a>. \u201cAnd the fact is, I sit the first five minutes and then I come in and I play the starter minutes. So at the end of the day, it almost is better because I\u2019m playing longer stints and you get into the flow more and stuff like that. But obviously, we looked at our team. Joe talked to me when we made the trade for Vucevic, we didn\u2019t have a ball-handler off the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, (Jaylen Brown) and (Derrick) White can handle that starting unit, but for me coming in, it always leaves at least two of us out there to run the offense and stuff like that. It just makes the offense more fluid, and it makes sense for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n Best known for his 3-point shooting \u2014 his 255 3-point makes last season ranked fifth in the NBA \u2014 Pritchard also has been one of the league\u2019s most efficient isolation scorers this season. He\u2019s averaging 1.30 points per possession in those scenarios, per NBA player tracking, up from 0.96 in 2024-25.<\/p>\n The 6-foot-1 guard has been lethal from the midrange, too, making 56.8% of his shots from 10-14 feet. Of all players with at least 40 such attempts this season, only reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hits his at a higher rate than Pritchard (59.6%).<\/p>\n That\u2019s all carried over through Pritchard\u2019s move to the bench. Over the last six games, he\u2019s shooting better than 60% on 2-pointers.<\/p>\n The Celtics also have gotten encouraging minutes from another former starter: Vucevic.<\/p>\n The 35-year-old big man had started all but three of his appearances over the last 10 seasons, but Mazzulla has used him off the bench behind Neemias Queta since his arrival earlier this month. Though Vucevic also struggled against New York as he adjusted to his new teammates and system, Boston has outscored its opponent by double digits with him on the floor in each of his other three outings.<\/p>\n Vucevic was a plus-11 against Miami, plus-26 against Chicago and plus-17 against Golden State, notching double-doubles against the Heat and Bulls. He\u2019s a proven scorer, shooter and rebounder, and his passing has added a new element to the Celtics\u2019 frontcourt.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of if Payton\u2019s coming off the bench or not, he just plays at a level,\u201d Mazzulla told reporters<\/a> after Thursday\u2019s game. \u201cHe just has the ability to impact the game in different ways. So it doesn\u2019t matter where he\u2019s at in the rotation \u2014 he\u2019s going to impact the game on both ends of the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cVuc, he\u2019s just continuing \u2014 again, it\u2019s the balance: \u2018This is what we need from you. This is how we can make things easier for you.\u2019 So I think you\u2019re seeing the relationship just kind of grow. \u2026 His reads versus different coverages, his reads versus different screens are just getting better, and that really impacts him, and it helps other guys, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n