Payton Pritchard is Joe Mazzulla’s game changer for the Celtics.
Before the fourth quarter of the Pistons game, it looked like Payton Pritchard might be coming back to earth. Then Pritchard poured in 12 points and 3 rebounds in the final frame. And Joe Mazzulla appreciated every minute of it.
“I thought he made big-time plays whether it was the offensive rebound, whether it was the play at the end of the game, or just pushing the place. You know, he kinda just has the ability to impact the game in different ways.”
A classic misnomer is that Mazzulla Ball is simply trying to shoot as many three-point shots as possible. Offensively, Mazzulla Ball is about creating the best possible shot. It just so happens the Celtics have maybe the most shooting talent ever assembled on an NBA roster. You mix the shooting talent with a bunch of great shot-creators, and you end up with the highest three-point rate in NBA history.
The piece of Mazzulla Ball that sometimes gets missed is about dominating on the margins. Mazzulla’s Celtics are going to kill you from the three-point. There’s nothing that can be done about that. But they’re also not going to turn it over, rebound the ball, and this year, get to the free-throw line. So even when the three-point shots don’t fall, the Celtics have likely beaten you in enough of the margins to win anyway, as evidenced by their 5-0 record in games where they shoot below 34% from three. Good luck beating that team four out of seven times in the playoffs.
This is why it makes sense for Mazzulla to gush about Pritchard’s ability to impact the game outside his shooting. Especially his offensive rebounding.
“You saw it offensive rebounding. You saw it shot-making. He can just impact the game in so many ways.”
Three-point shooting can come and go; even Steph Curry can have a cold night or week or month from three-point range. Great players still impact the game on those nights. Pritchard, despite being 6”1, in what I’m guessing are very tall shoes, rebounds the heck out of the ball while maintaining an elite assist-turnover ratio. Pritchard is an elite offensive rebounder for his size and position. Over the past 25 years, out of all players six-foot-two and under, Pritchard is sixth in offensive rebounding percentage behind only Rajon Rondo, Sundiata Gaines, Bobby Jackson, Patrick Beverly, and Gary Payton II.
Collecting clutch offensive rebounds is not a new phenomenon for Payton Pritchard. Pritchard has been doing this since he joined the Boston Celtics in 2020.
This is what he does.
When you blend Pritchard’s impact on the margins with his explosive scoring ability, the Celtics are left with one of the most impactful bench players in the NBA.