Pritchard is not yet ready to run the offense

[DefenseWinsChamps]

The question that you have to ask is whether or not he could win his individual matchup against high level playoff teams. I have no doubts that he could make a lot of contributions in the regular season.

I posted on another thread that I was a little disappointed with his performance in game one. Great points total, but he only took like 2 non-three pointers, and if you go back and watch, it was because he couldn't beat his man.

The Celtics needed a guy to consistently break down the Kings defense, but Pritchard couldn't do it, whether he was matched up with Mitchell, or Ramsey (who I like), or the Texas guard.

I just think he is what he is, but we can't expect him to produce good offense against a good playoff team. He will stretch the floor almost out to mid-court for the Js. He will provide below average defense. He will make mostly intelligent decisions in the flow of the offense, but you can't rely on him to run pick-and-roll and get your team good looks.

He's a fine rotation guard for the regular season, and he may hit a bunch of threes in a playoff game, but he's not the long-term solution around the Js.

[Jvalin]

The question that you have to ask is whether or not he could win his individual matchup against high level playoff teams.

That's not the question you have to ask. Basketball is a team game. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. All that matters is which player makes the team better.

The C's are built around the Jays. We aren't building our roster in a vacuum. Talent-wise, Schroder is better than Pritchard. That said, Pritchard is a perfect fit alongside the Jays on the offensive side of the ball. Would love us to give Pritchard extended minutes with the starters. It's possible that the team would be better off bringing both Schroder and Smart off the bench. The same goes for Nesmith over JRich. Hope Udoka has the courage to at least give this a try during the regular season.

He will stretch the floor almost out to mid-court for the Js.

This is my point. He makes the Jays better. By doing this, he probably helps the team a lot more than winning his individual matchup.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

The question that you have to ask is whether or not he could win his individual matchup against high level playoff teams.

That's not the question you have to ask. Basketball is a team game. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. All that matters is which player makes the team better.

The C's are built around the Jays. We aren't building our roster in a vacuum. Talent-wise, Schroder is better than Pritchard. That said, Pritchard is a perfect fit alongside the Jays on the offensive side of the ball. Would love us to give Pritchard extended minutes with the starters. It's possible that the team would be better off bringing both Schroder and Smart off the bench. The same goes for Nesmith over JRich. Hope Udoka has the courage to at least give this a try during the regular season.

He will stretch the floor almost out to mid-court for the Js.

This is my point. By stretching the floor for the Jays, he probably helps the team a lot more than winning his individual matchup.

I'm a big believer in team basketball as well. But you have to watch every playoffs from the last 6-8 years and learn that players also have to win their matchups. Weak points on the court are attacked.

Pritchard is a great spot-up shooter. I think he will help the Js a lot there, but then what do the Cs do with him on the other side of the court? He's not tough enough or a good enough rebounder to put on the other team's 3-D player. He's not fast or long enough to guard other team's guards.

I think you could look past those issues if he was also breaking down the opposing team's defense to get good looks for the rest of the team (and making Tatum and Brown's lives easier), but he can't win his individual matchup to do that, not against good playoff teams where he's play against guards like Lowry, Holiday, Divencenzo, Caruso, Ball, Mills, Irving (playoff Irving when he tries on defense).

I'm not knocking him. I like Pritchard and think he's a really good rotation guard to have (on a rookie contract!). I also think he could have good moments in the playoffs. But he's not starter material-not on a playoff team. I'm not even sure he's the guy you want to rely on running the offense through for the bench minutes. Maybe he can become that with more time.

[Vermont Green]

Pritchard far exceeded expectations last season, a season without a summer league or a full training camp.  Overall, he looked good in the summer league.  He is better than most of the players on the court in the summer league (as you would expect based on his rookie season).

He is our back up PG, probably will share those duties with Dunn to some extent.  He was good in that role last season and should be better in it this season.  I am not the least bit concerned about back up PG as I look at this team.

And what exactly is "running the offence".  I don't think that is something he needs to do as a back up PG.  Just take care of the ball, make the right pass at the right time to the right player, and hit your open shots.

[Who]

These criticisms of Pritchard seem to speak more to his ability to become a star level player rather than his ability to be a quality player whether as a starter or bench player.

Being able to create off the dribble against anyone and everyone is something you expect out of high level creators. To have a player who can shoot as well as Pritchard who can also create off the bounce at this level is an All-NBA level player.

The expectations here seem all out of whack for what should be expected of a solid starter. Yes, you get some less dribble penetration from Pritchard than other guards but you get more shooting ability. It is a trade-off. With Schroder you get dribble penetration but not shooting. It is a trade-off. It is why neither are stars. They are both role players who offer differing skill-sets.

What you look for in a player like Pritchard is less dribble penetration and individual creation and more towards strong decision making, avoiding turnovers, moving the basketball, hitting open shots, taking advantage of help defenses when star players draw attention (all stuff that he does btw). Not creating one-on-one.

[Rosco917]

I'm not one of those who think a player has no growth past a certain age.

He'll be fine, he's actually has an excellent ball handle and a pretty shot. I'm looking for him to make adjustments as he gets more minutes in the NBA and be a weapon off the bench.

Long term starter? Possibly in a few years.

[jambr380]

Pritchard is a solid young PG, but he isn’t a floor general.

He doesn’t have the poise to command an offense and compose his teammates, which is typical of a young player (there are only 10 players in the NBA that are floor generals and they aren’t all PGs). He needs a play caller and learn how to run a half court offense.

I’m just nitpicking though because Payton’s teammates consistently made unforced errors: stepped out of bounds, fumbled his passes, set terrible screens, all around poor play. He has great qualities, elite shooting with range, great ball handler, decent passer, and smart defender. if he learns how to become a floor general, his ceiling rises.

Yeah. after a great start, the team as a whole just completely fell apart. Payton didn't necessarily persevere through it, but he is at least going to be playing with players who are all better than the ones he was playing here (ofc he'll have Nesmith)

I mean with all the TOs and offensive rebounds, the Cs shot 59 shots to SAC's 95. Add in the brickfest and it was over when SAC took their first lead. Sometimes a team throws out a dud - and Payton is not immune to this. Oh well.

[Silas]

So one positive from yesterday's game was Payton had 8 assists with the team shooting just 7-36 (19.4%) from 3.  However, a big negative was his 6 turnovers.  I see him going into this season as a solid backup PG.  He should play better with all-star players around him rather than scrubs looking to sign contracts. 

[footey]

Pritchard is a solid young PG, but he isn’t a floor general.

He doesn’t have the poise to command an offense and compose his teammates, which is typical of a young player (there are only 10 players in the NBA that are floor generals and they aren’t all PGs). He needs a play caller and learn how to run a half court offense.

I’m just nitpicking though because Payton’s teammates consistently made unforced errors: stepped out of bounds, fumbled his passes, set terrible screens, all around poor play. He has great qualities, elite shooting with range, great ball handler, decent passer, and smart defender. if he learns how to become a floor general, his ceiling rises.

Actually he displayed great floor general skills in the first 3 games of summer league.

[Celtics4ever]

Pritch is solid but he has limitations, mainly he is not that tall for a SG, and shooting is what he excels at.   We learned that a good athlete can stay in front of him with no difficulty.   He is fine as a backup guard but he and I suspect never will be a starter quality one.  He what he is and he is also what 24, very skilled with zero chance of growing taller and athleticism is always hard to improve.   That being said, he is very smart and crafty, he knows what he can and can't do and plays within his game.

There is definitely always a place for elite shooters and he can nail a shot when asked.

[Jvalin]

I think you could look past those issues if he was also breaking down the opposing team's defense to get good looks for the rest of the team (and making Tatum and Brown's lives easier)

Couldn't care less whether he's ''breaking down the opposing team's defense''. Wouldn't ask him to do any of that. He's generating good looks for his teammates by spacing the floor.

I'm not even sure he's the guy you want to rely on running the offense through for the bench minutes.

Again, I wouldn't ask him to run the offense. I'd ask him to space the floor. Tatum runs the offense in the half court. We also have Smart and Schroder. Both of them are at their best when playing with the ball in their hands.


Regarding defense:
Obviously, this is a major issue. That said, Pritchard is a guard. It's relatively easy to hide undersized guards on defense. We've been doing this for years with Kemba and IT. Unlike Kemba, Pritchard wouldn't be taking shots away from the Jays cause he'd be playing mostly off the ball.

Nearly all teams have an off-ball shooter parked in the corner/lurking in the weak side. We can just hide Pritchard in the corner/the weak side. Not all positions are equally important on defense. If Pritchard were a Center, we would have been having a way different conversation. Can't hide Centers in the corners/the weak side for 2 reasons:

1. You need someone to protect the rim and grab rebounds.
2. Most bigs aren't mobile enough to play D on the perimeter.

Obviously, opposing teams would try to force switches in order to attack Pritchard. More often than not, we can at least try to hide him on a mediocre offensive player. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should definitely start him. Just that I'd want us to give him extended minutes with the starters. Give it a try and see how it goes. The same goes for Nesmith. I reckon both of them would work wonders for our spacing.

[ETNCeltics]

He's probably not. Maybe in the future. But he's still a valuable piece if only for his shooting. IMO, he'll eventually at least be a backup caliber PG. Even if he isn't in the initial 8/9 man rotations, with covid, injuries, nights off, he'll get his minutes, and he'll get better and better. People read too much into one summer game.

People talking about needing this one or that one, CIO thinks he has his PG. It's Marcus Smart. Whether we like it or not, he's made that clear on more than one occasion.

[Tr1boy]

Against the most elite defensive guards.... Pritchard becomes a quick and easy facilitator and open jump shooter

The facilitating was fine yesterday (8 assist)  but couldn't get open looks ....because nobody else could get their offense going (attention)

[Moranis]

I'd be very surprised if Pritchard could ever be a starting PG on a contender.  I think he is destined for shooter off the bench type role with spot starting here and there.

[ETNCeltics]

So one positive from yesterday's game was Payton had 8 assists with the team shooting just 7-36 (19.4%) from 3.  However, a big negative was his 6 turnovers.  I see him going into this season as a solid backup PG.  He should play better with all-star players around him rather than scrubs looking to sign contracts.

Some of those TOs weren't really his fault. He made some passes in traffic that the intended weren't looking for and it resulted in a TO. That happened several times yesterday, team wide. Set the tone in an ugly way after they made those first 7 or 8 shots.

I think one of the most underrated basketball abilities is having those NFL WR hands, catching an awkward pass when the passer doesn't have a lane to hit you right in the chest or  hands with it.