Why is Payton Pritchard rotting away on the bench ?

[Vermont Green]

The priority for this team right now has to be on the top 8-10 players in the core rotation.  Really, that is always true unless you are a team like Houston and in a total rebuild.  Pritchard is not in that group right now.  That is the cold hard truth of the NBA.

I do not feel that the Celtics should be trading Schroder or Richardson so that there are more minutes for Pritchard or Nesmith.  That makes no sense.  If Pritchard or Nesmith were equal or better, then that gives the team options, flexibility to trade out of a surplus at one position to address a weakness at another position.  Right now neither is equal or better.

I am surprised that Pritchard has not played better.  He seems to have stalled after his rookie season.  He has not played well enough to deserve to the in the core rotation based on the current roster.  He needs to get better.  He needs to earn the minutes, not expect the Celtics to trade a better player to make room for him.

It still may happen.  Schroder may get traded.  Pritchard may have more opportunity (or not if they decide to play Richardson as the back up PG as was suggested).  But I hope he is not just waiting for that.

[Alleyoopster]

I'm wondering if Payton might be better suited to playing more like a 2 guard.

Perhaps expending more energy fighting through screens looking for open shot opportunities - much like Ray Allen did during his Celtic days. Rather than acting as a playmaker. Thus, cutting back on his dribbling.

[Kiorrik]

I don’t get it. One of the best shooting prospects last season. Great PG skills. He’s not Jimmer Fredette on the defensive side of the ball. He can actually guard halfway decent.

We need to develop this kid. Somehow, someway. I know he’s not Van Fleet on defense, but he’s like Fred in a lot of other attributes. It’s disgusting how man DNP’s -Coaches Decisions he’s logged. Not good.

Great shooter but don't really agree with the great point guard skills part.  I've never been impressed with his passing or running of the team.

Or his dribbling.

Again, he's undersized and struggles under pressure due to it. Doesn't have the crazy athleticism of IT or speed of DS or PG skills of Barea to make up for it.

Exactly.  Once he decides that he's going to drive past his defender he doesn't always lose the guy entirely, and he doesn't really seem to see the court and make point guard/high IQ decisions on these drives either.

That, and he picks up his dribble at ill advised moments.

He literally could keep dribbling but often picks it up because he sees 2 or 3 people in front of him.

JT/JB have this happen too - they can pass out because they're tall enough.

PP, ehhh not so much


_{.edit: it's actually kinda fun watching for this happen during games - do recommend.}

I agree with all this assessment but do his shortcomings out weigh his +40% 3 pt shooting and range?

Well the problem is that he's running the offense too often. Because Dennis mainly looks for his own shot, instead of trying to get PP wide open.

Maybe it's partly a problem with the schemes but the point is that with Smart/Schröder/JRich at the point, they create for themselves.

PP can't do that.

So it's more a depth issue than anything.

[nickagneta]

I'm wondering if Payton might be better suited to playing more like a 2 guard.

Perhaps expending more energy fighting through screens looking for open shot opportunities - much like Ray Allen did during his Celtic days. Rather than acting as a playmaker. Thus, cutting back on his dribbling.

I see him as a 6'1" SG. He doesn't have the speed, vision or ability to make others better that a PG needs, but he is a great catch and shoot type guy. Unfortunately, at 6'1" and with his defensive liabilities, you can't play him at SG for more than 2-3 minutes a half. I would have no problem moving him, Langford or Nesmith in a deal.

[Celtics4ever]

Because, he is can't get his shot off versus athletic guards with length.    We seen this clearly demonstrated in the Detroit game.

The guy is crafty and can shoot.  He can't defend or get his shot off but can hit the long range shot when open.  The same is true of Hauser.   There is a reason guys don't make it on the court.   Hopefully, he sees what Grant did and work his tail off.

With a lineup of Pritchard, Nesmith, Langford, Grant Williams, Bruno Fernando, and substitute Enes Freedom, the Celtics garbage time players went 1-of-6 from the field, turned the ball over twice, and allowed the Pistons to go on a 17-6 run to close out the game.

Earlier in the season, it made sense that so many people, myself included, were calling for Udoka to provide the team's younger players with developmental opportunities. The Celtics were inconsistent and uninspiring, and the best way to combat the inevitable emotional spiral is to place your faith in player development. However, since the turn of the year, the Celtics have been performing at a high level, ranking first in defensive rating, 12th in offensive rating, and second in net rating.

https://www.celticsblog.com/2022/2/5/22919354/the-kids-did-themselves-no-favors-boston-celtics-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-marcus-smart-ime-udoka

Udoka has shortened the rotation and all the sudden wins happen.   

[Rikibellevie]

I'm wondering if Payton might be better suited to playing more like a 2 guard.

Perhaps expending more energy fighting through screens looking for open shot opportunities - much like Ray Allen did during his Celtic days. Rather than acting as a playmaker. Thus, cutting back on his dribbling.

I see him as a 6'1" SG. He doesn't have the speed, vision or ability to make others better that a PG needs, but he is a great catch and shoot type guy. Unfortunately, at 6'1" and with his defensive liabilities, you can't play him at SG for more than 2-3 minutes a half. I would have no problem moving him, Langford or Nesmith in a deal.

Yes I think it is exactly that. He may still be a number 2b option at PG if the 2a is a good PM and solid defenser.
His game is more FIBA adapted.  Could be elite like Euroleague MVP (when you see à De Colo trajectory). Probably not what he dreems about.

Langford probably don t have that much upside. Best case is he works à correct 3point shoot and become elite defensively. Nesmith looks the badest but the only with maybe a real upside.  Only if his shoot potential  wasn’t a fluke. Work his game this summer we can still dump him next year.

[timpiker]

I don't get it either.  It looks like Ime has the Doc Rivers Disease where he won't play and develop the kids.

[Goldstar88]

Because Ime is a defensive minded coach and the C’s have become a top defensive team in the league and Pritchard can’t play defense.

[Rosco917]

Don't forget, the Celtics are trying to get something decent for Schroder while highlighting him as much as possible, this while continuing to win.

It's still a business. 

[wdleehi]

Because Schroder is the better player and gets the reserve PG minutes and they are both too small to play next to each other.

[JumpingJudkins]

I still think Pritchard is a better fit than Schroder. Except for last season when he had a weird stretch of stepping out of bounds, he doesn't make the same dumb turnovers. He also pushes the ball up court (rather than roll it) and he always plays hard. And there's the not so small matter of being a pure shooter on a team that has a dearth of shooters.

[slamtheking]

I don’t get it. One of the best shooting prospects last season. Great PG skills. He’s not Jimmer Fredette on the defensive side of the ball. He can actually guard halfway decent.

We need to develop this kid. Somehow, someway. I know he’s not Van Fleet on defense, but he’s like Fred in a lot of other attributes. It’s disgusting how man DNP’s -Coaches Decisions he’s logged. Not good.

Great shooter but don't really agree with the great point guard skills part.  I've never been impressed with his passing or running of the team.

Or his dribbling.

Again, he's undersized and struggles under pressure due to it. Doesn't have the crazy athleticism of IT or speed of DS or PG skills of Barea to make up for it.

Exactly.  Once he decides that he's going to drive past his defender he doesn't always lose the guy entirely, and he doesn't really seem to see the court and make point guard/high IQ decisions on these drives either.

That, and he picks up his dribble at ill advised moments.

He literally could keep dribbling but often picks it up because he sees 2 or 3 people in front of him.

JT/JB have this happen too - they can pass out because they're tall enough.

PP, ehhh not so much


_{.edit: it's actually kinda fun watching for this happen during games - do recommend.}

I agree with all this assessment but do his shortcomings out weigh his +40% 3 pt shooting and range?

Well the problem is that he's running the offense too often. Because Dennis mainly looks for his own shot, instead of trying to get PP wide open.

Maybe it's partly a problem with the schemes but the point is that with Smart/Schröder/JRich at the point, they create for themselves.

PP can't do that.

So it's more a depth issue than anything.

so many spot-on reasons covered here.  the real question that should have been asked is "does Pritchard have a future with this team if he can't figure out how to break a press, run an offense or defend bigger/faster players?"

[Moranis]

Because he isn't any good.  There is a reason he stayed in college 4 years.  There is a reason he was barely a 1st round pick.  Those guys rarely amount to much of anything.  It happens (Bane, Se. Curry), but those guys are the exception not the rule.  The vast majority of the time a guy stays in college all 4 years is because he isn't good enough to amount to much, if anything at all, in the pros.

[liam]

Pritchard should be playing. He just put up 9 pts and 3 asts in 14 minutes yesterday. He stretches the floor and makes the passes. Ime is playing a tight playoff rotation so there's not time past the top seven-eight... Pritcahrd needs to shoot more when he does get into a game. He needs to be more aggressive and he needs to take flopping lessons from Smart and Schroder, two of the best, to keep defenders honest. Pritchard, Romeo, and Nesmith all looked better last year, there is probably a reason for that.

[Kernewek]

Pritchard should be playing. He just put up 9 pts and 3 asts in 14 minutes yesterday. He stretches the floor and makes the passes. Ime is playing a tight playoff rotation so there's not time past the top seven-eight... Pritcahrd needs to shoot more when he does get into a game. He needs to be more aggressive and he needs to take flopping lessons from Smart and Schroder, two of the best, to keep defenders honest. Pritchard, Romeo, and Nesmith all looked better last year, there is probably a reason for that.

As we saw last night, he certainly has a place on the floor against a team where the best players available are Patty Mills and the ghost of Blake Griffin.

There aren’t that many of those teams in the league, though.