Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard can score in a hurry. He’s established himself as a punchy offensive weapon for the Celtics off the bench, and the former Oregon Duck can certainly light it up when given the chance. Over the weekend he reminded the basketball world of that scoring prowess, exploding for 61 points at the Ball Don’t Stop pro-am tournament in Vancouver, Canada.
Dubbed Canada’s “biggest pro-am,” Ball Don’t Stop has been inviting amateur and professional hoopers to its summer showcase games since 2016. Pritchard’s 61 points represents a record for the event, besting the likes of Jamal Crawford, Scottie Barnes, former Celtic Nate Robinson, and other familiar pros who have participated in years past. In fact, fellow Boston alum Isaiah Thomas played alongside Pritchard this weekend during his big outing.
You could do a lot worse than Payton Pritchard as your 4th guard. I hope he will be satisfied with his role this season. With Smart traded, it should be a better situation for him. He should be used more like Hauser was last season. Hauser played in 80 games/16 min per last season, Pritchard only 48 games/13 min per. I know things are going to change some with Porzingis in the mix, less play with 3 guards, but I still expect to see more of Pritchard this season, more in the regular rotation consistently.
