Celtics (0-1) at Knicks (1-0) Game #2 10/24/25

[Phantom255x]

I can live with losses like last night during this season against great teams if we see the continued growth and improvement of guys like Hugo, Queta, etc.

One thing I have personally observed though and have also seen others seemingly agree with, I think PP and Hauser are simply better coming off the bench. I get the roster and depth this year is limited so they'll have bigger roles but like, Simons IMO should be starting.

And long term I think Brad is going to need to add a center AND a capable PG, to let Pritchard be the 6th or 7th man because I just think with his size too and defensive limitations it'll be hard for him to be a starter. When he's bricking open shots too it's brutal. At least Isaiah Thomas was a superstar scorer. But PP is just not a long term starter. He can be a fringe/spot starter for injuries but that's about it.

I agree with the idea that losing to good teams is an acceptable outcome as long  as we see signs of growth - either as a team or with young players.  More than happy with Hugo so far, and Queta is looking like a decent rotation big once he?s replaced by a suitable starting center.   

I am not in agreement about Pritchard. It?s not that I?m certain that he?s a good starting guard, I just feel that he?s worked his way into being an effective player and he deserves more than two hideous shooting games to judge the experiment.  Also think with JT on the court he?ll be more of a weapon.   I?d like to see him 20 games as a starter before concluding that the experiment is not successful.

That's completely fair. Maybe Joe will just unleash PP and let him figure it out, but I just feel if they want to win some games they need to see if having Simons start will help. Or they could be of the mindset of experimentation and tanking

[satch]

My take on the first two games.... Experimenting

[Who]

Folks too quick to write off Pritchard as a starter.

It is only 2 games.

[Muzzy66]

Folks too quick to write off Pritchard as a starter.

It is only 2 games.

Agreed.

Peeople have a very short memory around here and forget how good Pritchard was last year - his numbers when he playted starter minutes were exceptional.

Accordign to AI, Pritchard averaged the following over the past two seaosn in games where he played 25 minutes or more:

2024-25
Points: 17.0
Rebounds:   4.3
Assists: 5.0
Field Goal %: 53.8%
3-Point %: 36.2%
Free Throw %: 100.0%

2023-24
Points: 19.3
Rebounds:   6.2
Assists: 7.1
Field Goal %: 50.8%
3-Point %: 40.5%
Free Throw %: 85.3%

Pritchard is averaging 12, 5 and 4 while shooting 33% from the field and 14% from three.  He's got career averages of 45% from the field and 40% from three - these bad shooting numbers will not persist. 

If Pritchard makes two more of those threes per game over the first two games he'd be averaging 18, 5 and 4 right now and we are almost certainly 1-1 instead of 0-1.

Be patient - there have been a LOT of changes on this team since last season.  It's going to take time for guys to get used to playing in these rotations, time for the coach to work out how best to use everybody, time for players to get used to their new roles, etc.  It's probably going to be at least 20-25 games in before we have even the faintest idea of how good this team can really be.