Celtics practice notebook: Jayson Tatum’s playmaking, the luxury of Al Horford, and Playoff Payton Pritchard

AUERBACH CENTER — At Friday’s Celtics’ practice, Joe Mazzulla, Al Horford, and Payton Pritchard each detailed their takeaways from the first round defeat of Miami, and expressed their excitement for the upcoming series with the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers set for Game 6 tonight.

Plus, as always, Derrick White got some laughs shooting trick shots with a slew of assistant coaches as things wrapped up.

Here are three takeaways from today’s practice:

Joe Mazzulla liked how Jayson Tatum played in the first round of the playoffs

In five games against Miami, Jayson Tatum averaged 21.8 points on 41.6% shooting, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers – particularly from an efficiency standpoint – but Joe Mazzulla stressed at practice that he liked Tatum’s approach.

“I thought his defense was tremendous. I thought his pick-and-roll [defense] on the ball handler was really good,” Mazzulla said. “I thought his defensive rebounding was good, and I thought the discipline to fight taking difficult shots versus making the extra pass – he showed that.”

Miami often crowded Tatum, sending two or three defenders at him. That defense allowed for teammates like Derrick White to get clean looks, and he capitalized on that, averaging 22.4 points on 57.7% shooting.

Tatum was comfortable deferring to others, and in turn, the Celtics blew out the Heat in four out of five games of the first round of the playoffs. In the critical Game 4, White attempted 12 shots more than Tatum en route to a playoff career-high 38 points.

“He’s really grown this year, and it’s just going to look different every night,” Mazzulla said. “It’s going to look different every series. And he was able to really adjust this series and find other ways to impact the game, which I think is super important.”

Not much changes for Al Horford with Kristaps Porzingis injured

With Kristaps Porzingis out indefinitely with a soleus strain, Al Horford stepped into the starting line-up for Game 5 and will continue to do so in this next round of the playoffs. Technically, that’s a change, since he’s played the role of Sixth Man for much of the season.

But, Horford said at practice that not much changes for him. After all, the 17-year veteran has started 1036 of his 1078 NBA games played. This season, with Kristaps Porzingis missing 25 games and various other starters missing time, Horford stepped into the starting line-up for 33 games – more than half of the 65 games he was active for.

“My approach kinda remains the same,” Horford said. “I want to make sure that defensively I’m solid, I’m giving support to the group. That I’m doing the things that I need to do on that end. My job hasn’t changed. And then on offense, continuing to stay ready and whatever I need to do. And for me it’s all about continuing to impact winning. It doesn’t change.”

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

The bigger change is that his back-ups will play extended minutes, he noted.

“I’m expecting some of our guys, whether it’s Luke, whether it’s Neemy, whether it’s Xavier, to step up and be able to play minutes for us when their numbers are called,” Horford said. “I’m excited for those guys and for that opportunity.”

Payton Pritchard is relishing the opportunity to play meaningful playoff minutes

Payton Pritchard fell out of the rotation last year, but has been a critical part of the team all year after signing a four-year extension before the season began. He averaged a career-high 9.7 on 46.8% shooting for the Celtics this season, and had a career year in most categories.

At practice, Pritchard noted how much he’s enjoying the opportunity to get minutes during this playoff run and help contribute to the team’s championship aspirations. In the first round of the playoffs, he averaged 22.9 minutes per game, and had a +/- of 9.8 points across the five-game series.

“I’m ready for it. This is what I want to do and be a part of,” Pritchard said. “So, it’s kind of what I talked about last year, and that’s what I wanted. I knew I could contribute and I wanted to help win a championship.”

Pritchard acknowledged that last year, his confidence was a bit shaken at times after receiving a string of DNPs or having a rough stretch playing. But after Game 3, Jayson Tatum called Payton Pritchard the most confident guy he knows.

“But you kind of have to look yourself in the mirror every morning, and just know what you’re capable of and the work you put in,” Pritchard said. “Really what it comes down to is all the work, the hours that I put in. It just built confidence, and now I feel like I can go against anybody.”

Next up: The Celtics will practice again tomorrow, and then, will face either Orlando or Cleveland in the next round. The Cavaliers currently hold a 3-2 series lead over the Magic, with Game 6 taking place tonight in Orlando. So, while Boston doesn’t yet know who their next opponent will be, the team is prepared to be open-minded.

Bonus Content: Derrick White gets a huge kick out of the Celtics’ assistant coaches practicing trick shots.