After torching teams from the perimeter to start the season, Payton Pritchard is now waging war in the trenches of the paint.
Pritchard’s last four games have been remarkable, averaging just over 24 points a night on a near blistering 49% from behind the arc (10.8 3FGAs). The three-point shooting has always been his calling card playing off his more decorated teammates, but more recently, he’s showcased a bigger skillset and ability to score at all three levels.
“Payton’s definitely been in my bag, man, for sure. Got my shoes on. I’m gonna take my joints back,” Jaylen Brown said of Pritchard after he scored 25 points and put out the Heat. “He definitely getting the up-fakes, the post moves. He’s definitely been expanding his game, and I love to see it.”
The Synergy tracking data from NBA Stats can get a little wonky, but consider some of these numbers. In October, 23 of Pritchard’s 26 made field goals were from behind the arc; in November and so far in December, he’s diversified his attack with only 55 of his 80 buckets coming from 3. And chew on this: he’s 9-of-10 on fadeaway jumpers.
“He’s a gym rat. He’s always in the gym working on his game…he’s earned the right to do the things he’s been doing all season…on nights when he has it going, I take my butt to the corner and let him run the show,” Brown reiterated.
The 6’1 guard was always a scorer coming out of Oregon and now that he’s figured out the speed and angles of the pro game, he’s using his quickness to not just shoot coming off screens, but driving to the paint and scoring at the rim.
The Celtics’ killer whale offense is predicated on taking advantage of mismatches. That usually means Brown or Jayson Tatum abusing smaller or slower defenders or Kristaps Porzingis posting up a guard. With Pritchard now coming into his own as an on-ball creator, that killer crossover can be used to devastating effect.
This is Little Man Driving 101. If opposing defenses are going to switch on screens, you have to punish them. Pritchard probably could have sped passed the retreating Nikola Vucevic and got to the cup first. Instead, he creates the contact with his body, ensuring the space to get his shot off and potentially draw a foul.
Pritchard is still willing to shoot that last second buzzer beater, but how about taking an entire defense off the dribble and waltzing into the paint with the grace of a dancer for a lefty layup?
Most Sixth Man of the Year winners are known to be microwave scorers off the bench. Pritchard currently leads the league at 345 points with Mo Wagner (285) and Naz Reid (269), last year’s 6MotY winner, trailing behind. Pritchard is the proverbial driver’s seat for the award.
