Backup guard Payton Pritchard has become one of the Boston Celtics’ most overlooked players.
Pritchard is set to play against the Washington Wizards on Sunday, with averages of 16.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over 25 games this season. He’s shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Pritchard is Boston’s fifth-highest scorer, behind Jayson Tatum (28.2 points per game), Jaylen Brown (24.5), Kristaps Porzingis (20.3), and Derrick White (17.5).
“I just feel like people are playing my 3-ball so heavy and obviously I shoot it from a deep range, so if they come and close out on me, it allows me to get in the paint,” Pritchard said. “And then, obviously, I just manipulate the bigs. If they play me, I dump it off. If they don’t, I finish it. I try to make the game very simple.”
Pritchard came off the bench to make seven 3-pointers, finishing with 27 points and 10 assists in a 123-99 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. He also became the 10th player in Celtics history to hit at least 500 career 3-pointers.
His strong start to the season makes him a favorite for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
“It’s not something I really think about,” Pritchard said about the award. “If I’m fortunate enough to win, that’s, I guess, a testament to the hard work I put in and I think it just means that I helped this team coming off the bench and doing my job at a high level.”
The Wizards, with the worst record in the NBA (3-20), are coming off a strong performance in a 115-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. They were within five points with less than two minutes to go. That was Washington’s 18th loss in their last 19 games.
Cleveland shot 40 free throws in that game, 29 more than Washington.
“Our guys really played their tails off (Friday),” said Washington coach Brian Keefe. “We were attacking the rim, and we didn’t get the same calls. Totally inconsistent. Not right.”
Jordan Poole leads Washington in scoring with 20.2 points per game, but Bilal Coulibaly tied his career-high with 27 points, 14.5 more than his season average, in the loss to Cleveland. He also made a career-high five 3-pointers.
The Wizards have also gotten important offensive contributions from Justin Champagnie, who has started the last three games, averaging 17.7 points and 8.0 rebounds during that span. Champagnie, 23, is on a two-way contract with Washington.
Boston won their game against Detroit without Tatum (knee) and Sam Hauser (adductor strain), but both participated in a team workout on Friday.
“Yeah, there’s a chance (they will play Sunday),” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “They’re doing better. We had a walkthrough (Friday) and they went through everything in the walkthrough. They’re feeling better, so we’ll see obviously on Sunday, but they’re both definitely progressing.”
Boston has won both of their games against Washington this season, both on the road. The Wizards, who are 2-10 at home this season, have lost their last six games against the Celtics.
