Why playing alongside Payton Pritchard is a luxury for Jayson Tatum
The Boston Celtics enjoyed Payton Pritchard's talents on Sunday night during a blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 of the first round.
PHILADELPHIA — At some level, every player in the NBA is confident in their own abilities. However, one needs a special kind of bravado to yell at a Hall of Famer in the middle of a playoff game as a bench player. And Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard has exactly that.
In the first quarter of the Celtics' 128-96 drubbing of the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, Pritchard came off the bench and immediately demolished his competition. He even drained a deep 3-pointer near the Xfinity Mobile Arena logo with a little under 4 minutes to go in the first frame and engaged in some friendly banter with Hall of Famer turned commentator Reggie Miller, who was right in Pritchard's field of view. "I get going off that," Pritchard revealed postgame.
"And I probably use it to my advantage to get going even more. " While those who just think of Pritchard as an undersized sixth man might be surprised by his boldness, Celtics star Jayson Tatum isn't. "He's always been competitive, doesn't back down from anybody, always takes on the challenge," Tatum said.
"And just his ability to create his own shot, how well he can, obviously, shoot the ball. It's a luxury to have a guy like that who can score with the best of them coming off the bench on your team. " Jayson Tatum on Payton Pritchard: “It’s a luxury to have a guy who can score with the best of them coming off the bench.