Undersized Pritchard does all the big-boy stuff for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Payton Pritchard should win NBA Sixth Man of the Year on Tuesday night, and the highlight package to announce the honor will invariably show a barrage of his 3-point shots.
That’s understandable. Part of the reason that Pritchard will be collecting the John Havlicek Trophy and etching a new chapter in Boston’s storied history of sixth men is because he piled up an NBA record 246 3-pointers off the bench this season.
But while those triples — especially the thrilling half-court buzzer beaters — get much of the attention, the most remarkable thing about Pritchard might just be all the big-guy stuff this little guy does.
At 6-foot-1, Pritchard is the shortest player on Boston’s roster — by three inches before fellow 6-foot-1 guard J.D. Davison got the late-season call up — and is routinely the smallest player on the floor during his court time. And yet Pritchard has become one of the best undersized finishers in the league around the basket, and he piles up offensive rebounds at a rate that would make most 7-footers blush.
Pritchard shot a career-best 75.4 percent at the rim this season, connecting on 98 of 130 shot attempts near the basket. Of the 105 guards with at least 100-plus attempts at the rim, the only pure guard who finished with a higher efficiency was Golden State’s 6-foot-2 Gary Payton II (79.4 percent).
Pritchard’s ability to create space around the basket is uncanny and showcases his incredible feel for the game. In Sunday’s Game 1 against the Magic, he blew past Orlando big man Wendell Carter Jr., who pursued from behind. With Paolo Banchero lingering near the rim, Pritchard sensed the sliver of space available and went up quick with a layup between both players.
More often, Pritchard will generate a one-on-one matchup with a guard and use a little forearm shove to create just enough space to finish at the rim. After shooting 56.9 percent at the rim in his first three seasons in the NBA, Pritchard is now at 74.6 percent at the rim over the past two seasons.
“I think it’s just the understanding of like when it’s a 1-on-1 coverage,” Pritchard says. “If it’s two on the ball at the rim, then I got to kick it out.
“But I’ve gotten good at the point where, if it’s just 1-on-1, me and another defender down there, then I’ve figured out angles and how to use my body to get enough separation to get it up quickly. So just from a lot of practice and work, foot work and stuff down there.”
That footwork tied Orlando’s Cole Anthony in a pretzel during the first half of Sunday’s Game 1. After spinning to the free throw line on a second-quarter drive, Pritchard tried to create space with a little forearm shove, but Anthony stuck close and immediately left his feet to contest. Pritchard patiently stayed on two feet and instead stepped through the contest for an easy left-handed layup before Carter Jr. could arrive with help.
Pritchard has become masterful at creating space around the basket, particularly with those quick bumps to a backpedaling defender.
“It’s like a rib shot,” said Pritchard. “[Defenders are] not going to necessarily take a charge down there. So give a little bump and all you need is a little separation.”
When he’s not scoring amongst the trees, Pritchard has an uncanny knack for tracking down misses in the same forest. Pritchard posted a career-best mark in offensive rebound percentage this season while corralling 4.2 percent of his team’s total misses.
For the second straight season, Boston’s offensive rebound rate spiked with Pritchard on the court.
Boston’s rate was 5.3 percent higher in Pritchard’s minutes, ranking in the 93rd percentile for differential among all NBA players, per Cleaning the Glass tracking. Only Luke Kornet (190) totaled more offensive rebounds on the Celtics’ roster this season.
The more eye-popping number is when you look at his offensive rebound totals compared to other guards.
All of Pritchard’s numbers this season tend to jump off the page. His 1,079 bench points led the NBA, and he’s only the fourth Celtics player in team history to reach that 1,000-point plateau off the bench, joining Kevin McHale (three times), Ricky Davis, and Malcolm Brogdon.
Pritchard had 23 games with 20-plus bench points (best in the NBA), and his 22 games with five-plus 3-pointers were a franchise record (and second in NBA history behind only Detroit’s Malik Beasley).
Pritchard finished with 255 total 3-pointers, the second-highest total in team history, trailing only Derrick White, who hit 265 this season.
The 3s are nice and ultimately will be what everyone fixates on. But the big-guy things that Pritchard does are the real reasons why he’s the best bench boost in the league.
