Brad Stevens Had Request For Payton Pritchard In First Game Back

Payton Pritchard didn’t exactly come firing out of a cannon in his return to Boston Celtics game action.

After missing a few weeks due to a knee injury, the C’s rookie played in Friday night’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

All told, Pritchard played 19 minutes in the 119-115 victory at Staples Center, recording eight points on 3-for-4 shooting off the bench, knocking down two of his three attempts from the perimeter. But, understandably, it looked like there was a little rust early on.

Noticing that, Brad Stevens had to get in the rookie’s ear, and the Celtics head coach made light of it after the game.

“To be honest, I thought he looked a little tentative,” Stevens said over Zoom. “I had to tell him to shoot. So the very next time he touched the ball he jacked one right in front of me. And he made it. So he’s a good listener. But I thought he looked timid in the first half and then I thought he was good in the second.”

Before getting hurt, the Oregon product was a huge part of the Celtics’ rotation. Certainly, they’re hoping he’ll go back to that in the coming games, even as Carsen Edwards starts to catch fire himself.