The Boston Celtics were shorthanded against the Philadelphia 76ers with eight players out. And even though the night ended in a disappointing loss that dropped Boston below .500 (again) Payton Pritchard was a bright spot.
Pritchard dropped 14 points with three rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
It was his second consecutive game where he proved his value to the Celtics rotation, after he scored 16 points against the New York Knicks on Saturday.
“I’m always gonna be confident when I get my chance to play meaningful minutes,” Pritchard told reporters after the loss. “It just feels good to go out there these last two games and get a lot of run. Obviously, tonight it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t pull it out. I feel like that’s a game that we should’ve definitely had, but we’re just gonna have to figure out how to get wins at the end like this.”
The 23-year-old could continue to see an increased role over the next few games as a number of important Celtics work their way back through health and safety protocols, in what Udoka has acknowledged to be an exciting time for younger players and prospects.
Pritchard will look to continue his impressive run when the Celtics host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
