Breakout Season From Celtics Guard Grabbing Joe Mazzulla’s Attention

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard said he was disappointed with the energy he brought on both ends of the floor in Tuesday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

That wasn’t the case again for Pritchard 24 hours later.

Pritchard’s breakout season continued in a big way in Brooklyn on Wednesday night as the Celtics ran away with a 139-114 win over the Nets at Barclays Center. Pritchard drained his handful of 3-pointers like he usually does — he dropped in five and finished with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in 36 minutes off the bench — but his impact on the court went way beyond that. The fifth-year guard also notched eight assists, six rebounds, two steals and even a block.

The standout performance, not only against the Nets but all season really, has grabbed hold of Joe Mazzulla’s attention, and rightfully so.

“Again, two-way player,” Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston postgame coverage. “His ball pressure, he got some deflections, he got some steals. And then has an ability to handle in pick and roll, he can play off the ball and guys are doing a great job finding him. He’s playing at a high, high level for us right now. It’s fun to watch.”

Mazzulla isn’t the only one impressed by Pritchard’s strong showings, which have thrown his name into the very early Sixth Man of the Year conversation.

Jaylen Brown even said the Celtics at points need to play through Pritchard and let him “run the show.” Pritchard, who is averaging a career-high 15.7 points per game shooting 41.7% from 3-point range, showed capable of that massive responsibility when he filled in nicely for Derrick White with White sitting all but five minutes of the first half against the Nets due to foul trouble.

“Man, Payton’s been excellent. He’s been great and that’s what we need. He’s been a superstar in his role,” Brown told reporters, per WEEI’s Justin Turpin. “Like now, it’s kind of expected because he’s done it so much and he’s done it so well.”