Payton Pritchard has come a long way in his career, and has earned the right to be a starter in the NBA. He is almost certainly one of Boston’s top-5 players coming into the 2026-27 season. Is there a chance that the former sixth-man of the year is best utilized off the bench, though?
Nate and Nirav debate:
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Nate says starter
I feel very comfortable saying that starting Payton Pritchard is the right option. The numbers and fit make it an easy call to make.
He’s taken a leap in each of the last three seasons, and is now one of most balanced scoring guards in the NBA. That’s not an exaggeration, there’s almost no level of the floor where he’s not highly efficient. Among guards, Pritchard ranked in the 84th percentile at the rim, the 97th percentile in the short mid-range, and the 91st percentile at the line. With the 5th most 3PA per game at his position, he knocked down a solid 37.7% from distance.
This kind of shot profile is underutilized coming off the bench. The production is great, but the value is heightened when it’s built into the Celtics’ best lineup from the opening tip. With Pritchard as a starter, you’re focusing on getting off to a strong start, instead of needing a lift or change of pace from the bench.
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An understandable question to address is that if Pritchard was so effective off the bench, why not allow that to continue. The answer for me is about fit and lineup optimization.
As the team’s two most effective creators, Pritchard and Brown had some play style overlaps that benefited from both of them having an opportunity to lead their respective units. Pritchard’s output skyrocketed in every single category with Brown on the bench, and his role was muted when they shared the floor.
The net rating further supported the need to give them room to create. With both players on the floor, they had a respectable +6.6 net rating. With Brown and no Pritchard, it rose modestly to +7.0. With Pritchard and no Brown, it nearly doubled to +13.7.
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The historical data paints the same picture, as the numbers hold very true across their last five seasons together.
The team benefited from the strategy of using them as separate forces. With Brown out of the picture, and Tatum in the mix to start the year, that idea is no longer necessary. In fact, it’s far more beneficial to maximize Pritchard and Tatum’s playing time together.
Take that same five year sample. While Payton and Jaylen always remained positive together, they fared even better apart. For Pritchard and Tatum, their relationship is on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. Across 2,884 minutes, they have an elite +13.1 net rating together. Though still solid, it dips noticeably when they play without each other.
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This is a pairing that unlocks the best parts of their games. For Tatum, it’s a ridiculous advantage to have a guard with a lightning fast trigger that spots up and spaces the floor from 30+ feet. It makes double teams and help defense significantly harder with Payton one pass away. Both of them can also work as the screener in actions, which lets Boston flip who’s creating and who’s spacing, and forces defenses into tough decisions.
For Pritchard it does mean a downtick in responsibility, but with much easier looks as a trade off.
To make up for that, you can scale up Pritchard’s role and maintain his influence on bench scoring by staggering him effectively. He can either start the game with a longer stint and lead the first bench unit, or he can sit early and then come back eventually when it’s Tatum’s turn for rest.
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They also have a new resource in Paul George. With George, Pritchard, White, and Tatum you can easily stagger any of them to lead a bench unit. You’re not left needing one bench spark plug to make the difference.
For as synergistic as his fit with Tatum is, the same has been equally true alongside both White and Queta. The three of them had a +15.2 net rating in 853 minutes last season. Ensuring that those three and Tatum have as much time together as possible is a recipe for success. With his combination of spacing and creation, I have no doubts George can slide right in with that group as well.
Starting Pritchard is how the Celtics put the best group together, and take advantage of their strongest partnerships. For me, this one is a no-brainer.
Nirav says sixth-man
Every so often, we come across players like Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford who have all the skills they need to be great, but for some reason, they just excel in that sixth man role. Pritchard may just fall into that category as well.
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Payton has primarily come off the bench in his career, with the exception of the last season in which he started for 50 of his 79 games played. He had an outstanding year with the increased opportunity, but he did struggle with his shot early on.
It wasn’t long after the mid-way point of the season where Joe Mazzulla decided to put Pritchard back into the sixth-man role, and Payton immediately saw a huge explosion in his production, scoring at least 24 points in six out of the next seven games.
From that point, Pritchard only started in two more games for the rest of the season, one of which both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were inactive. Now, even with that offensive explosion, Payton’s season averages coming off of the bench don’t appear to be clearly better than his numbers as a starter – that is, with the important exception of his efficiency.
Pritchard saw a small decrease in his minutes and attempts, in part due to the return of Jayson Tatum just 13 games after PP went back to the bench. Despite that, he saw his field goal percentage rise from 45.6% to 47.7%, his three-point percentage from 34.8% to 42.9%, and his free-throw percentage from 86.7% to 94.7%. This came in a year where if Payton’s season averages as a starter were to hold, it would have been his lowest FG% since the 22-23 season, and the lowest 3P% of his career.
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Another thing to consider with sending Payton to the bench, someone else has to step into the starting role. Currently, it’s safe to assume that Derrick, Jayson, and one of Neemias Queta or Mitchell Robinson are locked in. Paul George will likely get the nod as well, though I wouldn’t rule out a bench role for him just yet. If George does end up starting, Sam Hauser would be the perfect fit to round out the lineup.
White and Tatum are the offensive engines that primarily handle the ball and create shots. Even PG has the ability to do both, though at this stage he may be utilized as more of a spot up shooter. Having another creator would be a luxury, but having another catch-and-shoot threat like Hauser makes the lineup more complete.
They would be deadly from every spot on the floor. Even without Queta/Robinson being outside threats, defenses would have a tough time finding a weak link, especially with the screen-setting ability of the bigs. Having PG and Hauser to kick it out to would make them think twice about doubling. Tatum and White’s ability to read the floor while attacking would help dissect the opposing teams, spotting and taking advantage of any mismatch which presents itself.
Not only that, but with ball-security and maximizing possessions being such a focal point of Mazzulla Ball, having Payton use his playmaking skills to maintain order with the second unit gives the team a level of depth and continuity that will be hard for opposing teams to rival. Out of all players who had at least 100 assists last season, Pritchard ranked 10th highest in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.74. That may just be the most underrated tool he could bring to the bench.
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Payton has been a sort of spark plug for the Celtics over the past several years. He’s proven that he can come in hot at any moment. By bringing him off the bench, Boston can maximize their potential through the entirety of the game while still packing a punch with their starting lineup. After all, it’s not about how you start a game – it’s about how you finish it.
So, CelticsBlog readers, what do you say? Should Pritchard start or come off the bench next season?
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