Joe Mazzulla declares Payton Pritchard will be key to Jayson Tatum-led Celtics' success originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When you lose a key player in the offseason, the question remains: who fills that production hole? The Boston Celtics do not seem to worry about this conundrum at all. With Jaylen Brown gone, they have filled all the gaps by committee. Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman get to play both ends with hustle. Paul George still has that fringe NBA All-Star quality and can shoot the lights out. However, Coach Joe Mazzulla is looking at a key player. It's none other than Payton Pritchard. The Celtics head coach has all the belief in their guard and even noted specific traits that will make him helpful to the squad led by Jayson Tatum.
Celtics' Mazzulla outlines key Pritchard traits that will help Tatum-led squad
For a long time, a few monoliths have described Payton Pritchard. He's been seen as the Celtics' offensive spark plug, or the guy you give the ball to in the clutch. Now, he will be up for bigger roles in Coach Joe Mazzulla's system due to the Jaylen Brown trade.
There are obviously a lot of doubts about Pritchard. Much of it stems from the fact that he's an undersized guard and the running belief that he could be a defensive liability. Coach Mazzulla does not think that way at all. In fact, the Celtics head honcho outlined what made their veteran guard special. Those same traits could also make a big difference on a team centered around Jayson Tatum, according to Jay King of The Athletic.
"He just plays with a chip on his shoulder, but doesn’t have an ego. And I think that’s a balance that’s difficult for people to be able to have. Like, if you tell him he’s starting, if you tell him he’s coming off the bench, if you tell him he’s playing 20 (minutes), if you tell him he’s playing 30, the chip on his shoulder never changes. He doesn’t need the affirmation to be an elite competitor. And so I think a coach that gives you the freedom to just do what makes the most sense at that particular time," the Celtics head coach declared.
Mazzulla closely describes Pritchard as what people would call a Swiss Army Knife in the NBA. So far, the Celtics guard has been proving exactly that during the preseason.
Payton Pritchard 2026 preseason tape — 16 PPG, 9 APG, 4 total turnovers. https://t.co/D2hsp7egzm
— Celtics Performances (@BestOfCeltics0) October 19, 2026
Pritchard has played two games for the Celtics, and it has panned out well. Coach Mazzulla has entrusted him with an average of 26.9 minutes. That has led to him averaging 16 points on 43.5% from the field, 50% from three, and 100% from the line. The biggest surprise? Pritchard is dishing out nine assists. This could shock NBA watchers and even Celtics fans. On top of that, he's grabbing 3.5 rebounds a night.
There are still some pitfalls like Pritchard's two turnovers per game but that's not a cause for concern. The Celtics registered 12.4 turnovers per game, the least in the NBA for the 2025-26 season. Those worries can be patched up.
All that matters is that Tatum, Coach Mazzulla, and the rest of the Celtics have expressed a lot of trust in Pritchard. He will deliver, just like he always does.