{"id":129929,"date":"2023-10-09T11:22:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T15:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=129929"},"modified":"2023-10-09T11:24:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T15:24:53","slug":"payton-pritchard-proving-why-hes-ready-for-an-increased-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/payton-pritchard-proving-why-hes-ready-for-an-increased-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Payton Pritchard Proving Why He’s Ready for an Increased Role"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON \u2014 Payton Pritchard<\/strong> is proving why he’s worth the investment after signing a long-term extension to stay in Boston hours before the Celtics’ first preseason game of 2023-24.<\/p>\n

On a night when the Celtics’ newcomers Kristaps Porzingis\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Jrue Holiday<\/strong> made their Boston debuts at TD Garden, Pritchard’s game-high 26 points, including six 3-pointers and four assists, stole the show. Singlehandedly outscoring the Philadelphia 76ers 13-10 in the final seven minutes, Pritchard led the Celtics to a 114-106 win<\/a> in their first of five preseason tune-ups.<\/p>\n

“What you saw tonight and what you’ll see throughout the years is his mindset, his professionalism to be prepared over the last three years,” head coach Joe Mazzulla<\/a> said after Sunday’s win. “Guys like him, they get rewarded in some capacity, and as I said before, we’re going to rely on him to us another layer of toughness, another layer of physicality, another layer of playing with the right mindset.”<\/p>\n