Payton Pritchard, Celtics bench, has perfect preseason record

Celtics

Pritchard is entering the first year of a $30 million contract that will pay an average of $7.5 million per year, and there’s a real chance his contract could become one of the best in the NBA over the next few years.

Payton Pritchard tries to dribble past Scottie Barnes during the Celtics’ preseason win over the Raptors. AP Photo/Mark Stockwell

The Celtics, who were without one of the top six players in their rotation on Sunday, built a big lead in the first half and held on late into the night to earn a 115-111 victory over the Raptors, giving them remained unbeaten in the previous season.

Here are the snack bars.

1. At this point, with Payton Pritchard given the green light by being shorthanded, are the Celtics at a disadvantage at all?

Pritchard flirted with a triple-double in just 23 minutes on Sunday, scoring 19 points (7 of 13), dishing out nine assists and grabbing five rebounds. He made five 3-pointers as part of an opening session that pushed the tempo to devastating effect against a Raptors team that lacked multiple rotation players (RJ Barrett, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, Immanuel Quickley) but did have Scottie Barnes , Jakob Pöltl and Gradey Dick. The Celtics scored 41 points in the first quarter and led by as many as 34 before two big quarters in the second half by the Raptors reserves cut the deficit to four as the buzzer sounded.

Pritchard is entering the first year of a $30 million deal that pays an average of $7.5 per year, and there’s a real chance his contract could become one of the best in the NBA over the next few years.

He’s a valuable player to have off the bench and (from an entertainment perspective) very few people seem to enjoy their chosen professions more than Pritchard when his main job is scoring goals.

2. We haven’t always had it easy with Jordan Walsh over the last few months, but his last two games have really opened our eyes.

On Saturday, Walsh scored three three-pointers with significantly improved shooting form. He only made one of his four attempts on Sunday, but ended up with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

After a shaky Summer League, things are looking a lot slower for Walsh. On one play in the first half, after sinking his only three-pointer, he pump-faked Chris Boucher and took two dribbles into the air. As Boucher recovered, Walsh rocked back and exploded forward again, past Boucher, who was completely shaken off him. Walsh then drove past Dmytro Skapintsev (who may have set the seal screen popularized by Daniel Theis before the NBA banned it) and connected with Pöltl at the rim for a layup.

Kind of ridiculous how much better Jordan Walsh looks across the board than he did at Summer League – much better across the board pic.twitter.com/0m6R8Z4sIO

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 13, 2024

It was a high-level game – a shining light from a 20-year-old who’s just learning to read the game at the NBA level.

3. Neemias Queta likely won’t get many minutes this season (again), but his defensive positioning looks better than last year, cleaning up an important aspect of his game.

Meanwhile, his offense remains a nice element that the Celtics don’t really have elsewhere: a pure pick-and-roll big man who can jump to the rim for huge dunks and a big lob target around the rim. Queta also grabbed 15 rebounds (six offensive) in his 21 minutes of play.

4. Lonnie Walker is a good basketball player. He scored 20 points and made four 3-pointers during the Celtics’ early onslaught, but there’s much more to his offensive game – athleticism at the highest level, great changes of pace and direction with the ball in his hands and excellent touch Edge. Walker dropped two floaters on Sunday, including one that hit high on the backboard and fell through, and another that gave the Celtics (by our count) their third “undersized” celebration of the preseason (the first two were Jaylen Brown). ).

That was pretty impressive too.

Adding Walker to the list would increase the luxury tax bill, which already stands at more than $65 million. Committing more just to sign an overqualified player to fill a role somewhere between 10 and 14 in a rotation could be a hard sell for owners given everything else going on with the team.

But from a basketball perspective, Walker could be a really nice addition. At worst, his preseason has led to some discussion about how the defending champions were able to sign him at a bargain price. Maybe this will help him find a spot even if the Celtics don’t sign him.

5. Baylor Scheierman still has to find it. The rookie shot 0-for-6 from the floor and 0-for-5 from behind the arc on Sunday. It was always unlikely that he would make an impact on this year’s team, and preseason seems to have confirmed that he is destined for Maine this season (which can be a great place to develop – just ask the one above Walsh).

6. Anton Watson played 12 minutes in the fourth quarter, which meant he was on the field for most of the Raptors’ rally and finished -18. Watson struggled a bit – he missed both of his 3-point attempts, he went out of bounds almost immediately after the game began, and he tried to throw an immediately doomed pass into traffic by his former Celtics Summer League teammate Jahmi’us Ramsey had picked up with ease.

Watson made a nifty layup and a big dunk out of the pick-and-roll. Still, the Celtics rookies had a tough Sunday.

7. Drew Peterson had a nice night – 23 points, which he scored in a variety of ways. He finished the game 3-for-5 from 3-point range, but more interestingly (the Celtics have a lot of 3-point shots), he was aggressive as a driver coming into the game, scoring 10 goals to the free throw line (8 for 10).

8. Al Horford is expected to make his preseason debut on Tuesday in the preseason finale against the Raptors. 9. The Celtics and Raptors meet in Toronto on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Fans will have to wait another week after this game, but the wait will be worth it: The Celtics will face the new-look (and already highly dramatic) Knicks on ring night in the season opener.

Boston.com today

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