Payton Pritchard has gotten plenty of headlines this season for his offensive contributions with the Celtics. Yet, it was his defensive pressure that drew some extra attention in Sunday’s win over the Wizards in Washington DC. Pritchard played a team-high 37 minutes in the victory and helped Boston’s defense limit the Wizards to just 97 points per 100 possessions in a dismal offensive performance for the hosts.
Jordan Poole led the Wizards with a team-high 21 points but was hounded by Pritchard defensively for much of the evening. Poole’s frustration appeared to boil over on one possession when the Wizards guard taunted Pritchard after he stepped on his foot and tripping the Celtics guard to create some separation. Poole taunted Pritchard on the floor before attempting a 3-point shot, a decision that came back to haunt him once Sam Hauser was able to rotate over and contest the shot attempt. Poole was forced into a pass after the contest, creating an embarrassing moment for the former Warrior.
Pritchard was asked about the sequence after the win, including whether he was frustrating Poole with his defense prior to the interaction.
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“I’m not sure. I know he pointed at me when he tripped me, stepped on my foot – good move,” Pritchard told reporters in Washington. “But obviously if you’re going to do something like that, maybe you’re getting under somebody’s skin a little bit.
“I just try to make things tough. He’s a tough shotmaker, he’ll take a lot of them and he hits tough ones. I just try to make it as hard as possible.”
Pritchard finished with 15 points and a team-high six assists the 112-98 victory but his defensive contributions were also notable as he added a season-high 11 rebounds while mixing in regular ball pressure.
“I really want to be known as a two-way player,” Pritchard said. “Sometimes I see things where people say I’m a defensive liability and it irks me. Every game I go out and try to prove that narrative wrong. Me trying to be a complete two-way player is something I’m always going to strive to be. … That’s a big goal of mine.”
The Celtics may lean on Pritchard more in the coming weeks pending the status of Kristaps Porzingis. The big man left Sunday’s game early with a heel injury, opening the door for a heavier minutes load for Pritchard. The team will get three days off now heading into a home contest against the Bulls on Thursday night at TD Garden.
