Jaylen Brown’s Payton Pritchard prediction at Media Day almost came true against the Pistons
Pritchard dropped 27 against Detroit after Brown said he'd score 30.
Back in late October, while speaking on NBC Sports Boston during Media Day, Celtics star Jaylen Brown clairvoyantly offered a glimpse into the future.
Brown said he would place emphasis on finding different ways to lead, which would sometimes require sacrifice from a scoring standpoint. If that meant a teammate like Payton Pritchard would shoulder the scoring load on a given night, Brown was more than OK with it.
“A night we playing don’t mean to disrespect them but the Detroit Pistons who have struggled over the last year or two, we are going to play through Payton let him go for 30,” Brown said. ” … We are still gonna win the game.”
Sure enough, in a stress-free, 123-99 win over Detroit on Thursday, Brown took a more pass-first role, finishing with 14 points and six assists. Pritchard, meanwhile, erupted for 27 points (along with 10 assists of his own) to spearhead the victory. It wasn’t quite 30 on the dot, but it would do.
Pritchard shot 10 of 20 from the floor, including 7 of 15 from 3-point range to bolster his steadily improving Sixth Man of the Year chances. While Brown’s sentiment remains true, the Pistons are an improved team this season. They’re currently 10-16 after winning just 14 games all of last season.
Detroit had given the Celtics two close, competitive games before this one, with Boston winning 130-120 in early December and 124-118 back in late October. Pritchard scored 19 in each game in two perfectly solid performances, but he saved his best for the Celtics’ last regular-season meeting with the Pistons.
Pritchard is the first Celtic ever to record 25-plus points, 10-plus assists, and five-plus 3-pointers off the bench in a game. He also became the 10th member of the Celtics’ 500 3-pointer club Thursday night. He’s 21 away from surpassing Avery Bradley for ninth, and Larry Bird (649) isn’t too far off.
“I enjoy, teammates enjoy, somebody just watching him compete at a high level,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters. “He doesn’t really play to a scoreboard. He just plays to compete, and that’s a beautiful gift that he has.”
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