**BOSTON** – Payton Pritchard had a tough couple of days of basketball.
On Sunday against the Magic, the Celtics’ starting point guard tallied just 5 points on 2-8 shooting – his lowest-scoring game of the season.
He followed that up with another 5-point outing in a Tuesday loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, this time putting together an even _less_ efficient 2-9 shooting performance.
Sometimes, Pritchard will just chalk up poor shooting nights to just that: poor shooting.
But this was different. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year found himself questioning every decision, and he no longer felt he was following his intuition on the court.
“It was just a lot of overthinking. It was like – is this the right shot? Is this the right pass? Is this the right time to drive?” he said. “Just instead of just playing with instinct, and I’m sure everybody saw it, people that I know that are close to me, obviously, were telling me about it, just that I didn’t look like myself. And, I didn’t feel like myself.”
So, on Wednesday morning – back in Boston after a nearly week-long road trip – Pritchard decided to get a haircut. He acknowledged his wife, Emma, prefers his longer hair.
But he was in a funk, and something needed to change.
“Since I’ve been in college, I like the short hair playing,” he said. “Maybe it makes me a little bit faster.”
Pritchard’s best all-around game of the season came in Wednesday’s 131-95 win over the Memphis Grizzlies: 24 points on 8-15 shooting, 9 assists, 6 rebounds. In 30 minutes, he was a +42, the highest plus-minus in his career.
“And it wasn’t about scoring, but it was about, like when I got the ball, I’m going to push it as fast as possible, attacking – and just playing that way,” Pritchard said. “And I feel like that when I’m playing that way, I’m at my best.”
It’s been a difficult shooting season for Pritchard, who has become a regular starter for the first time in his NBA career. He’s shooting 25.6% from three – more than 15% worse than last year’s 40.7% mark. Despite that, all season, he’s maintained a positive attitude about the slump and insisted that he’s getting good looks that will fall.
On Tuesday, though, Pritchard hit 5 of 10 three-pointer attempts. His 6 rebounds marked his second-highest total this season. His 9 assists to 0 turnovers ratio was also his best of the season.
“I woke up this morning just hungry to attack this game, and just get back into the flow, get back in rhythm – but play with instincts and push the pace,” he said.
After Wednesday’s win, he referenced his difficult start to the 2023-2024 Celtics season, which came shortly after he signed a 4-year, $30 million contract that fall.
“I think I went through a five-game stretch where I didn’t hit a three or even have a bucket,” Pritchard said. “I think I went _five_ games straight without scoring.”
His memory is not far off; he went scoreless in four of five early-November games, and the outside noise mounted.
“People started questioning whether I was worth the contract, or whether I should even be playing,” he said. “And I was really down at that time. But then, getting through it, once I got through it, I started to get better and better and better.”
That season ended up being Pritchard’s best year to that point — and the Celtics ultimately won their 18th championship.
Pritchard said he underwent a similar shooting slump in college, which actually served as a positive turning point in his career: “When I go through them, it’s usually when I kind of break through.”
Whether it makes it better or worse, Pritchard hasn’t been alone in his shooting struggles.
Fellow backcourt mate Derrick White has also had a difficult start to the season; the 31-year-old is shooting 29.2% from three after setting the Celtics franchise record last year for most threes made in a single season.
“I feel like it’s been back-and-forth – like who’s struggling more?” said White after breaking out of his own slump with a 20-point outing on Wednesday night.
Even through his shooting woes, Pritchard has impressed teammates with his competitive spirit.
“You know every night that you’re gonna get someone that’s gonna compete at the highest level,” White said.
One good game doesn’t mean the slump is over.
But Pritchard also played basketball long enough to know that good and bad stretches are a part of the game.
“There’s gonna be low points, and it’s just – don’t let it break you,” he said. “You just grow from it, learn from it, and get better from it.”
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