Payton Pritchard, Celtics
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Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics celebrates with fans after defeating the New York Knicks in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Second Round NBA Playoffs at TD Garden on May 14, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Going into the 2025-26 season, not much was expected from the Boston Celtics. They were without Jayson Tatum after he ruptured his right Achilles tendon back in May against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In the offseason, general manager Brad Stevens made some subtractions from the roster, and without Tatum, it wasn’t surprising. He kept a core around Jaylen Brown that would likely keep the Celtics in the hunt for a playoff berth.
Or so we thought.
After struggling early in the season, Boston has gone from 11th place in the Eastern Conference to the second spot after beating the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. They passed the Knicks, but Payton Pritchard is far from pleased.
Celtics Guard Payton Pritchard Unimpressed With Second Place in the East
After beating the Bulls, 115-101, Boston passed New York in the standings after the Knicks were blasted by the Detroit Pistons, 121-90. Don’t count Pritchard as someone who is impressed by the move in the standings.
“Are we even 40 games into the season yet?” asked Pritchard, via The Athletic. “There’s a lot of season left.”
The Celtics are just 35 games into the season. Pritchard has a point. There is a lot of the season left. Boston has 47 games remaining, beginning Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets at the TD Garden. The point from Pritchard is correct.
However, you can’t deny how far ahead of schedule the Celtics are. They are doing this without Tatum. As a result, Boston is 3.5 games behind the Pistons for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Who would have thought they would be in this spot without Tatum? Not many.
“I take a lot of pride in being first in the East,” Pritchard said. “And we still need some work to get to that point. So that’s the main goal.”
Boston Celtics Win Over Bulls Impressive
Monday night’s win over Chicago was impressive considering the Celtics’ schedule over the last week. They dropped 146 points on the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night in a 31-point win. They flew across the country on Sunday, and usually, the first game back after a long West Coast trip is difficult to win. Not for the Celtics.
Anfernee Simons scored 27 points off the bench on eight 3-pointers, and Pritchard had 21 points. Brown had 14 points, Neemias Queta had 13, and Derrick White had 10.
“It was a good win,” Pritchard said, “especially coming off a long flight and the long road trip. I didn’t think the last few years we’d been very successful off those, but it’s definitely hard. Very jet-lagged and tired, so just mentally get through it and figure out how to win.”
It’s a win that will help the Celtics remain near the top of the standings. They will need more of them as the season goes along. Each win Boston gets moves them closer to a playoff spot and a return of Tatum at some point. Talk about a boost.
Stevens will have to figure out what his team needs at the trade deadline. Not many people had the Celtics as buyers, but they are surprising a lot of people. However, Pritchard is not impressed with his team’s spot in the standings. He’s aiming to be hire than the No. 2 seed right now.