There’s a moment in every championship season where you realize, “Oh, wow. They’re actually going to do it.”
Up until that point, you convince yourself that everything that can go wrong will and nothing is solidified, even if your team is dominating.
But once that clarity hits you, it yields an indescribable feeling of euphoria and pure bliss like no other for diehard fans.
In the Celtics’ 2024 title run, the legendary knockout blow belonged to Payton Pritchard. It’s the kind of shot you remember exactly where you were when it happened, and the one you reminisce about decades from now and describe vividly to your grandkids.
It was fitting that Pritchard was the one who hit the heave from beyond half court at the end of the first half of Game 5. it extended the lead to 21, and you knew at that point that the rest was simply a formality. The Celtics were back on top.
As ESPN announcer Mike Breen put it: “He loves these.” It probably should have elicited a double-bang, but we’ll let it slide. The shot speaks for itself.
Pritchard does love these. It’s such a legendary trait for a player to have: Master of buzzer-beaters. Like, how sick is that? Master screen setter, master offensive rebounder and master energizer are all nice, don’t get me wrong, but being so money on buzzer-beaters is pretty electric.
When Pritchard has the ball at the end of a quarter, you genuinely believe it’s going in every time and are surprised when it doesn’t. How does he do it?
Well, it’s a combination of awareness (timing is everything), an endless bag of tricks (just ask the kids at the park) and a fearlessness that defines his aura (he genuinely believes it’s going in every time, too).
Oh, and you have to be one heck of a shooter, which he most certainly is.
Look at this one from Thursday night at the end of the half. Look closely at where he starts, what he does and when he releases the shot. There are three Thunder defenders closing in, including Cason Wallace right in front of him, but it doesn’t matter. The timing is impeccable, and that comes from hours and hours of repetition and being a total gym rat. He earned the right to talk a little smack after that one.
Thinking a little bigger picture here, it’s interesting how Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are often the ones to take shots at the end of games. Logically, it makes sense. Give the ball to your two best players and let them create. But one could argue Pritchard should take a higher percentage of those shots than he does.
This season, Pritchard is shooting 45.5 percent from the floor, 50 percent from 3 and 100 percent from the line in the clutch. But he only attempts 0.8 shots per game in clutch situations, whereas Brown is up at 2.5 attempts. This is in no way a criticism of Brown, so don’t get it twisted; Pritchard has just earned the right to create for himself at the end of games.
Next time the game is on the line, look for Pritchard. There’s a good chance he’s going to hit it. They don’t call him Mr. Buzzer Beater for nothing.