Boston Celtics Need More Consistency From Payton Pritchard

Through nine games, the Boston Celtics are 7-2, so things look reasonably good for Joe Mazzulla's team on the surface.

However, it's also fair to note that the Celtics have also played the Chicago Bulls twice, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets in six of those nine games. Those are the five worst teams in the Eastern Conference.

Wins are wins and you can only play who is on your schedule, but it's also fair to note that just because you're winning doesn't mean everything is perfect.

And when it comes to what the Celtics need to see, especially as the competition ramps up, it's pretty simple: They need more from Payton Pritchard.

Now in his seventh year out of Oregon, Pritchard has taken immense steps from his rookie season until now. He helped the Celtics win the NBA championship in 2023-24 and then won the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2024-25.

He averaged 17.0 ppg last year, taking yet another step in his development and helping carry the roster while Jayson Tatum was out most of the year with injury.

With Tatum out last year, Pritchard really helped Jaylen Brown so that he didn't have to do everything on his own.

This year, with Brown gone, Tatum needs the same kind of help from Pritchard, even with Paul George doing a good job in the No. 2 role.

Pritchard is averaging 12.9 ppg through the first nine games, four points fewer than a year ago. And not only are his overall numbers down, his 3-point shooting percentage is down nearly four percentage points from his career norm. And his scoring has been very spread out and inconsistent from night-to-night.

Pritchard scored 17 in the opener and then has games of 28 and 30, but in the other six? He's scored four in three different games, seven, 10 and 12.

Boston cannot hit its ceiling if Pritchard is providing such uneven performances. They need to know what they are getting from him on a nightly basis. He's been on the injured list multiple games this week, so perhaps something has him more disjointed there.

The Celtics will be back in action on Sunday when they take on the Bucks again in Milwaukee. The Bucks are 1-7 on the season and Boston just beat them by seven earlier this week.

After that game, the first 10 games of the season will be in the books. Boston entered play on Saturday with the second best record in the East, only behind the Philadelphia 76ers (8-2).