Payton Pritchard logged nearly 58 minutes through the first two Celtics games, making him fourth in total minutes played despite coming off the bench. It’s a shocking amount of run for someone designated a reserve, and it screams volumes about where Joe Mazzulla’s head is at just two games into the new season. He might wear a bench jersey, but the truth is, Pritchard’s already a starter in everything but name.
Pritchard’s Playing Time: A Coach’s Trust on Display
Pritchard himself laid out what a “starter” means to him just last Sunday: “To me, a starter is the amount of minutes you play. Do you finish games? Are you playing 30-plus minutes? Then you are a starter.” By his own math, and by Mazzulla’s actions, Pritchard is absolutely a starter. Only Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Paul George have seen more court time than his 57 minutes and 56 seconds across these two opening contests. Think about that for a second: a “bench” player outplaying actual starters in terms of minutes.
The trust from Mazzulla was crystal clear even during an off-night. Against the New York Knicks, Pritchard scored a measly four points on 1-for-6 shooting. No offensive rhythm, brick after brick. Yet, Mazzulla kept him on the floor for more than 30 minutes! Anyone would keep a hot shooter in, but staying with a cold one? That shows a whole different level of confidence. Sure, his shooting wasn’t great, but the Celtics still outscored New York by eight points with Pritchard on the floor. It wasn’t his offensive night, but it also wasn’t a game-losing problem, and that’s the distinction Mazzulla seems to care about most. Pritchard was the constant, the connective tissue, as Boston opened the second quarter with him, White, George, Hauser, and Luka Garza, and again in the fourth with a similar group.
The Rest of the Rotation: Who’s Getting Mazzulla’s Early Trust?
While Pritchard’s minutes are a huge headline, Mazzulla’s approach to the rest of his deep roster after two games also tells a story. He’s used 11 players in both games, which sounds like everyone’s getting a shot, but the timecards expose a clear hierarchy. Tatum, White, and George predictably lead the pack. But beyond that, Sam Hauser has already logged more minutes than starting lineup members Jordan Walsh and Mitchell Robinson. And spare a thought for Hugo González, who’s seen just 13 minutes total.
The starting five has been consistent: White, George, Tatum, Walsh, and Mitchell Robinson have kicked off both games against Detroit and New York. After that, it’s been fluid, but the early levels of trust are undeniable. Hauser looks like the cleanest solution for Boston’s spacing issues, which is huge. Meanwhile, the young wings are definitely not seeing an equal distribution of minutes, indicating Mazzulla is already deciding who he can lean on early in the season.
These first two games aren’t going to set the rotation in stone, but they’ve given us some serious clues about Mazzulla’s early vision for this Celtics squad. The message is loud and clear: Pritchard is a go-to guy, regardless of his “bench” label, and Mazzulla is not afraid to show confidence even when shots aren’t falling. It’s going to be fascinating to watch how these early trends continue to shape the Celtics as the season rolls on.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
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