(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics are walking on the clouds right now.
Joe Mazzulla’s team was the best team in the league from start to finish, and it wasn’t particularly close at times.
However, even a great team needs to be lucky at times.
That’s what happened twice in the playoffs with Payton Pritchard, who knocked down two incredible half-court heaves to beat the buzzer.
Still, Mazzulla believes it had nothing to do with luck.
Talking after the game, he went out of his way to praise Pritchard and called him one of his favorite players, adding that he purposely sent him on the court to throw those Hail Marys, which obviously paid off (via Zack Cox).
Joe Mazzulla called Payton Pritchard “one of (his) favorite players.”
Said he put Pritchard in specifically to take a last-second heave, and it paid off. pic.twitter.com/xcGsBGqTFc
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) June 18, 2024
While not the most prominent figure on the roster, Pritchard has been quite a valuable backup since he entered the league.
He’s given them some energy off the bench, and he’s even held his own on the defensive end of the floor more often than not.
Pritchard has also been a plug-and-play guy when Jrue Holiday has been forced to miss time, and while that hasn’t happened often, he’s responded accordingly.
The Celtics are a deep team, and that usually translates into success.
The coach and the players clearly trust every single man on the roster, even those who rarely take the floor and are only there for garbage time.
Moreover, most of their roster is locked in and under contract for years to come, so they should be very competitive for the foreseeable future.
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