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BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is primarily thought of as a scorer. Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard is generally considered an undersized shooter, and not much else. However, after a 142-105 blowout win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, they asserted — on one another's behalf — that they're both more than meets the eye.
Brown dropped a season-high 44 points in 37 minutes against Indiana, confirming his offensive abilities. Yet, while sitting next to the reigning NBA Finals MVP in a joint postgame presser, Pritchard decided to focus on his star teammate's defense.
“Usually, somebody his size would guard a wing, but he's picking up the best point guards in the world full court,” Pritchard acknowledged. “People don't really understand how difficult that is and they underestimate what that takes. So, he should definitely be in the All-Defensive Team category, because we give him the hardest assignments … He's creating havoc and making things tough every night. They need to take notice.”
During the Green Team's drubbing of the Pacers, Brown notched a game-high four steals. And as Pritchard said, he was wreaking havoc on Indiana before it could even fully set up its offense.
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, Brown stated his desire to qualify for an All-Defensive Team. Although it didn't end up happening then, the three-time All-Star is still committed to accomplishing that goal. Pritchard's praise might help, but more importantly, Brown hopes to lead the Celtics' defense and set a winning example for his teammates.
“I feel like I'm one of the best two-way players in the world, so I try to hang my hat on that side [of the ball] by doing different assignments, like picking up guys full court, chasing guys off screens, switching on bigs,” Brown described. “Defense is where our team kind of needs to set the tone and hang our hat—physicality, toughness. And I feel like I'm the leader of that. So I got to hold myself accountable each and every night.”
Outside of being named to an All-Defensive Team, Brown has another objective this regular season that involves accolades, just not for himself. The 2023 All-NBA Second Teamer revealed that he wants Pritchard's excellence to be recognized with some hardware.
“It would mean a lot for me to help him get Sixth Man of the Year,” Brown announced.
In his 32 minutes off the bench, Pritchard posted 18 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and zero turnovers. The fifth-year Celtic was just two rebounds shy of the second triple-double of his entire career, yet he's confident he'll get another opportunity for one by playing the right way.
“I don't want to chase it because then it doesn't feel like it's a real accomplishment, you want to get it naturally in the flow of the game,” Pritchard said of his near triple-double. “And so hopefully I'll be in another opportunity [for one]. I'll get it done.”
Pritchard and Brown outscored Indiana's starters 62-61 and were two of the eight Celtics with a plus-minus rating of at least plus-10. The unlikely duo torched a subpar Pacers' defense all game and has the opportunity to do so again on Sunday afternoon when Boston faces Indiana for the last time this regular season.
