{"id":121204,"date":"2025-08-05T15:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T15:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/121204\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T15:32:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T15:32:08","slug":"celtics-guard-sends-message-to-boston-fans-about-playoff-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/121204\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics guard sends message to Boston fans about playoff potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naturally, expectations are muted for the Celtics<\/a> going into next season. They had to overhaul their roster and they\u2019re expected to lose four rotation players from last year\u2019s team. Jayson Tatum is also out for the foreseeable future<\/a> due to his ruptured Achilles tendon. So no longer are there title expectations like the past few years.<\/p>\n

But Payton Pritchard doesn\u2019t necessarily want to hear that. In a conversation with NBC Sports Boston\u2019s Chris Forsberg<\/a>, Pritchard spoke about how they\u2019re still aiming for the playoffs and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re definitely trying to be a playoff team,\u201d Pritchard said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to win a championship. It\u2019s not even about playoffs. We have one standard in Boston \u2014 and it\u2019s to win a championship. Everybody in that locker room will have the goal of competing for a championship. We\u2019ll do everything in our power necessary to go for that. That\u2019s what they should know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pritchard is coming off a career-best season where he was named the NBA\u2019s Sixth Man of the Year<\/a>. He averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a flamethrower off the bench for the Celtics. The guard is on one of the best value contracts in the NBA after signing as he enters the second year of a four-year, $30 million extension.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear what Pritchard\u2019s role will be, though he\u2019ll likely have an important one regardless of if he comes off the bench or not. The Celtics dealt for Anfernee Simons in the Jrue Holiday trade, so Simons or Pritchard could conceivably be a starter. But they fit into similar roles as score-first, smaller guards, so it\u2019ll be interesting to see how the Celtics utilize them throughout next season.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the C\u2019s enter a transition phase. No longer are Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet on the roster, plus Al Horford is expected to sign with the Warriors<\/a>. That\u2019ll put more responsibility on Pritchard, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown as the Celtics see what they can muster with no Tatum.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter your second contract or you start your second contract, then you start to get looked at like you\u2019ve been there,\u201d Pritchard said. \u201cBut I would love to stay here for as long as possible. Boston is an unbelievable city to play for and a great organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

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