Forsberg: Stacking Pritchard up against NBA's best rookies
It's only been 10 games, but Payton Pritchard is already turning into a cult hero in Boston. Chris Forsberg breaks down the early returns from the 26th draft pick and compares how Pritchard stacks up against the rest of the NBA's rookie class.
The Payton Pritchard hype train was motoring along at dangerously high speeds before the Boston Celtics season got paused due to the team’s COVID troubles.
Pritchard was averaging 11.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds over 25.9 minutes per game during Boston’s four-game winning streak. Everyone had a favorite potential nickname for him. Teammates were posting shirtless dance videos of him after every game.
But where does Pritchard stand among the most impactful rookies early in the 2020-21 season? Let’s take a spin around the league and rank the first-year players that are helping their team the most:
The No. 3 pick needed only 10 games to pick up his first career triple-double and it might become a common occurrence. Over his last three games, Ball is averaging 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists over 28.8 minutes per game and the Hornets have won four in a row.
For all the bust slander he received before the draft, Ball is fun to watch with this team. Sure, his shot can be janky but he cleans up the glass, he pushes the ball in transition, and he slings one-handed passes all over the court. Maybe it’s just the presence of Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward, but we find ourselves watching a lot of Hornets games on League Pass lately.
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We still can’t figure out how Haliburton slipped all the way to No. 12. In nine games for the Kings, he’s averaging 12.1 points while making 52 percent of his shots and 50 percent of his 3s. This while adding 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals over 28.6 minutes per game. Even more impressive, he takes care of the basketball with 48 assists and only nine turnovers this season.
Could Haliburton make a case for Rookie of the Year?
Do we think Pritchard is the third best rookie in the class? Of course not. But he’s on the medal stand among early contributors. Consider this: He’s third among all rookies in net rating at plus-9.2. He’s fourth on the Celtics in total minutes and Boston is plus-45 during his floor time. He’s putting up 50/40/90 splits and delivered a game-winning putback in Miami.
The return of Kemba Walker will bite into his minutes a bit and he probably won’t maintain a lofty spot on this list all year. But that doesn’t mean he can’t continue to impact winning for Boston with his grit at both ends of the court.
Forsberg: How Pritchard has broken through C's rookie wall
Ahh, the one that got away. We spent a lot of time before the draft pondering which shooter the Celtics might target at No. 14. They picked Aaron Nesmith, who we’re still very bullish on long term, but we can’t help but wonder if Bey could have stepped in quick for a Celtics squad thin on wings.
He’s putting up nearly 6 3-pointers per game for the Pistons and making 44.2 percent of them (though his shooting inside the arc has been an eyesore). He’s a net positive on the court for a team that’s 2-8. He’s still learning on the defensive end but that’s every rookie. The Pistons got a nice player.
The second youngest player in the draft has been thrown directly into the fire including being dispatched to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard in his first couple weeks as a pro. In fact, they are three of his four most common defensive assignments this season and NBA matchup tracking has him giving up 44 points on 18-of-30 shooting against that trio. There’s little shame in that.
He’s going to be a very good two-way player in this league. Williams is averaging 10.3 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent beyond the 3-point arc. It’s easy to see now why the Bulls were willing to grab him at No. 4.
LeBron praises Williams after Lakers-Bulls matchup
The freakin’ Heat, man. Pat Riley keeps finding gems regardless of where the Heat are picking. With Miami shorthanded on Tuesday night, Achiuwa got thrown into a starting role and put up 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 13 rebounds in a loss to Philadelphia. He doesn’t shoot 3s, he fouls too much, and yet Achiuwa is already carving out a role on a team that was in the Finals last season.
Maxey raised eyebrows going for 39 points in a spot start for shorthanded Philadelphia on Saturday. He also put up 33 shots in that game and was a minus-17 over 44 minutes of floor time. He’s going to be a good player, but the bottom line is that Philadelphia has a net rating of minus-10.7 with Maxey on the court this season and the team’s offensive rating plummets to 100 when he’s out there.
Maxey gets shoutout from Ja Morant after huge game
The Warriors thrust the No. 2 pick right into a starting role and are letting the teenager learn on the fly. He’s not on the court at the end of games but it's quite a luxury for Golden State to be able to give him 20 minutes per night without compromising a quest for wins. You can see the potential but you can also see it’s going to take time for him to fully unlock his abilities.
Wiseman has proven All-Star potential through 10 games
Celtics fans will wonder what could have been with Bane, who got selected 30th overall by the the Grizzlies after Boston traded away the last of their three first-round picks. Bane’s putting up modest numbers: 8.9 points, 3 rebounds, 1.1 assists over 22.8 minutes per game. He’s shooting 47.5 percent on 4 3-pointers per game.
His base numbers certainly won’t catch your attention — 3.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists over 15.6 minutes per game — but his on-court splits certainly will. The Spurs have a net rating of plus-15 during Vassel’s 156 minutes of floor time which includes a defensive rating of 92.2. That’s 17.1 points LOWER than San Antonio’s 17th-ranked defensive rating for the season.
