The Boston Celtics have the best team in the NBA right now, according to most experts and fans. The reigning champions are bringing back their core from last season. They’re also reaping the benefits of developing their young star, Payton Pritchard, over the last five years, as Pritchard is the leading contender for Sixth Man of the Year this season.
Pritchard has been a lights-out shooter all year, already having made 78 shots on the season. Stephen Curry has made only 63, a fact that Jaylen Brown proudly shared on Instagram to shout out his teammate while shading Curry.
Jaylen Brown on IG 👀
(via @NoaDalzell) pic.twitter.com/xDgvD47slr
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 3, 2024
Pritchard is having a great season, averaging 16.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 21 games as Boston’s sixth man. He’s shooting 43.1% from three with 3.7 makes on 8.4 attempts per game on the season, which explains why he’s 15 threes ahead of Curry so far.
He’s averaged 24.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists over the last four games, seemingly leveling up his production and making the Celtics virtually unstoppable.
Steph has played fewer games this season, averaging 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in 15 games.
The Golden State Warriors are also playing a deeper rotation which regularly sees 12 to 13 players get minutes, which has led to more equal shot distribution as well. Curry is shooting 43.4% from three with 4.2 makes on 9.7 attempts per game, so this statistic will likely level out over the season, especially if Curry’s usage increases.
Prichard has added another terrifying element to the Celtics by evolving into one of the league’s elite shooters while having a competent on-ball offensive game as a playmaker or a scorer.
Given the Celtics are already the best shooting team in the NBA with all players seemingly having a green light to shoot for three, Prichard will be pushing up to the best shooters in the NBA despite being a sixth man.
Stephen Curry Playing Through Minor Injuries
Stephen Curry’s overall stats look weak in comparison due to a variety of factors. We have already discussed that the Warriors are playing a deep rotation, limiting the time Curry has to spend on the court leading the offense. This is a blessing for Curry, who’s currently dealing with a nagging knee injury that he recently opened up about.
“Has the potential to be like like a nagging type thing if you don’t take care of it, thankfully Rick has been great trying to give me a protocol to kind of stick with on a day-to-day basis, and knowing that’s something I can get ahead of and not chase throughout the year, which is the plan.” “I’m not worried about it, not concerned about it at all. It’s just the deeper you get into your career, the more things pop up and you just got to figure it out.”
Playing through injury on a 13-man rotation is bound to affect a player’s overall numbers. With the Warriors having lost their last four games and coming dangerously close to dropping into the Play-In tournament as the No. 5 seed in the West right now,
Steve Kerr might be forced to play his best players extended minutes, which would include Curry as well. This will normalize Curry’s production on the season, who has looked great despite the muted season numbers.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
