Payton

Pritchard

Pritchard played 26 minutes off the bench in the blowout win and was a team-leading +30. He hit 6-of-10 attempts from behind the 3-point line, which also led the team. Pritchard’s minutes, points, threes and steals are up this year while his assists are slightly down. He’s a specialist, but can definitely help fantasy teams in need of threes and chip in with some steals as well.

Pritchard popped up on the injury report, but the injury is to his non-shooting hand and ultimately he’s available to play in the game of the day against the undefeated Cavaliers. He’ll continue to come off the bench for the Celtics, but still has standalone fantasy value.

Pritchard landing on the injury report is concerning, even if his non-shooting hand is impacted. Jrue Holiday (knee) is not on the initial report, so he appears on track to play. Sam Hauser would be the closest to a worthwhile streamer if Pritchard cannot play on Tuesday, but he isn’t a must-add.

Pritchard has had a strong season in a large role off the bench so far, but he took on extra minutes early on in this game with Derrick White in foul trouble. He set a new season-high for assists and knocked down at least five triples for the sixth time in 13 games this season. Pritchard has been an incredibly impactful player in fantasy hoops this season, with most of that coming from his 3-point dominance. There’s no reason to think that he’ll slow down soon, and he should still hold standard league value when Kristaps Porzingis gets healthy.

Tatum suffered this injury against the Bucks, and now it may keep him sidelined for the first night of a back-to-back. Sam Hauser would likely supply plenty of 3-pointers as a starter in his place, with Jaylen Brown seeing some extra shots as the focal point of the offense.

Pritchard has been electric off the pine all season. He’s fantasy relevant despite playing behind two high-level guards and has knocked down 42 triples in 10 games as a backup. He’s shooting a career-high 41.3% from deep so far this season.

It’s nothing new at this point, but Pritchard once again was able to contribute plenty of offense off the bench for the Celtics in another blowout win. He has been a top-50 player in 9-cat formats so far, and while he may not maintain that over the course of a full season, it’s clear that he has taken a big step forward. With Kristaps Porzingis still out for a while, and other guys cycling in and out of the lineup, Pritchard should continue to see plenty of minutes.

Queta has seen the floor a decent amount over their last few games, and now he’ll replace Jaylen Brown (hip) in a larger starting unit for the Celtics. Managers shouldn’t expect him to play typical starter minutes, and Payton Pritchard should see the biggest minutes bump in Brown’s absence. Luke Kornet had started their last two games due to absences from Brown and Al Horford, but he’ll return to a reserve role for this one.

Due to his hip injury, Brown will miss a second consecutive game. Luke Kornet started Saturday’s win in Charlotte, but this is another spot for fantasy managers to target Payton Pritchard if he’s sitting on the waiver wire. Regardless of Brown’s availability, Pritchard needs to be rostered in most standard leagues.

The days of using the “when the Celtics are shorthanded” qualifier to discuss Pritchard’s fantasy value may be finished. He’s scored 15 points or more in five of Boston’s seven games and made at least five 3-pointers in four. Jaylen Brown sat out Saturday’s win with a hip injury and is considered day-to-day moving forward. Now would be an excellent time to add Pritchard, as the Celtics play four games in Week 3.