Inside Boston’s Guard Battle: Nate Robinson Weighs In
I spoke with Nate Robinson as the Boston Celtics enter the start of training camp.
The new season is so close you can almost taste it. Media Day is in the books, and yesterday the Celtics ran their first preseason practice. With a roster full of young, inexperienced talent, expectations are different from what Boston fans have grown used to in recent years.
Brad Stevens put it plainly at Media Day:
“There’s no question there’s motivation,” Stevens said during his Media Day news conference. “I’m excited for the guys as a whole, but I’m really excited for the guys that are unproven.”
That theme of being “unproven” runs throughout Boston’s roster. From veterans stepping into new roles to rookies trying to find their footing, everyone has something to prove. And no one embodies that more than Payton Pritchard.
On Tuesday, I spoke with former Celtics guard Nate Robinson for an exclusive interview courtesy of mBit Casino. For Robinson—who built his career as the undersized sparkplug no one could count out— Payton Pritchard’s battle for a bigger role feels strikingly familiar.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s a starter or coming off the bench; he’s gonna bring that spark,” Nate Robinson told me. “They lost a really good player in Jrue Holiday…I think he (Pritchard) should be a starter, but he’s also proven he can make a difference off the bench — He was Sixth Man of the Year last season. He could earn a starting spot this year, though, and once he’s in that starting lineup, he’ll probably never look back and be a starter for the rest of his career.”
Last season, Pritchard averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 80 games — 77 of them coming off the bench. He shot the rock at a 64.2% clip from two-point range and 40.7% from deep.
Robinson’s confidence in Pritchard isn’t just nostalgia for his own career talking. It’s rooted in what he sees as a roster full of players with something to prove. Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Josh Minott, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman and even Xavier Tillman Sr. will all enter the season looking to carve out larger roles. The hope is undoubtedly that one or two of that contingent find their footing and prove they can be long-term pieces of the Celtics’ new puzzle.
But it’s not just Boston’s inexperienced group that will need to prove itself. Even seasoned scorers like Anfernee Simons will have to adapt to new roles and expectations. Simons — someone who has led an offense in the Western Conference for multiple years — has already revealed discussions with Joe Mazzulla regarding his defense.
“He always says, ‘You’re not as bad as people think you are,’ Simons said. “And so that’s good to hear…Joe is pushing me every single day, and being in this type of environment is going to bring the best out in me. That’s one of the things I’m excited about – just being around other great players like JB, Derrick, Payton, Sam – they all played winning basketball at a high level for multiple years now, and I want to be able to join and contribute to that as well.”
Last season, Simons averaged 19.3 points per game with a usage rate of 26.1% (ranked in the 79th percentile among guards). He also had an assist rate of 24%, meaning just under a quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers made buckets came off a Simons assist when he was on the court.
However, his defensive numbers are concerning. He ended the season with a -1.3 Defensive Estimated Plus/Minus and a porous 50.6 Defensive Field Goal Percentage.
Outside of Simons and the “prove it” group, Jaylen Brown will be out to prove he can lead a team, despite plenty of voices doubting his capabilities. He will be stepping into a bigger role due to Jayson Tatum’s absence. And then, you’ve got Pritchard, who will likely find himself in a roster battle with Simons for the starting role next to Derrick White.
“I understand the situation I’m coming into, so, and I understand my goals as a player and as a team we want to win,” Simons said at Media Day. “So I want to win. Like I said, I want to contribute to winning at the highest level. So whatever that looks like, I’m fine with it. So it can vary game to game, that’s what’s been said. And so I’m pretty just excited about the opportunity to play with all these guys and, like I said, contribute to winning.”
That Simons-Pritchard dynamic will be one of the biggest questions heading into the season. Both players are saying the right things about sacrifice, but beneath the surface is a legitimate competition for minutes and role definition.
Right now, it’s hard to gauge how either guard will slot into Mazzulla’s defensive plans. Following the exodus of veteran talent, particularly in the frontcourt, it’s clear that the overall defensive scheme will need to change. Both White and Brown will likely emerge as primary point-of-attack defenders. As such, I can envision both Pritchard and Simons being tasked with gap defense - stunting on drives and/or catches, pinching to take away space.
If caught in pick-and-roll actions, both Simons and Pritchard make sense as trail defenders, pressuring the dribble in the rearview pocket, and potentially peel-switching off their man as longer defenders switch over to contain the drive.
However, just like Simons, there will be concerns over Pritchard’s ability to make a reliable impact on defense, should he find himself partnering with White in Joe Mazzulla’s starting five. And while Pritchard is known to battle on that side of the floor, his role as an undersized guard often brings limited expectations due to the size and strength he gives up on cross-matches, switches and in isolation.
To his credit, Pritchard was a reliable member of the Celtics’ defense last season. He ended the year with a +0.2 Defensive Estimated Plus Minus (positioning him as a league-average defender) and a 44.3 Defensive Field Goal Percentage. Nevertheless, he will always be a target for opposing offenses in the half-court due to his size. This season may see him take a page out of the Sam Hauser playbook, where he allows opponents to go outside of their usual system to hunt him. And we all know how that turned out…
However, Robinson pushed back on the idea that size alone limits Pritchard’s defensive value. Instead, he pointed to the Oregon product’s body of work, both in college and since entering the pros. Pritchard has improved his game year-on-year and consistently found ways to rise to any challenge he’s faced.
“I don’t like the idea that smaller guys don’t or can’t play defense,” Robinson said. “Like, we wouldn’t have made it to the NBA if we didn’t play defense. If you see the work Pritchard puts in and what I put in, it’s clear that we fight on both sides of the floor… Just type in Pritchard’s name on YouTube and watch his workout videos…”
Jrue Holiday seems to agree, “Picking up full-court is always tough. Going up against somebody like Payton is difficult — I’d hate to do it,” he told Noa Dalzell last November. “Sometimes you just like the easy games, especially when you’re in the back court. Payton makes it difficult.”
It’s that mindset and work ethic that will ensure Pritchard continues to be a key piece to the Celtics’ rotation. Not only does he provide a scoring punch when on the floor, but his commitment to competing at a high level, consistently improving and striving for success should bleed into some of the Celtics’ younger talents.
During his own media day appearance, Pritchard looked to set the tone early, noting that everyone on the roster should have the mindset of competing at the highest level, and that if they didn’t, they were probably entering the wrong locker room.
“They shouldn’t be in our locker room if they don’t have that mindset,” Pritchard said. “There’s only one mindset. There’s only one mindset of the City of Boston, and it’s you win championships here. So, it’s not even playoff-bound. We’re going for a championship…Does that mean that’ll necessarily happen? I don’t know. We’ll find out this year.”
Even with all of the roster upheaval and the new contingent of “unproven” role players, the Celtics may have a chance to create a memorable season. If they can embrace the same underdog mentality that Stevens’ early-career Celtics had, with the never-say-die attitude of Mazzulla, there’s no reason to count them out before the ball has started bouncing.
“I think they’ve got a very good team,” Robinson told the Celtics Chronicle. “Even with the changes this summer, they still have Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. If Tatum can come back healthy before the end of the season, they could still be a title contender, or at least in the mix.“
Clearly, Robinson sees something in this team, too. To him, Pritchard is likely proof that fight, work ethic, and belief still matter in a league that is increasingly obsessed with size, switchability and star power — and, according to Adam Silver, highlights. Therefore, given the current nature of the team, that is an identity (fight, grit, hard work, etc) they would do well to adopt.
So, maybe that’s the story of these Celtics. A team dismissed because of what they aren’t and what they don’t have — no Tatum for most, if not all of the season, no Holiday, no Kristaps Porzingis, no Al Horford and no Luke Kornet. In their place, a rotation full of players who are still writing the formative chapters of their journeys. That’s why Robinson’s faith in Pritchard feels like faith in the entire Celtics roster: a team built on hunger, determination and skill.
“When you have a chip on your shoulder, when you’re competitive, and when you’re motivated — because you haven’t gotten opportunities yet — a lot of good things can happen,” Stevens said on Media Day.
Opportunities come in many forms. For some, it’s a chance to get minutes off the bench; for others, it’s an increased role. If Tatum returns before the end of the season, then great. Maybe the Celtics' story gets a thrilling twist. If not, then we get to watch the making of a new origin story. Either way, we’re witnessing the start of a new era, and I, for one, can’t wait to go along for the ride.