It is not that uncommon for even very good NBA players to find themselves in a rut. And it can come at the start of a season given the lack of rhythm built into the structure of the league calendar leaving a long gap for most teams to recover from. And Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard had an especially long offseason this summer after Boston was sent fishing in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, so his lukewarm start to the season is no shocker.
Even so, the Oregon native is unsure why he started the Celtics' current campaign struggling to score in Boston's first two games after snapping that mini-slump vs. the Chicago Bulls on Monday (Oct. 26) night. "I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but I think you could look, the last
couple years. I just have games where it’s very non-aggressive, (and) out of rhythm," said Pritchard. "But it’s a long season."
("(I) try to give myself forgiveness of it, even though it ate away at me," he added. "Even though we got the W … I want to perform better and be better for our team. So tonight was coming out with an aggressive mindset and (I) played free and attacked the paint."
"Honestly, it just feels good to catch a rhythm again, and bounce back from the other night," said Pritchard after dropping 28 points on the Bulls off the bench on 7-of-10 from beyond the arc.
"And … I have slow starts to the season, so catching a rhythm like this and being aggressive tonight was the main mindset. It feels good to see it go in."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Payton Pritchard on breaking out of early-season slump in Boston Celtics blowout of Bulls
