Allen Iverson Was Not Lying When He Called Payton Pritchard The Coldest White Boy He's Ever Seen

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

As fun as it was to watch the Celts beat the Knicks in their home opener, all that goodwill would have gone right out the window if they immediately gave it back against the Bulls. In fact, with CHI/BKN/CHI to close out their 4 game homestand, these are all games the Celts should be able to win and win with ease. Nothing against those teams, but that's my expectation and I think it's a fair one.

Given we just witnessed the first true belt to ass performance from the Celts this season, I'd say things went rather well. I can't lie, it felt great to have a game in which you get out to a big lead and then don't completely shit all over yourself in the final 12 minutes, and instead do the opposite. I knew they could do it! There was the team we know and love. And the best part? I still don't think the Celts are playing anywhere close to their ceiling or even really their standard. Things are still very much a work in progress, but seeing as how at this time last year we were 0-3 and panicking our dicks off and this year they're 2-1 and were a horrific collapse from being 3-0, I certainly prefer this version.

And even though the Bulls are a bit of a mess and don't have a ton of talent, you do have to remember that in the NBA, you can get got on any given night. If you don't execute and you fuck around, you'll find out very quickly that things might not work out in your favor. Especially against a team that plays fast and takes a ton of 3s. So it was a relief that right from the get go the Celts came correct and didn't play with their food. This isn't exactly a game where you fire up the Duck Boats following the final buzzer, but at this time of year it's about stacking wins. Getting off to a good start is important, especially with teams like DET/PHI both off to good starts. At this stage, you just want to stay attached. With how competitive the conference is going to be, there's a chance that a poor start really screws you. So while this may seem like a nothing win against a bad team, I would disagree. They all matter.

I'd also say this win gave us additional signs of the Celts blossoming into the team they're going to need to be, in a wide variety of areas, which was encouraging. Things are new, things are fluid, each team is trying to create its identity and play to it. For this team, when that shit hits? You get blowouts like we saw last night. Fun right? Highly recommend they do that shit more often moving forward. 

With that said, let's dive in.

The Good

- As a millennial, I'm a big Allen Iverson guy. I know that's a bit odd because he famously played for a franchise I despise, but if you're around my age, I'm sure you're in a similar boat. Vintage AI was awesome. We all had the shoes, we all practiced his crossover in our driveway, he's one of the greatest pound-for-pound players in NBA history. While a lot of older generations hate on the new era of players, that's never really been the case with AI. He very much knows ball.

So when an ESPN story came out yesterday about Payton Pritchard and we learned that against the Sixers Iverson told Payton he was the coldest white boy he's ever seen, that made sense……because it's true

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Finally, our first Payton Pritchard eruption of the season. THAT was the guy I was waiting for after a pretty slow start. The version of Payton that is super aggressive, that let's it fly without hesitation, the one that is getting two feet into the paint, that's the guy who we know can produce at an elite level.

Was it awesome seeing Payton made more 3s in the second half than the entire Bulls roster? Definitely. But I'm much more interested in the approach. Payton finished at a 30% USG% which is right around where he's going to need to be in this super scorer role off the bench. When he's in the game, he needs to be shooting the basketball. That doesn't just mean 3PA either. It means being aggressive and attacking the paint to utlize his mid-paint jumper and get to the line. All of that stuff adds up over the course of a game and makes things easier for guys around him as well. When he's passive and doesn't play aggressively, he has stinkers. It's something Payton himself touched on after the game

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Given the Bulls don't really employ a legit point-of-attack defender with size and length, Payton had no reason not to dominate that matchup, and as you can see above, that's exactly what he did. It's also notable that on a night where the entire roster couldn't hold onto the ball, Pritchard finished with just 1 TO in his 21 minutes. 

When Payton is rolling like this, it's just so overwhelming for a defense. What do you do, especially if Jayson Tatum is also on the floor? With Payton being a threat from 30ft, it presents an impossible challenge for opposing defenses. If you don't shut that off, Payton is going to light you up. If you do, then that creates driving lanes for Jayson Tatum, who will also bury you. It's why I believe their minutes should be stapled together for the most part. Make defenses make a choice where there's really no good answer. 

- Speaking of Jayson Tatum, it was nice to see him follow up his beautiful performance against the Knicks with yet another solid outing in his limited minutes

A cool 23/7/6 and a +18 in his 27 minutes, the way Tatum asserted himself early was a big reason why this game was mostly out of reach by the half. We got our first look at the impact his gravity has on this team, and honestly while this is good for #agendas, I'm not totally crazy about the Celts being such Tatum merchants early on. They do have to improve their play in the non-Tatum minutes if they want to be a serious team in my opinion

I very much enjoyed Tatum finally getting to the FT line (8 FTA) because there wasn't really a Bull who had a chance of guarding him, so I liked how Tatum didn't settle. After just 1 FTA in the opener, Tatum has 13 over his last two games so hopefully things are headed in the right direction. I think the sweet spot for him is around 7-8 FTA a night. 

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What I find especially hilarious is it wasn't too long ago every talking head show led with this idea that Jayson Tatum wasn't the same and that he was regressing blah blah blah. Notice how all of those idiots have shut the fuck up these last two games? Gee, I wonder why! Almost as if everything that was said after the opener was just bait. Nothing that we haven't seen before when it comes to Jayson Tatum, and it certainly will be back the next time he has an off night.

But if you simply look with your eyes and not your agenda, you see a player that is very much his First Team All NBA self. He's doing everything on both ends of the floor and he's doing it at a very high level. Just like he always does. 

Tell me, how does his "burst" look? How about his "lift"? You know how many times those words were used after his opener? It was the easiest way to spot someone who doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. Hivemind thinking like you read about.

- Here's the thing about Hugo Gonzalez. I love him. For the first time this season Joe finally unleashed Hugo and gave him real minutes, and to no surprise his impact was IMMEDIATE

The thing about Hugo is that the second he steps onto the floor, he finds a way to make shit happen. It could be crashing the glass, it could be a defensive play, it could be burying an open corner 3, sometimes it's ALL of those things like we saw last night. The point is, when Hugo is on the floor, good things happen.

See for yourself. Look at every one of Hugo's shifts in this graphic. Green means the Celts outscored their opponent. Look who is all green!

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The Celts were a +34 in Hugo's minutes in this win. That is not an accident either, it's just a continuation of what we saw in his rookie year when he led everyone in +/-. This guy impacts winning. Period. 

So the question becomes, should he start? While I certainly wouldn't hate it, I actually haven't minded the Walsh minutes with the starters. His defense has been great. So at the end of the day I think Hugo just needs to live in that 23-25 minute range. I thought Joe was on the money with going back to Hugo over Baylor which told me he was reading the game correctly, and I think at this point it's a coaching malpractive if Hugo only plays 2-3 minutes in a game again. The sample size of winning impact is too large to ignore. Play Hugo and good things will happen for you. Sometimes it's really that simple. 

- Finally, we saw the offensive rebounding we were promised. The Bulls don't have a ton of size, so this matchup HAD to be one where the Celts offensive rebounding came into play. They finished with 19 OREB for 16 2nd chance points while having a 42% OREB%. Much better! Considering they were in the low 20s before this game, I would say that was a drastic improvement.

Finally, we saw Mitch be a demon on the glass (3), Garzilla continues to outrebound entire teams by himself (3), George got in there (3), all the young wings crashed. It's no surprise then that the Celts won the shot margin 93-84. That's the entire formula. Generate extra possessions, and score on said extra possessions. Simple, yet effective. 

- Overall, I'm just really enjoying the Paul George experience. Even on the nights where his shot isn't dropping, we're still seeing him make a crazy impact. A +15 in his minutes despite his 5-14 (3-7) shooting, outside of some turnover issues (4), I really liked how George played.

Defensively, we know he's been nails. But when you watch him play you can see there are small things that may not jump out on the box score but do impact winning. Stuff like this

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He came in saying all the right things and I'd say his play on the court has been just as good. He's giving the Celts exactly what they need from his role. It's early, and we all know things will be up and down, but right now? George looks fantastic for the most part. The Tatum/George pairing hasn't even really taken off yet (+4) in their minutes together, so there are additional levels to get to. That's pretty exciting given what we've seen so far. 

- Yup, I've seen enough. Chris Cenac Jr is a hit

Good job Brad!

- I know it's the Bulls, but I will never stick my nose up at keeping an NBA team in 2026 to under 100 points. Celts had 3 quarters of allowing under 25 points, and when they defend like that they become impossible to beat. Holding CHI to just 39/27% splits and forcing 24 TOs is going to lead you to a shit ton of 35 point blowouts, and given the fact that defense is the foundation of any team that's actually good, this was a welcomed sign. 

The Bad

- There certainly isn't much to complain about when you have an ass kicking like this, but if I had to pick somewhere to start in this section, how about the fouls? This team is currently fouling WAY too much for my liking. Another 31 FTA allowed in this game, Cs are now 22nd in the NBA in opponent FTA (28.0). They're also 23rd in fouls per game (25).

How does that compare to last year?

Cs were 9th in fouls and 4th in opponent FTA.

Yes, it's early, but this has been a recurring theme in each of their games to start this season. Maybe that's just the officials being overly active to start the year, but I tend to think it's because the Celts cannot stop fouling. It didn't bury them against the Bulls, but it did against the Pistons. When playing good teams, stop bailing them out by letting them live in the FT line, Move your feet, stop reaching and defend without fouling like we know you can. 

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- Not the best Baylor performance we've ever seen, but that's the beauty of having a plethora of young wings to throw out there. If one is having an off night, no worries. The Celts can cover. But on a night where pretty much everyone played well, it wasn't great that Baylor finished a -2 in his 18 minutes (1-5, 0-3) with the same number of TOs as ASTs (3).

The Ugly

- Speaking of turnovers, that was some of the grossest shit I've ever seen from this team. 24 TOs? In a single game?

Giphy Images.

Inexcusable. And I get it, the majority of them came while trying to create for others and guys are figuring things out and learning how to play with one another blah blah blah.

We can also just be honest and acknowledge that the passing in this game was dogshit and nowhere close to acceptable. Derrick White's 6 TOs were insane. Nobody outside of Tatum can throw an entry pass I guess? 

Here's why I care. The TO issues were something that showed up in preseason. Everyone always says preseason is fake and doesn't matter, well this shit is carrying over to the real games. The Celtics LED THE NBA in TOs last year at just 12.4. This year, that number is up to 16 a game. Very bad!

The whole approach of this team is turnover suppression. I did go to ASU, but I'm pretty sure that's supposed to mean not turning the ball over. Hand up if I'm wrong there, but I don't think I am. 

What's the point of maximizing possessions if you are then turning around and giving away possessions? That seems counterintuitive to me.

Yes, I know it's early. Yes, this will most likely be cleaned up. But come on. 24 TOs in a single game? That should never happen to this team given the talent they have. It should take them 2-3 games to hit that number, not 48 minutes.

But in the end? A win is a win is a win and boy did it feel great to see the first true blowout of the year. Right back at it again tonight against the Nets, so there's another great opportunity to keep this momentum rolling. Don't play with your food tonight either, and it could very well be another early night for the regulars.