Pritchard: Celtics ‘have to prove it' after disappointing playoff finish originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Last year, even though the Celtics knew they were going to be without Jayson Tatum for most of the upcoming season, guard Payton Pritchard remained optimistic that his team was still going to be good.

Now a year later, the Celtics certainly know they won’t have Jaylen Brown anymore. Unsurprisingly, Pritchard’s outlook for the coming season remains the same.

“I feel the same way. I feel like we have another year that we have to prove it,” Pritchard told Chris Forsberg on the Celtics Talk Podcast. “I thought regular season we did a great job last year. … But obviously in the playoffs, we didn’t have the playoff run we wanted, let a 3-1 lead slip, which, you know, [ate] away at at a lot of us this summer. So, added extra motivation going into the summer to attack it and come back better and just try to improve.”

Speaking at his youth summer camp in Walpole, Pritchard was also asked about what Celtics life will be like without his longtime teammate.

“I mean, it’s the NBA at the end of the day. It’s part of the business. Things change,” Pritchard said. “You lose close friendships, brotherhoods. We won the championship together, and I’m very grateful for the relationship I’ve had with JB, because he kind of took me under his wing, pushed me, made me better. And he’s just a phenomenal player, so he’ll be missed mightily. But at the same time, you have to turn the page and get ready for this next year and have a great year and go to war.”

Pritchard, who’s expecting a baby girl with his wife, joked that he’s now entered an “adulting” stage of his life. With that in mind — and with Pritchard now being the second-longest-tenured Celtics player behind Tatum — the 28-year-old was asked if he’s focused on signing an extension with Boston now that he’s eligible.

“No, I don’t really think about it. It’s just not something I’m really looking at,” Pritchard answered. “I have two years on my contract and it’s just, there’s no rush on it. We’ll talk, obviously, but we have a whole next year to talk about an extension. For me, it’s like, just focus on getting better and becoming the bestbasketball player I can possibly be.“

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