Celtics guard Payton Pritchard holds his knee after getting injured against the 76ers on Jan. 22. Pritchard has an MCL sprain. Chris Szagola/Associated Press
Payton Pritchard is paying close attention from his seat on the Celtics bench.
To the way Kemba Walker comes off screens. To Marcus Smart’s energy and how he creates deflections on defense. To how Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum get to their spots.
“I try to pick up things from everybody,” Pritchard said. “I try to find ways to learn and keep growing.”
Pritchard was off to a strong start as a rookie. The first-round pick out of Oregon was averaging 8.3 points and 2.8 assists in 22.4 minutes through 13 games before getting injured three minutes into the 14th. When he returns to the court, Pritchard wants to limit how much catching up he has to do, so he’s trying to pick up things by watching.
“Through this experience of sitting on the bench, I’ve been able to find little ways to see things I probably didn’t see when I was playing,” he said. “For me, it’s a learning experience sitting with the coaches and just talking through things.”
His return date is still undetermined, but it figures to be a lot sooner than he originally thought. Pritchard thought he felt a pop in his right knee when Brown landed awkwardly on him. He feared the worst – a ligament tear or tears. Instead, he was diagnosed with a sprained MCL, which puts rehab at weeks instead of months.
“They said it can feel like it popped. That was my first ever knee injury. Obviously, when I got hit, then feeling like it popped, then the pain, you go to the worst (thoughts). My mind was like ‘I’m done. I’m done for however long.’ You start to, not necessarily panic, but that was the first time it happened to me. It ended up just being an MCL sprain which obviously I should be able to come back from pretty quickly.”
Pritchard said he didn’t miss a game in high school or college in Oregon. He’s not enjoying the experience.
“This is my first time ever sitting out. I’m not used to that. In high school and college I never sat out a game, barely sat out a practice,” he said. “I just want to be out there and playing and competing. That’s what I’m worried about. I just want to get back out there.”
Despite that urgency, he’s trying not to rush.
“It’s going to be when I feel the best and our staff thinks I’m able to go out there and be 100 percent,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing. I’m not trying to go out there if I’m 80 or 90 percent. I want to be back fully.”
While he’s only been out a week, he’s already ahead of schedule.
“The last two or three days I’ve been on the court some. I’m starting to move and cut and stuff like that,” Pritchard said. “I’d say I’m a little over 50 percent. Each day it’s gotten better and better.”
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