Boston Celtics rookie Payton Pritchard has been garnering attention due to his solid play in the early stages of his first campaign in the league. His teammate in Jayson Tatum recently gave him the nickname ‘8-Mile', a reference to his resemblance to the movie's main character, B-Rabbit, which was played by rapper Eminem, per Yahoo Sports.
The 22-year-old produced 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 27 minutes played against the Indiana Pacers. His contributions helped the Celtics as they erased a 17-point lead and rallied to beat their opponents in the final frame. Tatum still led the way with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists along with key baskets in crunch time to run away with the 116-111 victory.
Pritchard's contributions shouldn't come as a surprise to many as he previously handled the reins for the Oregon Ducks during his four-year amateur career. His senior season saw him garner the Pac-12 Player of the Year, along with a selection in the First-Team All-Pac-12, and was named as a consensus first-team All-American in 2020.
He was able to translate his game to the big leagues and has already eased himself in the stacked rotation of the Celtics as he currently averages 22 minutes per game with 33 total points in four appearances, ranking sixth among all rookies. Despite getting a valuable contributor in Pritchard, the Celtics have yet to gain solid momentum as they lost two consecutive games after winning their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Celtics most recent victory against the Pacers got them back in the win column as they are set to play back-to-back games when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday
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