PaytonPritchard

Preseason question: OK, just how crazy is the idea that Pritchard could be like Jalen Brunson? Against our better judgment, let’s interrogate one of the offseason’s more outlandish anonymous claims. In Jayson Tatum’s absence, Pritchard bloomed in interesting and surprising ways. On top of his usual ace 3-point shooting, Pritchard became one of the best isolation scorers in the entire league; his 1.11 points per possession ranked third among all players with at least 100 isolation opportunities, behind only Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Like Brunson, Pritchard found crafty ways to worm into the teeth of the defense and do a lot of his damage in the in-between areas in the paint and midrange. 

 

But Brunson was 26 when he signed with the Knicks and made a leap to stardom; Pritchard is already 28. Brunson proved immediately capable of driving New York’s entire offense; Jaylen Brown is gone, but Tatum and Paul George figure to soak up those vacated possessions and keep Pritchard in a secondary or tertiary role. A Brunson-esque leap into the NBA’s top 10 seems far-fetched, but Pritchard has turned himself into much more than a flamethrower, and there’s likely even more meat on the bone.