The Celtics face off against the Kings for the Summer League championship — and it sounds like they’ll have some reinforcements. Boston guard Payton Pritchard said on Twitter late Sunday night that he’ll back in Las Vegas to play in the 9 p.m. Tuesday game.
“Back in Vegas on Tuesday for summer league chip!” Pritchard wrote on Twitter.
Pritchard’s played like one of the best guards in Summer League when he was in Las Vegas. C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said Pritchard left the team temporarily for an excused absence, which turned out to be a stint in the Portland Pro-Am basketball league. Pritchard scored 92 points in Game 1 then followed that up with a 57-point performance.
He made waves on social media for his 92-point game — a gaudy stat at any level — now he gets to go back to Las Vegas. Pritchard averaged 20.3 points and 8.7 assists per game on 57.7% 3-point shooting in his three games of Summer League.
The Celtics roll into the league championship at 4-0 and the best team in Summer League thus far. They brought a roster full of returners. That’s been a recipe for success, cruising to the title game as they blew out three different opponents.
The young C’s have starred in Summer League, though it’s always important to keep context during the NBA’s annual midsummer exhibition games. But still, the Celtics are playing for a championship. And Pritchard sounds like he’ll be back just in time.
