Boston Celtics backup guard Payton Pritchard is “out for blood” this season as his teammate Sam Hauser put it. Pritchard has been nothing short of impressive throughout the preseason, connecting on 13 3-pointers and scoring 64-points in three games.

Pritchard is thriving on the court and it seems like the game is slowing down for him as he enters his fourth year in the NBA. Which is great to see from Pritchard who’s role is expected to increase this season as he’s ready to take advantage of the opportunities coming his way.

It hasn’t been easy for Pritchard in Boston. He went from playing 19.2 minutes per game as a rookie to seeing his time on the court decrease over the next two years. In the playoffs, Pritchard went from being part of Boston’s limited rotation at 13.4 minutes per game to dropping all the way to 5.7 minutes per game over the last two seasons.

Pritchard’s decrease in minutes is really no fault of his own. Boston had Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker, and Derrick White all in front of him at one point during the last three years. That would be a Defensive Player of the Year (Smart), an All-NBA defender (White), and an All-Star guard (Walker).

However, entering his fourth year with the Celtics, Pritchard says he’s not worried about how many minutes he’s getting but rather what he can accomplish in the minutes he’s given as he said it’s part of growing more mature about it all.

“The only thing I’m worried about is showing up every day here, getting my work in… and as far as the games go, whatever minutes I get, I just have to be ready for those minutes. I think in the past, I got caught up and a lot of players get caught up in when you’re going to check into a game, how many minutes you’re going to get instead of just focusing on yourself and being ready for the moments you do get and taking full advantage of that. I think that’s the maturity I’ve grown in and just understanding that I have to handle what I can handle.”

This is what you want to hear from Pritchard. But he finally has a sense of security in the fact that he understands what his role is and how he can contribute to the team, which hasn’t always been the case in year’s past.

Pritchard knows his role and because of that he’s comfortable on the court and it shows.

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Photo Credit: Mary Schwalm, Asscoiated Press