Payton Pritchard (PG, BOS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14-Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 6% of leagues

ANALYSIS: According to Brad Stevens, Kemba Walker won't be back, "anytime soon." For whatever that timetable might look like, that leaves the opportunity available in the immediate future for rookie point guard Payton Pritchard to continue surprising people with his early season play. So far, Pritchard has put up a line, emphasizing his defense and long-range shooting, of 6.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.7 steals per game in 21.0 minutes of play, converting on 41.7% of shots from deep. While the recent Oregon draftee has had a couple of decent evenings in the points and assist departments, it has been on defense where he has truly shined, grabbing at least one steal in each game, swiping two in four out of six contests, with a 3.8% steal percentage, and a steal rate of 2.9 per 36 minutes.

Possibly the most encouraging aspect of Pritchard's season so far is the fact that he has received consistent playing time in each of Boston's six games to this point alongside veteran point guard Jeff Teague in Kemba Walker's absence. While there it is very likely that his time on the floor will take a major hit upon Kemba's return, with that wait period being so ambiguous, there will be roughly 20.0 minutes carved out per game for him to make an impact as a rookie when many thought his selection in the first round of the 2020 draft was a tad hasty. So for the time being, Payton Pritchard is an excellent play for three-point efficiency and steal-volume, with potential value in scoring and assists as his game develops.

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