Celtics security guard Peyton Pritchard had to leave Wednesday’s game with an injury to his right eye that affected his vision, but the condition cleared up in time for him to play Friday night in Charlotte, writes MassLive’s Suichi Terada. Pritchard has missed just five games over the past three seasons, and he’s thankful he didn’t have to add to that total.
“It must hurt” Pritchard said (Link to YouTube). “I just couldn’t see, so my vision was very similar, I don’t know how to explain it, but I couldn’t track the rim when it happened and stuff. So I knew I had a problem and I had to get out. It just wouldn’t come back. Luckily, it came back.”
Pritchard was listed on the injury report earlier this week with a right shoulder contusion, but he said he feels fine and it’s part of the wear and tear of the NBA season. He also discussed their slow start and said the Celtics should continue to improve as the season wears on.
“I don’t think we’ve reached our peak form at all” Pritchard said. “We’re record strong, but we’re just sitting on the surface.”
There are more from Boston:
- Jason Tatum Terada added that he sat out Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee and has been resting intermittently since he missed most of last season recovering from an Achilles tear. Tatum, who scored 34 points Friday night, said he feels closer to how he did before the injury. “I’m getting there” he said. “The way I felt before I got hurt – I felt really, really good. I don’t feel too far off. I’ve still played less than 40 games since I came back. I’m still in the ‘rehab phase’ of getting back to playing. I still have a ways to go to get back to feeling the best I’ve ever felt. But we’re going to get there.”
- The article is for subscribers only Christopher L. Gasper of the Boston Globe represents an alternate reality where the Bucks accepted the Celtics’ offer Janice Antecumba and hostilities involving Jaylen Brown and Tatum was avoidable. Gasper believes Brown would be willing to be traded for a star like Antetokounmpo and could be the centerpiece of a rebuilding Milwaukee team that had no chance of challenging Boston for the conference title. Instead, Brown was sent to Sixersand he and Tatum will have their first meeting of the regular season on Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
- In a mail bag column (subscription required), Terada is considering such a possibility Pavel George could opt out of his $56.6M player option next summer and sign a short extension with a lower annual salary. Terada points out that being in Boston gives George a good chance to win a title before he retires.