BOSTON — The Celtics are approaching a new year and although the season is the same, the team views 2025 as an opportunity to establish some goals.
Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard led the charge en route to a slump-ending 142-105 blowout win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. The two combined for 62 points with Brown dropping a season-high 44 and Pritchard falling just short of a triple-double with 18 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep the duo from setting targets before 2025.
“Just coming out, making sure that our guys are ready to go — empowering guys, continuing to feed confidence into our team,” Brown said postgame. “I think we’re only as strong as each link. So empowering guys to continue their great play. It would mean a lot for me to help Payton get Sixth Man of the Year. So just continuing to empower everybody on our team and give them confidence and lead us on defense as well — picking up guys on full-court, getting steals, being active.”
Brown’s on track for another elite campaign as the co-star of the reigning champions, averaging 23.8 points, six rebounds and 4.7 assists. Coming off a title, third career All-Star nod, and NBA Finals MVP award, it’s difficult to shatter a new ceiling for the 28-year-old. But that isn’t stopping Brown from seeking new ways to uplift not only himself, but the team as a whole before the playoffs arrive.
Pritchard, on the other hand, is setting an even higher bar as the early front-runner for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award. The undersized guard is averaging a career-best 15.3 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 46.7% from the field and 41.4% from 3-point range across 31 games. Pritchard’s already drained 112 threes, ranking the 26-year-old fourth in the league and 14 shy of Anthony Edward of the Minnesota Timberwolves (126) — the NBA’s current 3-point leader.
“I think I’m gonna continue the path I’m on,” Pritchard said. “Just being balanced on the court, off the court. But just always getting my work in and like I said, always trying to find different ways to keep growing as a person and that’s really it.”
