Payton Pritchard calls Boston Celtics practices ‘war’ of physicality

BOSTON — The early reports from Celtics training camp have focused on a faster pace with dashes of physicality. The C’s will look different no matter what considering the offseason changes, plus Jayson Tatum is sidelined indefinitely with his Achilles injury.

Payton Pritchard has lived through some of that reality already. The guard had a cut on his neck that was still fresh even though he got it the day prior.

“It’s been very physical,” Pritchard said after Saturday’s practice. “It’s definitely been a war out there. I am tired, but it’s good to push the body to these limits to get ready for the season. Definitely pushing ourselves.”

There’s seemingly a reason why Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell called this the toughest training camp he’s seen in his 34 years in the NBA as a player and coach. immediately, C’s coach Joe Mazzulla shot down those claims, but the work behind the scenes has been feisty, by all accounts.

Pritchard explained how, last playoffs, the Thunder were well-known for their own physical play. While it was borderline fouling, which got plenty of fans complaining, the end result was Oklahoma City winning the 2025 NBA title. Plus, it was clear the NBA welcomed a more physical game based off the officiating.

“Halfway through last year, the league made a little bit of a change where the game became much more physical,” Mazzulla said. “I think it’s what’s best for the league, and we just have to adapt to that. … I think the game is in a great place as far as how it’s being officiated, how it’s being called, how it’s being played. That’s one of the things we have to continue to improve on, is our continued physicality, regardless of if it’s regular season or playoffs.”

The Celtics will transition to preseason games next week as they head to Memphis and Toronto. It’ll be the first time the C’s will be on the court, though it’s still unclear how much will be the coaching staff tinkering with lineups. But after a hard week of practices where they got after it, playing against an opponent will feel different.

The Celtics are finding for their new identity as that’ll be a season-long process. Even without Tatum, they can still control their effort level and physicality. At least early on, that seems to be the clear message through the first week of practices.

“I’d rather play very physical and speedy like that, and then if they start making calls, then we have to change through that, rather than not doing it,” Pritchard said. “And then they’re not calling it. Like, let’s start off with playing physical, and then we can make adjustments off that.”