{"id":13435,"date":"2024-12-02T06:59:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T06:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=13435"},"modified":"2024-12-02T06:59:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T06:59:57","slug":"breaking-cavs-were-so-scared-of-payton-pritchard-that-they-changed-their-game-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=13435","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Cavs were so scared of Payton Pritchard that they changed their game plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Boston<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Kenny Atkinson said so.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Boston Celtics walked into Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. But more importantly, it was a battle for the top of the Eastern Conference, as the Cavs entered the contest with a 0.5-game lead over Boston atop the standings. Unfortunately for the guys in green, the absences of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were too much to handle.<\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell exploded late in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics couldn\u2019t generate enough offense outside of Payton Pritchard to overcome that hurdle. But that was the problem\u2014the Cavs were locked in on Pritchard. They were legitimately scared of letting him shoot the ball.<\/p>\n

Head coach Kenny Atkinson said as much after the game.<\/p>\n

The Cavs were scared of Payton Pritchard<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When asked about the Cavaliers\u2019 fouling late in the game, he said that they would usually wait to intentionally foul until the last 10 seconds, but they didn\u2019t want to risk Pritchard making a shot.<\/p>\n

“I was like, ‘Screw that, we’re fouling,'” Atkinson said via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I don’t want to see Peyton Prichard come down and shoot a step back.”<\/p>\n

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Kenny Atkinson said that, typically, Cleveland would wait to foul until there was under 10 seconds left, but that against Boston he chose to do it earlier.<\/p>\n

"I was like, 'Screw that, we're fouling,'" he said. "I don't want to see Peyton Prichard come down and shoot a step back."<\/p>\n

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n