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Payton Pritchard has been one of the Boston Celtics' best and most consistent scorers this season, ranking third on the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game despite recently shifting back to the bench.

However, Pritchard hasn't looked like himself lately, suddenly slipping into a massive shooting funk following a historic hot streak.

It started during the Celtics' road trip immediately following the All-Star Break. Pritchard got off to a great start, torching the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers with 56 points over the first two games of the trip.

He ended the trip on a down note, however, managing just 11 points against the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets combined. He went 2-for-13 against the Suns and 1-for-6 against the Nuggets.

After bouncing back at home with 22 points last Friday against the Brooklyn Nets, Pritchard went scoreless against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. He rebounded with 25 points versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, only to go scoreless again in Wednesday's ugly loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

Almost impossible but true...

Payton Pritchard entered this past week with two career games of 24 minutes or more without scoring.

It happened tonight for the second time in three games.

— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 5, 2026

Before last weekend, Pritchard had only two games in his NBA career where he played at least 24 minutes and failed to score. Since then, it's happened twice.

Over his last six games, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year is averaging just 9.7 points per game with a 34.4 field-goal percentage. He's struggled both inside and outside the arc, hitting just 31.3% of his 3-pointers and 37.5% of his 2-pointers during that time.

Shooting slumps happen, especially for bench players who have less time to get in rhythm. However, this one's been particularly bad.

Pritchard will try to snap out of it on Friday against the Dallas Mavericks at home. He cooked the Mavericks for 26 points on 12 of 20 shooting in early February, so hopefully he has a better showing.

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