Celtics Injury Report: Payton Pritchard Downgraded Ahead of Game vs 76ers

Matt Levine | Feb 2, 2025

Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Ahead of the Boston Celtics matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team has downgraded point guard Payton Pritchard for the game. Pritchard is dealing with a non-Covid illness and could be in danger of missing this contest.

Boston had entered today with a clean sheet on the injury report but now it seems that they could be down a player. We will know more about his status closer to game start.

Celtics Injury Report Update vs. Philadelphia:

Payton Pritchard - Illness (Non-Covid) - QUESTIONABLE https://t.co/9Px0aDsaN5

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 2, 2025

If Pritchard can't give it a go, others will need to step up in his absence. The guard has emerged as one of the better players for the Celtics this season and they rely on him heavily within games.

The Celtics are coming off a big win over the New Orleans Pelicans in which star Jayson Tatum hit a game-winning shot. Tatum spoke after the game and revealed the big mistake that New Orleans made on defense before the shot.

“I was looking at their coach. I was looking at Javonte,” Tatum said. “I was trying to see if he was going to tell them to hit, get the ball out of my hand. I thought he did. He hesitated. He stayed with Jrue. I turned my back, spin move, and I got to my spot.”

Tatum has bailed the Celtics out a few times this season with clutch performances but this was special. New Orleans played Boston hard all game and Tatum once again was able to lift this Celtics team to a win.

Co-star Jaylen Brown also weighed in on the shot, crediting Tatum for making it.

“Tough shot,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “That’s what we need. It’s about time. We’ve got to come out and be aggressive. And big-time players make big-time plays, so that was big-time by JT.”

Boston will now go forward and see if they can take down an injury-riddled 76ers team. Philadelphia beat Boston back on Christmas Day but they will be missing a few key players in this contest themselves.

The Celtics are looking for more consistency on the court and getting another win here could go a long way.

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