Five stats that define the Celtics’ first 55 games

The All-Star break is a great reflection point. It’s far enough into the year to make meaningful deductions about the team, while also providing a window of opportunity to make adjustments before the playoffs.

I wanted to take a moment to review some of the numbers behind the first half of the season, with some that may be flying under the radar.

Payton Pritchard’s shotmaking

It’s no secret that the 5th year guard has taken a leap, but Pritchard’s scoring is even more impressive that it may seem.

This season, Payton is averaging 129.1 points per 100 shot attempts, putting him in the 100th percentile among guards.

With two versatile combo guards ahead of him in the rotation, Payton has made himself uniquely valuable. His scoring output is absurd, and he frequently takes over pockets of the game. Even with Pritchard’s microwave scoring ability, he’s struck a great balance between on- and off-ball work.

81% of Payton’s 3PM are assisted, ranking him in the 26th percentile. By contrast, 24% of his rim makes and just 14% of mid-range field goals are assisted, placing him in the 93rd and 95th percentiles, respectively. Despite this self-creation, Payton is shooting 63.7% on 2-pointers—impressive, considering no other guard is above 60%.

He had a couple of off-nights before the break, but the spark of energy he provides can’t be questioned. Boston is at their best when Pritchard is empowered, and it’s clear his green light wont turn red.

Sam Hauser marksmanship

If you told me after the rough start that Sam Hauser’s 3PT% would climb 5% before the break… I would’ve believed you right away. Water always finds its level with Sam, and there’s never a reasonable time to panic when he hits a cold stretch.

In the first 15 games of the season, Hauser shot 34.9% from distance. In the last 15 games, he’s knocked down 46.6% of his attempts. This brought him back to 40% from 3 on the year, marking the fourth time in as many seasons that he’s sustained this marksmanship.

The last time Hauser finished a season under 40%, in any league, he was a high school sophomore that shot 2 for 6 on the season. That jumped to 52% on 142 attempts in his junior year.

Hauser rebounded from the early season back injury, and increasingly resembles one of the NBA’s foremost sharpshooters. Pritchard’s aforementioned scoring production has kept the bench in good shape, but when those two are clicking at the same time Boston’s offense is nearly…