Payton Pritchard might be a kind of Bizarro Samson.
“I got a haircut this morning,” he said, explaining how he got out of his funk on his way to a 24 point night on 75.8% true shooting (which factors in 3-pointers and free throws) in a blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies.
If less hair makes Pritchard feel better, then maybe Joe Mazzulla should get him a set of clippers for Christmas. I might counter that the opponent had something to do with it. The only title the Grizzlies are contending for this season is ‘league’s biggest disaster.’ And they came around at just the right time.
“I was very disappointed with myself these past two games. Kind of down in the dumps a little bit,” Pritchard told reporters after smashing Memphis Wednesday night. "Didn't feel like myself at all. Going home last night, woke up this morning just hungry to attack this game and get back into the flow, get back into the rhythm … It was more like me tonight."
The Celtics have been preaching “process over results” for a very long time. Brad Stevens brought “kaizen,” the Japanese philosophy of incremental progress for long-term results, with him when he became coach. It’s painted on one of the cross-beams at the practice facility weight room. But the process needs results along the way to keep moving forward.
I can sit at a blackjack table and make every right decision all night long, but I’ll still lose my money if the cards don’t go my way. At some point, these guys need to see shots fall, passes find their mark, and leads start to grow.
“Absolutely. I think it kind of rewards you as you go along,” Luka Garza said. “I think that’s the nature of it and that’s just how it works. With the shooters we have, we know the results are coming. We’ve seen it at different points. Some days it’ll be one guy’s night, then it’ll be another guy’s night. That’s just what happens when you have a great team with the high-level shooters we have. It’s obviously a little bit of both, but the process is the most important part.
Yes, the process is the most important part because that's what ultimately leads to the results. Mazzulla is the first one to talk about creating a process that leads to winning, but he’ll also say that winning is the most important thing.
That is, after all, the point of sports. It’s a competition to see who wins and who loses, and those who lose end up in a bad mental place, especially if they think they should be winning. The guys who are supposed to help the winning the most can be especially vulnerable.
“I was frustrated, obviously, especially when you think you're getting good looks that you should knock down,” Derrick White said of his early-season struggles. “I still got a long way to go. Just that I shot it well today doesn't mean anything. But just trying to trust the process, trust my form, continue to get those good looks and sticking with it. So it's definitely frustrating, but it's all part of the journey I guess.”
Yeah, but journeys can suck sometimes. Sure, you can hike to the top of a mountain and revel in the glory of a 360 degree view of the best mother nature has to offer, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t blisters, bug bites, or injuries along the way. There is satisfaction in getting to a destination, but sometimes the hike can be more of a slog.
“I think I've tried almost everything, just trying a little bit of everything, trying to break out of it,” White said. “But everybody around me has definitely been supportive … so just having people in my support system that are texting me, talking to me, believing me, and it all kind of helps me stay confident.”
Confidence comes from preparation, and NBA players shoot thousands of shots to prepare for the ones that count. The guys who hit a lot of those shots tend to find their way to hitting shots in games. Still, you can see the relief in the faces of guys who finally hit one after a long cold stretch. The “it’s about damn time” face is hard to hide.
Confidence also comes from experience. By the time these guys get to this level, they’ve lived through all kinds of slumps. It’s still tough to go through, and there is a lot of relief when the shots start falling again. But life has also taught us that the shots will, eventually, start falling again.
“I actually have gone through it a lot,” Pritchard said. “My fourth year, when I started playing again after I just signed a new contract, I think I went through a five-game stretch I didn't hit a 3 or even have a bucket. I think I went five games straight without scoring, and people started questioning whether I was worth the contract, or should I even be playing? I was really down that time, but then getting through it, once I got through it, I started to get better and better and better. So there's gonna be low points, and it's just, don't let it break you. You just grow from it, learn from it and get better from it.”