One of the most surprising rookies so far this season, Payton Pritchard has been put in a great position to succeed by the Boston Celtics.
The Sixers believed last season that a big, talented defense would pave their path to contention. It didn’t quite work out that way, of course, as the team finished with the NBA’s eighth-rated defense and fell short of expectations on many fronts.
Chicago Bulls Face Masks
nba-facemasks.com
Nba Face Mask Price
It has been an up and down two weeks for the Blazers, but there wasn't much they could do about Sunday's game against the Warriors. After beating them in San Francisco two days earlier, they played Golden State again and watched Steph Curry go supernova with 62. The Blazers' bench is a question, particularly on the defensive end, with heavy minutes for Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter. But one thing that has been a bright spot to open the season is CJ McCollum's aggressive play. A notorious slow starter, McCollum has come out of the gates hot. -- Young
Curry, who was originally selected by the Warriors with the seventh pick in the 2009 NBA draft, is currently in the midst of a five-year, $201 million supermax extension signed in 2017. As ESPN's Bobby Marks reported, the max extension Curry is eligible for would be for three years and $156 million. It would start in 2022-23.
Payton Pritchard - The 6-foot-1 guard balled out on Monday night vs the Pistons, notching career highs with 23 points and eight assists in 32 minutes. He went 8-of-13 on field goal attempts, 2-of-4 from deep and 5-of-5 from the line. His 23 points are the most by any rookie this season and came in just his eighth career. For the record, Tatum didn’t accomplish that feat until his 53rd career game. Not bad for the late first-rounder. Pritchard’s minutes spike came with Smart and Teague missing the game with injuries. And though Smart is likely to return on Wednesday, PP has arguably been better than Teague early on, and he certainly outplayed Tremont Waters who started for the Celtics in place of Smart and had a subpar night. Pritchard is currently available in 90% of Yahoo leagues and could eventually elevate into Boston’s backup point guard position. Brad Stevens seems to trust the soon-to-be 23-year-old rookie who has his fair share of big-game experience from his collegiate days in the NCAAM Tournament.
Atlanta Hawks Face Masks
The two teams have played each other 410 times since 1950 when the Sixers became part of the NBA. This includes 21 playoff series–13 won by Boston and seven won by Philadephia–as well as six rubber match games, and the victory of these matchups and ten times the winner has gone on to win the championship.
Sacramento Kings Face Masks
Stephen Curry caught fire Sunday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, pouring in 62 points on 18-of-31 from the field and 8-of-16 from behind the arc, aided by a career-high 19 free throw attempts. It was a perfect example of how Curry’s role has changed this year and an incredibly bright spot in what has been a frustratingly uneven start for the Warriors.
Los Angeles Lakers Face Masks 
