Payton Pritchard appears to be hostile towards the team that took the Boston Celtics as NBA champions this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder ran through the entire league to win its first NBA Championship in June.
Thunder dominated the entire season, finishing with a 68-14 record, one of the best in NBA history.
And in the playoffs, they were able to lift the title while Lightning was being tested by the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers.
However, Thunder was criticized by fans and critics for their playing style. And it appears that Payton Pritchard is using these criticisms as ammunition to take shots with the reigning champion.
Payton Pritchard spoke to reporters after an intense practice session for the Boston Celtics.
He got an interesting tangent when he discussed the physicality of the session, where Pritchard had a neck wound.
Pritchard explained why the Celtics focus on being physical. He then pointed out how the Oklahoma City Thunder escaped with a foul and excessive physicality towards the title. The Celtics are trying to do the same to get ready for the playoffs.
“Looking OKC, they won the championship, they ran away with a lot of hands, fouls, a lot of physicality.
“It feels like the NBA is enabling more physicality in the playoffs, but you have to learn how to play through it and become more physical. We’re highlighting that. That was good.”
Thunder faces many criticisms of these criticisms. It’s about both its physicality and its response to physicality from other teams.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is called a foul artist by many people to draw fouls and reach the line very consistently.
However, Shy dismissed the validity of those criticisms, noting how he plays the right way, and his ability to draw a foul, is the talent he has worked on.
Tolerating criticism becomes much easier when you have the Larry O’Brien Trophy in your quarters. Therefore, Thunder will not make too much noise about these criticisms.