Thanks to an offseason rule change, Payton Pritchard impressions have become more common around the NBA this season.
The league decided this summer to no longer count end-of-quarter heaves against players’ shooting percentage. That’s made shooters more likely to attempt those long-range prayers — and, according to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, changed the way teams need to defend them.
Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Boston let Quentin Grimes get free for a 37-footer that beat the third-quarter buzzer. The low-percentage make cut the Celtics’ lead from nine points to six in a game they went on to lose 102-100.
Mazzulla brought that play up during Friday’s practice to drive home the importance of not relenting at the end of quarters.
“Today, we talked about Grimes’ heave at the end of

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