In the Boston Celtics Friday night 131-98 blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets, Payton Pritchard scored a season-high 31 points to go with 11 assists — time for the guard to take the next leap in the playoffs.

Much like I said before, the Celtics do not have much depth on the team. Yes, the starting lineup is one of the best in the NBA from top to bottom, but it takes more in order to win a championship. And as the C’s sit at the top of the conference, they’ll need someone off the bench to step up in a consistent way in the playoffs — and Pritchard can do that.

The former Oregon Duck is now in his fourth season in the league and this season he’s averaging 9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 3.3 apg. He was a late first round draft pick and has almost been a roster filler that comes in during trash time for most of his pro career. This season he’s played more minutes thanks to the departure of Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon. Last season he expressed that he wanted a bigger role, and now it’s his time to capitalize on it.

The 6-foot-1 guard is undersized and is a defensive liability. He does have the handle, outside shooting and floor IQ on the offensive side enough to stay in the league. Being more consistent has also always been a problem for Pritchard, and accepting his role of not being a scorer will be important.

A concern I do have is when the C’s will play teams with good back courts. There’s a reason why the C’s struggle at times against the Hawks, and could run into problems against the Sixers. Those teams have multiple solid guards that are fast, taller, and stronger than Pritchard.

The rest of the C’s bench is abysmal. Al Horford is past his prime but can have moments of being solid, and Sam Hauser is a good shooter on a team full of better shooters. The rest of the roster has young guys that are just trying to fight to stay on a roster. It’s up to Pritchard to make a consistent impact off the bench against the better teams come playoffs.