Patience, development of Pritchard paying off for the Celtics

Payton Pritchard has seemingly picked up where he left off from last season's title run, tallying 21 points off the Celtics bench in their 107-103 preseason win over Denver in Abu Dhabi.

The Celtics have plenty of proven ballers, but it’s the steady development of players like Payton Pritchard that’ll help secure a second straight NBA title. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

When you see a team built the way the Boston Celtics are, player development isn’t one of the first things that comes to mind.

And yet, when you start to uncoil Boston’s 107-103 come-from-behind win over the Denver Nuggets in the first preseason battle for both teams, this game ultimately came down to which team had better end-of-the-bench depth.

And that battle, like the game overall, was won by the Boston Celtics.

But more than the win, it speaks to how Boston has positioned itself to not only repeat as NBA champions but also stay in the title hunt for many years.