Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Celtics guard reveals 'sense of urgency' within the franchise

The Boston Celtics fell short in their quest for an NBA championship last season. Boston had come close the year before, losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. This summer, the Celtics have changed things up by adding Kristaps Porzingis via a trade. 

According to fourth-year guard Payton Pritchard, there is a sense of urgency within the Celtics heading into the new season. 

“I feel like guys are really motivated,” Pritchard told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “There’s a sense of urgency to do something special. And when you feel it, when you get that chance to win at this level, you’ve got to have a sense of urgency and work toward it.”

Boston has one of the best players in the NBA in Jayson Tatum. They recently signed Jaylen Brown to a supermax contract extension and Porzingis' addition created a new big three in the Eastern Conference. 

The Celtics have all the ingredients required to win a championship. They have experience, depth, elite talent and a deep coaching staff.

A sense of urgency is to be expected. This current Celtics core has fallen short on multiple occasions. They need to win if they want to keep Tatum around for the long term. 

The St. Louis native is a franchise-altering talent and has developed into a top-10 player since being drafted by the Celtics. However, as we're currently seeing with Damian Lillard, loyalty can only go so far when championships continue to pass you by.

The Celtics swung for the fences this summer. They want to get over the hump. Tatum wants to go down as one of the best players in franchise history. He needs to win championships to achieve that goal. 

This season is the perfect time for Boston to start living up to their billing as a contending team. Championship windows don't stay open for long. Urgency is the correct approach moving forward. 

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