It’s been a sometimes confusing week for the Boston Celtics. 

Derrick White looked baffled when he got MVP chants Tuesday night inside TD Garden while shooting free throws against the Brooklyn Nets. Payton Pritchard came to the sideline on Friday night after two dominating first-half stretches against the Chicago Bulls and found a smiling Joe Mazzulla waiting with a hug.

Smiles and hugs? From Mazzulla?

It turns out the secret is pretty simple. Respond to the coach's challenges, and you might just get an in-game squeeze.

Pritchard grabbed only three rebounds, but one in particular jumped out to us during his first-quarter takeover. Pritchard tracked a long rebound and launched himself between both teammate Hugo Gonzalez and Chicago’s super springy Matas Buzelis to secure the ball.

Pritchard then broke out the other way in transition, accelerated past one Bulls defender, and took a bump from another while delivering an and-one layup that had Boston out front 40-21.

For the second time in a week, Pritchard had delivered a double-digit quarter against the Bulls. He finished the first quarter with 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting and added 2 steals on the defensive end. Pritchard went on to finish with a team-high 30 points on 9-of-17 shooting over 34:45.

"Joe challenged me and I feel like, in the first four games, my defensive activity and my rebounding has been poor,” said Pritchard. “So [Mazzulla was] challenging me to to step up in that area and I think the hug was for me to be like doing that and him being thankful I'm doing it … We've been through a lot together and so it's just great to keep it going, and then I stepped up to the challenge in that area.”

Despite his size, Pritchard has routinely ranked as one of the best rebounders on the offensive glass for his position. He’s been a bit more middle of the pack among point guards on the defensive glass, but that rate has plummeted to a career-low 5.4 percent to start the 2026-27 season, or nearly half his career rate. 

That one tough rebound in traffic on Friday night was a reminder of how being active on the defensive glass can help fuel Pritchard's overall output.

What’s more, Pritchard was credited with defending a team-high 14 shot attempts against the Bulls, who shot just 35.7 percent when he was the primary defender, or 7.9 percent below expected output.

"I think in tonight's game you saw the absolute best version of him,” said Mazzulla. “Now, that takes a ton of energy — not going to be able to do that every single night. But the sky is the limit for him. And, as we continue to grow as a team and he continues to grow as a player, being able to be a complete player on both ends of the floor really helps us take it to a different level.”

While further gushing about Pritchard, Mazzulla added: "I like pushing him.”

For one night, all that pushing led to an embrace.