Ime Udoka confirms Payton Pritchard’s broken nose; expects him back for season opener – with a mask

The Oregon product will channel his inner Rip Hamilton for a time.

At some point in most of our lives, we’ve been hit in the nose hard enough to realize that it is not among the better places to receive the brunt of any kind of significant impact, and certainly not a human extremely moving with purpose and speed.

But that is exactly what happened to Boston Celtics second-year guard Payton Pritchard near the end of the first half against the Orlando Magic in Wednesday’s penultimate preseason exhibition game, with Magic forward Iggy Brazdeikas clipping the Oregon product with visible force, forcing Pritchard’s exit from the game and eventually the remainder of Boston’s preseason slate.

Sent home to Boston to be evaluated, the West Linn native will not be available for Friday’s preseason contest against the Miami Heat, but head coach Ime Udoka did give an update as to the state of Pritchard’s nose while speaking to the press ahead of the game.