Payton Pritchard, Celtics’ bench handles Hornets with relative ease: 7 takeaways

Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) heads up court after making a 3-pointer during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)The Celtics put together an impressive performance without any of their top six players available on Friday, blowing out the Hornets 131-98 in their penultimate game of the regular season.

Here are the takeaways.

1. Before the game, Joe Mazzulla told reporters Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet would start, along with two mystery players. Those two proved to be Svi Mykhailiuk and Jaden Springer.

It’s not clear whether the starters will play at all on Sunday, but our guess…