Boston Celtics rookie Carsen Edwards’ on-ball defense took the team out of its offense ’all week’ in practice

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/07/boston-celtics-rookie-carsen-edwards-on-ball-defense-took-the-team-out-of-its-offense-all-week-in-practice.html



Boston Celtics rookie Carsen Edwards’ on-ball defense took the team out of its offense ’all week’ in practice




Updated Jul 7, 7:20 PM;
Posted Jul 7, 2:23 PM




By Tom Westerholm | twesterh@masslive.com




LAS VEGAS -- A casual look at Boston Celtics rookie Carsen Edward’s college highlights will tell you that he can score, and sure enough, Edwards put up buckets in his Celtics debut on Saturday.

Edwards dropped 20 points on the Philadelphia 76ers, leading the Celtics to a 96-82 victory. In the process, he showed many of the characteristics that made teams like the Celtics sit up and pay attention -- explosiveness, deep range and impressive body control to stop and pop on a dime, which bailed the team out in a couple of late shot-clock situations.


“I did accomplish what I wanted to do with winning,” Edwards said after the game. “I just want to make an impact on the team and help us win. My first experience is a blessing, man, so happy to be here. Just to put on that jersey and be out there.”

But Edwards’ defense stood out on Saturday, perhaps brighter than his offense. The stocky guard can absorb contact from ball-handlers, and when opposing guards put the ball on the floor, Edwards can get low and force turnovers without committing fouls. Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson noted that while Edwards is just 6-foot-0, he has a 6-foot-6 wingspan, which -- combined with his sturdy frame -- makes him a headache as an on-ball defender.

Edwards’ defense has been so good, the Celtics have had trouble practicing their Summer-League offense.

“We know he’s fearless from watching him play in college, but it’s hard to see the toughness on TV,” Celtics Summer League coach Scott Morrison said after Saturday’s win. “He’s getting into bodies and taking teams out of their offense. He’s taken us out of our offense all week in practice when he’s been on defense, and I thought he did a good job again tonight just really disrupting their flow and making it tough for them to move the ball where they wanted to.”


With some help from Tremont Waters, who showed similar two-way promise at a similar position with similar concerns about his height, Edwards disrupted Philadelphia’s offense in the same way he messed with Boston’s. Philly’s guards struggled to get into their actions against Edwards, and he dug and recovered well from the perimeter.

“The defensive end is really important for him, mastering our concepts and being able to do the right thing in the right situation with what our scheme is,” Lawson said. “That’s No. 1, that’s most important. ...

“The one thing that Brad (Stevens) told us in working with our players (at Summer League) is we want them to have a great, firm grasp of foundationally who we want our team to be. So he’s working toward that. This was a great first step.”

That shines some light onto what the Celtics hope to see from Edwards this week. He has physical gifts (his lack of height aside), and he can certainly put the ball in the hoop. But the Celtics want their players operating within their defensive concepts to better prepare them for the regular season. Summer League promise is nice, but rookies need to show more than promise to get on the floor for a good team during the regular season.


“He’s got to continue to work at playing the actions the way we are coaching him to play them,” Lawson said. “So it might not be something you notice, but he might from a scheme perspective defend an action improperly. It wouldn’t look it to the eye, but he would do it a different way, so those are the types of things we’re working on, and we’ll watch film.”

The good news for the Celtics: Lawson doesn’t anticipate problems with Edwards’ enthusiasm or work ethic.

“He’s sharp, and he wants this badly," she said. "He’s very easy to work with in that regard, because you don’t have to motivate Carsen. He comes in motivated every day, so yeah, as I’m around him more and more, I’ve only been around him a week, but as I’m around him more and more, you see glimpses of a really well-rounded young man. ...

“It’s the first game, so I just really wanted to see him play with the same energy and the same confidence that he did at Purdue, because it’s a big jump for players to go from college to pro, even though this is Summer League and not the full NBA. So that was the first thing I looked for, and just kind of his body language, and how he looked like he was feeling. So that made me really happy that he was in that good place.”


Offensively, the Celtics just want to see more of the same for the time being. Once the regular season rolls around, Edwards may need to be more judicious with his shot selection, but Summer League is a place for rookies to be aggressive.

“I’d much rather have to rein someone in a little bit than turn them up,” Lawson said. “He wants to impact the game, he wants to be aggressive. We just have to harness that in the right way, and he has a chance to be a contributor for us.”



bob



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IF he can just be competent on defense , then I think he may surprise a lot of people.

thats a big If of course for any rookie, much less one 6' tall at best.

He (Edwards) has seemingly gotten the attention of the coaching staff, and that is probably the very first objective of any rookie. Good for this young guy, and we shall see what he can do to progress as a professional player.

With vets at PG already with Walker, Smart, and Wanamaker, there’s not too much pressure on him to regularly contribute. He certainly will have the opportunity if successful as both Smart and Wanamaker can guard wings as well but he doesn’t need to adjust to the nba right away for the Cs to be successful.

KyleCleric wrote:With vets at PG already with Walker, Smart, and Wanamaker, there’s not too much pressure on him to regularly contribute. He certainly will have the opportunity if successful as both Smart and Wanamaker can guard wings as well but he doesn’t need to adjust to the nba right away for the Cs to be successful.

he seems more like a short SG (ala A. Bradley) than a PG to me.

the guys likes to light it up, more than pass the ball. IF he get playing time it may be along Smart at the point.

kdp59 wrote:

KyleCleric wrote:With vets at PG already with Walker, Smart, and Wanamaker, there’s not too much pressure on him to regularly contribute. He certainly will have the opportunity if successful as both Smart and Wanamaker can guard wings as well but he doesn’t need to adjust to the nba right away for the Cs to be successful.

he seems more like a short SG (ala  A. Bradley) than a PG to me.

the guys likes to light it up, more than pass the ball. IF he get playing time it may be along Smart at the point.

Which is fine as long as he can guard 1’s. He’s also certainly a good enough ballhandler to set up the offense, unlike Bradley.

He can guard 1’s, this is gonna be a great pick, he’s gonna be somewhere between Eddie House and Vinnie the Microwave, he’s gonna spread the floor and hit a lot of 3’s.

Edwards gets into his man on defense like AB use to do. And he is a gunner. I want to see if he can be more of a facilitator.

He looks like a guy that will earn minutes.

cowens/oldschool wrote:He can guard 1’s, this is gonna be a great pick, he’s gonna be somewhere between Eddie House and Vinnie the Microwave, he’s gonna spread the floor and hit a lot of 3’s.

I see more Eddie House plus added bonus called defense

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:He can guard 1’s, this is gonna be a great pick, he’s gonna be somewhere between Eddie House and Vinnie the Microwave, he’s gonna spread the floor and hit a lot of 3’s.

I see more Eddie House plus added bonus called defense

Agreed and I think he can be better than Eddie....

dboss wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:He can guard 1’s, this is gonna be a great pick, he’s gonna be somewhere between Eddie House and Vinnie the Microwave, he’s gonna spread the floor and hit a lot of 3’s.

I see more Eddie House plus added bonus called defense

Dboss,

This might be some very apt comparisons.  Undersized lights out shooters.  The key to make that work is the ice water in the veins.  Eddie and The Microwave weren't just great shooters, they hit the big shots under pressure.  If Edwards can do that, and not be a complete liability on defense, then Danny absolutely pulled off a 2nd round coup.


bob


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