Boston Celtics: 3 C’s that underwhelmed during the 2019-20 season

Carsen Edwards

For the record, we are not saying that people should give up on the potential that Carsen Edwards possesses and what he could bring to the Boston Celtics at some point down the road. However, it must be said that Edwards — in our eyes — has been the most underwhelming player the C’s have had in 2019-20.

Coming into the season, the hype surrounding the rookie combo guard was enormous.

Despite averaging 24.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals with the Purdue Boilermakers in 2018-19, Edwards somehow dropped to the second round of the NBA Draft where the C’s nabbed him at 33rd overall.

From there, things only began to look more promising for the young guard, as he participated, and undoubtedly shined in the NBA Summer League where, per-36 minutes, he averaged 29.8 points per contest while shooting 46.7 percent from deep and netted a true shooting percentage of 64.3 percent.

With his impressive play, the second rounder earned himself a four year, $4.5 million guaranteed contract, which is all the more attention grabbing being that a first rounder’s contract is only guaranteed for the first two seasons.

We know it: you felt the hype; we felt the hype. We published numerous articles surrounding the guard’s fit in Brad Stevens’ offense and how much of a contributor he could prove to be right off the bat for the C’s.

"In terms of his fit with the team, Edwards seems to be the ideal player — specifically on offense. Brad Stevens’ system is heavily reliant on the point guard moving without the ball and getting open for a “catch-and-shoot” opportunity. Last season, the Boston Celtics finished third in this area, averaging 29.7 attempts from the field and 25.5 from deep. So how does this relate back to Edwards? In college, 12% of his shot attempts were off catch-and-shoots, where he managed to convert at an impressive 1.048 point clip per possession. With this, the combo guard saw himself finish within the 75th percentile of this statistic."

To say you weren’t excited to see the rookie play leading up to the regular season would be a lie.

Now, 64 games in, to say the combo guard has impressed you throughout his first year in the league would be as big of a lie.

Appearing in 35 contests with the team, Edwards has managed to average nine minutes a game while putting up three points and 1.2 rebounds on 33 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent shooting from deep.

Finding himself in and out of the G-League — where he actually was performing quite well, to the tune of 22.2 points on 43 percent shooting — throughout the year, Edwards has gone from an offseason standout to a mid-season afterthought.

He can barely find playing time when on the active roster and, when he does step on the court, he has show a propensity to struggle finding his shot — something he proved to excel at on every other level of the sport.

I get it; at just 22 years old, and in the midst of his first season in the NBA,  Edwards is still so young and has ample time to improve. Frankly, we believe here at the Houdini he can be a mainstay in the Boston Celtics’ rotation for years to come.

However, in order for this to wind up being true, the rookie’s got a lot of work to do.

Based on how highly he was viewed coming into the season in comparison to how far his stock has fallen, Carsen Edwards proved to be the most underwhelming Celtic in 2019-20.