In his last two games for the Boston Celtics, second-year player Carsen Edwards has taken advantage of the minutes he's been awarded.
So far this season, the sophomore guard has dropped 37 points while shooting 48.4% from the field in 60 minutes played. And in the last two matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, he's really shined, even scoring a career-high 18 points Sunday.
This was after he spent two weeks inactive thanks to some time in the NBA's health and safety protocols.
Wednesday, in Edwards' pregame media availability ahead of Boston's game against the San Antonio Spurs, the guard confirmed he did in fact have COVID-19.
"I don’t know what I’m allowed to talk about. But uh, yeah. I mean, I did. I did test positive and I had symptoms for a couple of days," Edwards admitted to reporters via a Zoom conference. "But then after that, I was kind of just -- I lost my taste and my smell, and then kind of after that, I was kind of quarantined for -- because the first two nights were rough, but after that I was just kind of on quarantine just trying to stay out the way and be healthy and get healthy. But I’m fine now. I feel better."
Fortunately, the side affects of the virus haven't seemed to linger, and his teammates have taken notice at the work he's put in.
“He’s playing like the Carsen we know – the Carsen at Purdue, with that confidence,” teammate Marcus Smart said Wednesday afternoon.
“For him to come back and play with that type of confidence the way he has, especially after coming back from that protocol, being gone for that long, is a good sign for him and us. It just shows the steps that he’s taking are heading in the right direction."
Edwards knows his contributions this season have been over a very small sample size, and that there is much work left to be done, but he's going to control one of the only things he can: how hard he plays.
“I just want to continue to work to try to be consistent with whatever opportunity I get. Just try to do the best I can with it," Edwards said.
"I think I’m making an approach to the game of just trying to play the right way and do the right things.”
