Let me first state emphatically that I have nothing against gunners - as long as they hit a percentage in the mid-40's and pass the ball occasionally. As Kevin McHale once said of his good friend, Danny Ainge, "We all liked to shoot the ball. Especially Danny." Did he ever. Ainge was one of the biggest gunners the Celtics have ever employed. Now comes Carsen Edwards to join the other Young Guns, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. If you have been watching Carsen in Summer League, you may have already picked up on the Ainge comparison, two players who have never regretted any of the many missiles they have fired.
Has their ever been a bigger gunner that Danny Ainge on the Celts? Tommy Heinsohn wasn't nicknamed Tommy Gun because he carried one. But no, Danny gets the award. Ainge had a career 47% average from the field to Tommy's 41%. Edwards averaged 52% in four Summer League games. Assists? Danny wins with a career 4.0 APG to Heinsohn's 2.0 APG. Ainge checks the right boxes and beats out Tommy Gun on the gunner issue.
But we may have found Danny's successor. There's a new gunslinger in Bean Town, and his name is Carsen Edwards. I have not seen the ball fly like this in Boston since Danny was sent packing by Red Auerbach. This Young Gun is all over the court but can stop on a dime and let it go. "Hold it high and let it fly" was the mantra of Keith (Jamaal) Wilkes as his character, Cornbread Hamilton, in the movie Cornbread, Earl and me.
Carsen does that. He has a fairly high release on his shot, and it leaves his hand before his defender knows what is happening. I would pay to see a shootout between Danny and his probable successor as Fastest Gun in Boston. Ainge begrudged McHale hogging the ball in the post - nicknaming him the "Black Hole". Once that ball went in to Kevin, it never came back out. Right now, I don't see that as Carsen's fate. Just some nostalgia for my older readers that I was forced to leave behind. Hope to reunite with them soon. Great to have you here, Carsen. Hold it high and let it fly!
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and Facebook
Photo via AP
Has their ever been a bigger gunner that Danny Ainge on the Celts? Tommy Heinsohn wasn't nicknamed Tommy Gun because he carried one. But no, Danny gets the award. Ainge had a career 47% average from the field to Tommy's 41%. Edwards averaged 52% in four Summer League games. Assists? Danny wins with a career 4.0 APG to Heinsohn's 2.0 APG. Ainge checks the right boxes and beats out Tommy Gun on the gunner issue.
But we may have found Danny's successor. There's a new gunslinger in Bean Town, and his name is Carsen Edwards. I have not seen the ball fly like this in Boston since Danny was sent packing by Red Auerbach. This Young Gun is all over the court but can stop on a dime and let it go. "Hold it high and let it fly" was the mantra of Keith (Jamaal) Wilkes as his character, Cornbread Hamilton, in the movie Cornbread, Earl and me.
Carsen does that. He has a fairly high release on his shot, and it leaves his hand before his defender knows what is happening. I would pay to see a shootout between Danny and his probable successor as Fastest Gun in Boston. Ainge begrudged McHale hogging the ball in the post - nicknaming him the "Black Hole". Once that ball went in to Kevin, it never came back out. Right now, I don't see that as Carsen's fate. Just some nostalgia for my older readers that I was forced to leave behind. Hope to reunite with them soon. Great to have you here, Carsen. Hold it high and let it fly!
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and Facebook
Photo via AP
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