Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
DeMarcus Cousins demonstrates exactly what not to do after throwing a turnover: https://t.co/VJGQtIqd3B
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) December 4, 2015
Cousins isn’t in frame very long because, as at most sporting events, the camera follows the action.
The Celtics were efficient offensively in the second half and battered the Kings’ lazy defense with ball movement. Boston shot 47.6 percent.
And the Celtics had little trouble with Cousins, who was limited to 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting and did not play in the final 16 minutes.
While the Kings were officially the home team, the Mexico City crowd was partial to the Celtics, who jumped out to a 39-19 lead and never let the Kings within single digits.
“Big-time effort, we jumped on them early,” Crowder said. “We played with a lot of energy, no matter the circumstances and altitude. We fought through it and came out with the victory. We knew it was going to be tough for us, it shows that we have a goal to reach. It shows we’re growing as a unit.”
One of the stats that pops up from time to time in the Celtics twitterverse is the truly astounding fact that the Celtics’ margin of victory this season is higher than Golden State’s:
Celtics average margin of victory this season: 16.9 points. Warriors average margin of victory: 15.4 points. #CelticsTalk — Dave Green (@DavidMGreen) December 4, 2015
When the Celtics are playing their style of ball, as opposed to, say, what went down in Orlando on Sunday, they have a knack for completely demoralizing certain types of team. Teams where the coach is on shaky ground, for instance, have been just throttled by the Celtics this season (Washington twice, Houston and now Sacramento). Teams with injuries and depleted benches (Miami, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee) haven’t done that well against the Celtics either.
The challenge for the players on this team is consistency on defense. This is a young team that needs to fully commit to something Brad Stevens has been saying for years, “winning’s really hard.” You don’t have to throw yourself around so much that you’re off the court dealing with injuries more often than you’re on it (looking at you, Marcus), but every guy on this roster has to be prepared to outwork the guy in front of him on defense–it’s the only shot the Celtics have to be anything other than average.
Page 2: Marcus Smart’s knee still smarts.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Marcus over the last couple of days and he’s been working out and doing his therapy,” Ainge said. “I don’t know a timetable, you never know, Marcus will be the only one that will know when his leg will be completely healed. But the good news is there’s no surgery needed; it’s more like a bad sprain and he just needs time to get it healthy. It’d still probably be another few weeks, I’d guess.”
By the way, before anyone starts tagging a second year player as ‘injury prone’, remember this observation recorded by a former Boston sports blogger about a player then in his fourth year:
All right, what’s really going on with Curry’s right ankle?
Turns out it was just fine, Bill. You can get too wrapped up in injuries early in a player’s career. Sometimes surgery’s needed (when was the last time we heard about Avery Bradley’s shoulders or Jared Sullinger’s back?), other times other things need to change. Marcus Smart’s injury history wasn’t a red flag when he was drafted. It seems more likely that he needs to adjust his style of play.
Page 3: Danny Ainge would pick Duncan over Kobe
Asked if Bryant will go down as a Top 10 player, Ainge would only say he’s in the discussion. And if he had a time machine and could pick either Tim Duncan or Kobe Bryant to start a team, Ainge didn’t have to give much thought.
“Tim Duncan,” he replied.
Now you could spin this as nothing more than grist for the mill in the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, but I ask you, in what universe is this not be the right call? Kobe is going out with a display of selfishness that is in every sense befitting one of the most selfish players the game has ever seen. Sure, it’s fine for Dan Devine to write-off an entire season in the history of one of the sports’ most storied franchises as a humongous ‘Viking funeral‘ for Kobe’s career, but in what way is this the conduct of a guy you’d like to build a team around? Yet, this is who Kobe’s been all along.
Page 4: FOR SALE Unused Draft Pick. No Reasonable Offer Refused!
Wyc “Fireworks” Grousbeck decided to spend his Thursday afternoon talking to Felger and Mazz–and an assortment of call-in listeners. He talked at length about building a team as opposed to tanking and hoping, and offered these thoughts on keeping the Nets pick or dealing it:
“We’d love to make an amazing trade in February and become contenders. If we could do something transformative in February or June that would speed it up, I’m all for it.”
You hear that other GMs? Make the call. Wouldn’t you rather sell all the hope and wishful thinking that a draft pick provides instead of having your boss and fans complain about how you’re not winning enough games with that proven superstar on your team?
Finally: Kelly Olynyk has a Mexican fan club
Kelly Olynyk loves Mexico. https://t.co/rn4MZglEvI
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) December 4, 2015
The rest of the links
ESPN Boston: Isaiah Thomas outdoes Rajon Rondo in matchup| Celtics tribute for Kobe? Owner jokes about showing 2008 Finals highlights
CSNNE: Celtics put together solid performance to beat Kings, 114-97
