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.
Not even the most optimistic Greenheart believes this roster is ready to play in June.
In any case, we do know the deal was dead on Wednesday and that the other club pulled the plug. The locals left the porch light on, but nothing returned to life.
According to Herald sources, the Celtics did check on the availability of just about every major star, which is par for the course for most teams — though in the case of the C’s they had the currency in picks and players to lessen the ‘are-you-kidding-me?’ factor.
Said one league exec, “It’s like they took the All-Star roster and used it as Match.com.”
Steve Bulpett with a couple of articles well worth spending a bit of your Saturday morning on. There’s a nice dash of insider tidbits along with a realistic view of where the Celtics were on Thursday.
There are people who think that Danny should’ve “done something” before the deadline. These are probably the same people who would’ve complained even louder if Ainge had taken any of the absurd offers that were apparently out there, what with Atlanta and Houston not being able to decide what they want to do with themselves and everybody trying to fob off a failed free agent signing or bad trade on Danny in exchange for one of those juicy juicy Brooklyn picks.
Page 2: Where David Lee is out of work
“You want to help all of your guys have tremendous experiences and tremendous success having those experiences, but you can only play five at once,” Stevens said. “So, regardless, somebody or multiple people aren’t playing much or as much as they want. And that’s on every team, that’s every year. You try to put in enough time and work, and thoroughly evaluate it, figure out what’s best for the team. Sometimes you’re right and sometimes you don’t find the right formula for a while. So I wish it would have worked out better from a playing time standpoint, but I said he was a good pro, and he’s going to have great opportunity wherever he goes now.”
Brad Stevens with a quote that shows exactly why he’s able to get more out of his players than any other coach in the league.
However, David Lee earned his spot on the bench. After sitting out three games in January, Lee logged a terrible 2-12/-12 night against Memphis and didn’t play again.
Page 3: Where defense is a requirement
But make no mistake, defense is a requirement in Boston. From the first day he was hired in July 2013, Stevens attempted to instill what he calls a defensive DNA. And the No. 1 priority in establishing that is having every rotation player commit 100 percent to that side of the ball.
…
“If you are playing well on the defensive end, you are going to give yourself a shot, no matter what,” Olynyk said. “That’s what we need to do every night, gives ourselves a shot at the end. If we are playing good offense, we are going to beat teams. If we are not, then we need to rely on our defense to give us a shot to win.”
Chris Forsberg with a deep dive into Boston’s defense (we’ll pretend that last night didn’t happen).
Page 4: Jae Crowder gets a pair of his dad’s shoes
After the Boston Celtics arrived at shootaround, a member of the Jazz’s public relations staff approached Crowder to see whether he would like a pair of his father’s old game-worn shoes. Utah was one of two teams Crowder’s dad, Corey, played for over a brief NBA career. He averaged 2.2 points over 51 games with the Jazz as a rookie during the 1991-92 season.
“They walked up to me and said they had some shoes in storage, and asked me do I want them,” the younger Crowder explained Friday night before meeting the Jazz. “I said of course. That’s monumental and that’s something that I’ll cherish forever. I’m forever grateful for that.”
Great story. Although if the Jazz still have shoes from a guy who played 51 games for them 25 years ago, you have to wonder what else they’ve got. And why they still have it.
Finally: Stevens makes a point
Brad Stevens says he told the Celtics in the postgame locker room, “You’re a pro. There shouldn’t be any rust.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 20, 2016
Yep. That’s all you need to know about last night’s “game”.
The rest of the links–non game related:
MassLive: Boston Celtics trade rumors 2016: Jahlil Okafor was reportedly the mystery target | Boston Celtics rumors 2016: ‘In no rush’ to fill roster spot after waiving David Lee | Boston Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk got a haircut, expects to miss 3 to 4 weeks with partially separated shoulder
CSNNE: Deep Green: Isaiah Thomas’ Celtics journey | Stevens: More small ball forced Lee out of rotation
Boston.com: Lack of deadline moves shouldn’t worry Celtics fans
Boston Herald: Shane Battier sticks by assessment of Celtics’ Jae Crowder
The game postmortems:
MassLive: Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points but Boston Celtics outclassed by Utah Jazz, 111-93
CSNNE: Stevens: Jazz ‘hit us in the mouth and kept hitting us’ | Celtics drop first game after break to Jazz, 111-93
Boston Herald: Celtics give Jazz a break, trip and fall to start second half
Boston Globe: It’s foul ball for Celtics in zinging loss to Jazz
NESN: Brad Stevens: Jazz ‘Hit Us In The Mouth’ In Celtics’ Underwhelming Loss
