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.
Stevens is excited to have his starting lineup intact. But more importantly than that, maybe, Crowder gives his team a bundle of versatility. He starts at the three and can shift over to the four in small lineups, and he can guard several positions.
“So you can now mix and match,” Stevens said. “You can do different things with guys. You can play three of your perimeters together with Jae. You can play big and play two of your bigs with him. It just gives you a lot of flexibility that otherwise we don’t have much of.”
Like so many games from that midseason slump, last night’s game was one of those ‘shoulda won’ games that the Celtics have coughed up far too often this season. At this point the total would’ve put the C’s comfortably in the three seed, and possibly knocking on the door of the number two spot (think of the inexplicable losses to Brooklyn, to Los Angeles, the 20 point lead squandered in Memphis, and so on and so forth).
Oh well, it’s a young team and hardly one built to win now.
Still, you almost wish they would’ve called the game after 47 minutes and that too sweet Crowder three.
Page 2: Where Avery and Isaiah miss the Sonics
In 2008, when Bradley and Thomas were just teenagers, the Sonics relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City and were rebranded as the Thunder. Even eight years later, the sting from the move still lingers in the Pacific Northwest.
“Yeah, that hurt,” Thomas said. “That hurt kids’ childhoods, man, not growing up with a professional basketball team like everyone else had. It’s tough now, and Portland is the closest team to them. I’m glad I was raised on Sonics basketball.”
Bradley said basketball fans in the Seattle/Tacoma area have tried to maintain their allegiance to a team that no longer exists. They still consider themselves Sonics fans and still wear Sonics hats and shirts.
Elsewhere I’ve detailed a plan by which Bradley and Thomas can get their hometown a bit of payback.
Also, ‘not growing up with a professional basketball team like everyone else had’? Man, IT, you gotta get out into flyover country and get some perspective! Why, did you know that there are whole states that do not have professional basketball teams? (Missouri, Iowa, New York, Wyoming–just to name a few….)
Page 3: Let’s not forget who the real sleazeball is
Young is the one allegedly cheating on his future wife. He’s the one bragging about it to his teammates. He’s the one who is ruining lives in this situation. Young dug his own grave and wrote his own epitaph. Russell just sped up the funeral by capturing it on tape.
Matt Barnes’ vocal support of the ‘guy code’ (I’m assuming you’ve seen the instagram post–if not, I’m not going to link to it) coupled with Nick Young’s conduct here deserves to be highlighted in all its disgusting hypocrisy.
Let’s take a look at what’s at issue here.
D’Angelo Russell–who has apologized to just about every person on the planet over the past couple days–is accused of violating Nick Young’s trust.
Violating the trust of a guy who is bragging about violating the trust of his fiancee–in a far more serious matter.
What right does Nick Young have to be upset with Russell and not be even more upset with himself? Anyone who is more offended by Russell’s conduct than Young’s is pretty much subscribing to the same ethical standards as Matt “violence is never the answer but sometimes it is” Barnes.
This is a worldview in which women are property, incapable of exercising their own judgment, valuable only for the status ‘possessing’ a significant number of them confers or for the physical work they perform.
It is a way of viewing women that should be incredibly offensive to anyone who has been on the receiving end of racial prejudice–anyone who has had to deal with the legacy of a country in which a wide swath of the populace held exactly those views about blacks for centuries.
Frankly, any right thinking person should be offended by a ‘guy code’ in which women are considered property to such an extent that a man’s ex- is “off-limits” to his friends unless he gives his okay; or a ‘guy code’ in which a trivial breach of confidence between ‘guys’ is considered to be more serious than any violation of the trust of another human who happens to be a woman.
Sorry to get on a soap box about this, but this crap really really irritates me.
Finally: Let’s watch that Marcus Smart tip in forever.
A left-handed, fallaway shot on an inbounds play? No problem. 0.6 seconds on the shot clock? Still no problem. pic.twitter.com/IS7pglOJaF
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 1, 2016
The rest of the links
Boston Herald: Celtics notebook: Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas sound off for Seattle club | Celtics give up late loss to Blazers
Boston Globe: Trail Blazers rally to get by Celtics
Boston.com: Celtics co-owner: ‘Appropriate’ for NBA to consider status of 2017 All-Star Game
MassLive: Boston Celtics’ Jae Crowder (ankle) hopes to play against Golden State Warriors | Jae Crowder returns with double-double, but Boston Celtics lose late lead to Portland Trail Blazers and fall, 116-109
CSNNE: The #86Celtics: Simply Perfect | Celtics defense lets Blazers off the hook | Behind enemy lines: Similarities between Lillard, Thomas
98.5 The Sports Hub: Ainge On Celtics Postseason, D’Angelo Russell Video, Coach K Controversy
