Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying a good morning dump.
Herald - No Bull: Celtics road to 72 tough“I don’t think it’ll ever be done again,” Kerr, who averaged 23.4 minutes off the bench for those Bulls, said recently. “Every year somebody gets to 28-3 or something and then the talk starts, but it’s just too hard. And there’s really no reason to try because, I mean, it can wear you out. And if you win 72 and you don’t win the title because you’re so beat up emotionally, it’s not worth it.
“The reason we did it was because Michael (Jordan) was just on a mission because we had lost the year before. He was a man possessed. He was (ticked) at the world. He wanted to re-establish his dominance, so he just never let up.
“I don’t know why the Celtics would push themselves that hard,” Kerr added. “They’ve got some guys who are older.”
Steve Kerr is wrong. Someone will do it again. We've seen teams in the high-60 win totals... there's no reason to think a team like that can't win 5 or 6 more games over the course of the season.
And Kerr missed one other key element: The watered down NBA thanks to an expansion year. Toronto and Vancouver joined the league that year. They'd be the 5th and 6th franchises to join the league since the 1988-89 season. So in 7 years, the NBA had taken 72 players that never belonged in the NBA and gave them jobs... while spreading the rest of the talent throughout the rest of the league.
It was the perfect storm... and THAT won't happen again. But even now that the talent has caught up... some team will at least get to 72 at some point. It's bound to happen. The Celtics probably won't do it this year. I'm glad no one has that Jordan-esque chip on their shoulders to waste themselves pursuing something like this. But someone WILL do it again.
Up next, Page 2... where the Celtics really have TWO winning streaks going.
Celtics rookie Lester Hudson scored a game-high 25 points in his NBDL debut as the Maine Red Claws defeated the Erie BayHawks, 81-77, on Wednesday night. Hudson, who was assigned to the NBA Development League on Tuesday, premiered with an impressive stat line: 8-19 FG, 4-9 3PG, 5-6 FT, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block. He had previously scored a total of 11 points in 13 games with the Cs.
Hudson was assisted by fellow Celtic Bill Walker. The forward scored 16 points off of 7-for-18 shooting and grabbed six boards. Walker entered the game leading the Red Claws in scoring and rebounding.
Just as the Celtics are riding a winning streak, the Red Claws have won their last six games.
Jess Camerato: Hudson impressive in NBDL debut
Get ready for the "Hudson should be playing in Boston" talk.
I agree... I'd like to see at least a few minutes of Hudson. I think he's at least good enough to give the C's 10 good minutes. But then you run into the argument of whether its better for a guy to maybe get a few NBA minutes... or 30 D-League minutes.
And as Loy's Place points out, you can watch these guys for yourself on NBA Futurecast.
The rest of the links:
Globe: Big 3 have company | MWDN: C's have plenty to smile about | CSNNE: Buyer's remorse? Not for C's | Baby not back till January | Celtics Hub: Signs of Mortality