Your Morning Dump... Where the Cs are Sick and (Soon to be) Tired

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline.  Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

“I thought they were more physical, I thought they attacked,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re supposed to be the physical team, we haven’t been against them. They’ve been far more physical than us. We have a great spirit on this team and I don’t think we had that [last] night. It happens. I thought . . . on the floor, we were awful - very little talking. And then a lot of excuse-making. That happens and it won’t be the last time. But that’s twice now Atlanta has been the better team.’’

Globe - Hawks Tops Celtics for 2nd Time

Rivers was happy to see House, who missed the previous game with a stomach virus. “But now we’ve got Tony feeling bad and Paul (Pierce) feeling bad,” said the coach. “I just think it’s going to run through the team, so we’re going to get through this probably in the next couple of weeks. Most likely every single guy will get sick at some point.”

...

“We’re just going to wait,” Rivers said before the 93-85 loss to the Hawks. “The only thing we do know is that historically with hyperextended knees, if you want them to be 100 percent you’ve got to allow it to heal 100 percent before you put him back in there.

“You can play him - Kevin could play today - but then it would just keep getting worse, keep getting tighter. We’re just not going to go down that road.”

Herald - Caution with Kevin Garnett

Was the Celtics lack of physical play partly due to the stomach bug making its way thru the team? Maybe, but I don't want to take anything away from Atlanta. I'm not sure if Rondo and Rasheed are sick, but both played last night like they had some type of virus.

It doesn't look like KG will be coming back anytime soon, and the schedule isn't getting any easier with four games in five nights: @Tor - Sun, ATL - Mon, @NJ - Wed, CHI - Thu.

On Page 2, will the Arenas/Crittendon fiasco force the Celtics to change their gambling policy?

“I am not going to that extreme,’’ Rivers said about banning gambling. “I think we always overreact to that stuff. Gambling didn’t cause that problem, Gilbert’s actions caused this problem. There has been gambling before I got in the league. There’s been arguments and obviously, because guys make more money now, the stakes are higher. But, having said that, our rule on the plane is they can do whatever they want as long as they keep it under control. They are going to have some arguments every once in a while, but if it divides the team, then it’s a problem.’’

Globe - Stakes on a Plane

And don't forget to vote for your favorite Celtics dancer. It's a close race between Alison, Ashley and Meghan.

The rest of the links:

CSNNE - Cs Plucked by Hawks Again | Herald - Celts Fall on Icy Patch | Celtics Blog - The Quarter that Doomed the Cs | WEEI - Rivalry Takes Shape in Loss | ESPN - Roy Leads Blazers Past Lakers