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.
Being injured doesn't keep Perkins away from the gym. In fact, he makes two trips a day.
"I'm at the gym twice a day," he said. "Three hours for practice, three hours when I come back at night. For practice, I get there at 11 [a.m.]. At night I get there about 10, leave at 1 in the morning, something like that. We've got 24-hour access, so we've got to get it in."
[...] Perkins has made one of the most noticeable physical transformations on the Celtics over the years. After slimming down, he wants to maintain his conditioning while he rehabs.
"I do extra conditioning," he explained. "I don't think I can ever get too much conditioning, so I try to stay in the best shape possible. I work out with one of our strength coaches and we do different things every day -- exercise bike, elliptical, treadmill, stuff like that."
CSNNE.com: Four things to know about Kendrick Perkins' rehab
I keep trying to find the appropriate way to react to this... and the only thing I keep coming back to is "Perk is awesome!"
Kendrick Perkins is everything we want in a player in Boston. He gets the most out of his body despite not exactly being the most athletic guy out there. He will do anything to help the team, even if it means sacrificing his own personal stats. He is honest in every interview he gives. When he's hurt, he's still with the team. And looking at his rehab, he's in there twice a day for a total of SIX hours.
He spends SIX hours a day at the gym.
Remember when the idea was floated that maybe the signing of the O'Neals made Perk expendable? Yeah, you can flush that idea down the toilet. Perk's the starter. He's earning it now... and there's no doubt in my mind he'll earn it when he comes back.
Perk is awesome!
On page 2: Early fun with Miami after a heartbreaking loss last night
Bosh has to step up. This week.
By Christmas, if he hasn’t drastically changed his approach and production, Pat Riley will surely explore every option to move Bosh and acquire a goon.
OK, I’m not an NBA trade expert. I don’t fully grasp how you get the contracts to match up and the value of “expiring” contracts. I’m just going to suggest the kind of players who could make James and Wade as lethal as Jordan and Pippen.
Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao and Houston’s Luis Scola should be at the top of Riley’s wish list.
Varejao is ideal. He’s high energy. He’s 6-10. He’s played with LeBron. Scola is off to a ridiculous start in Houston, putting up 22 and 12 through six games. Scola (and Varejao) makes half as much money as Bosh. Scola and Jared Jeffries, a Houston sub and good passer, could make a huge impact in Miami. (Yes, I think Jeffries, in the right situation, can be an effective role player!)
By the way, the Heat aren’t the only Eastern Conference title contender who should be looking for a toughness upgrade. Orlando needs similar help. Sans Dwight Howard, the Magic are as soft as any team in the league.
If I’m Doc Rivers, I rest my stars all season, settle for a healthy playoff roster and the eight seed and expose the Heat and the Magic in the postseason.
Fox Sports: Heat might be better off trading Bosh
This was written by Jason Whitlock BEFORE last night's game... where Paul Millsap dropped 46 points in Utah's OT win AT Miami.
Of course, his idea that Bosh could be traded seems silly... and we already know that Doc is going to do whatever it takes to get healthy come playoff time.
No, this excerpt is just a way to get the ball rolling as some Nelson Muntz-type pointing and laughing.
Miami is now 5-3... 3rd in the Southeast. They have as many losses as the Cleveland Cavaliers right now. Their losses came to Boston, New Orleans and Utah. Care to guess what those teams have in common?
Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul and Deron Williams dropped 17, 19 and 14 assists respectively on Miami. KG had 10 and 10 while holding Bosh to 8 points. Emeka Okafor dropped 26 and 13. And I already mentioned Millsap's night.
Yes, it's WAY too early to draw any real conclusions from this. It would be INSANE to draw anything from this other than what most of us said would happen: the Heat are a new team trying to figure things out and they've got some glaring weaknesses at the point guard and on the blocks.
This isn't to say they won't figure things out. They might. But after all the pomp and circumstance from this summer... from "The Decision" to Bosh's Twitter anticts to the premature celebrations... the Heat deserve to be mocked. They deserve to lose tomorrow, drop to 5-4 and suffer their first losing streak of the season. They deserve to be torn down after building themselves up. And then we'll see what happens.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Celtics' best to come | Globe: Assist will be welcome | CSNNE: Veteran Celtics rack up minutes early this season | ESPN Boston: No second chance for C's in Monday's loss | Celtics Town: My early season evisceration of Nate Robinson | Celtics Blog: A deeper look at Avery Bradley