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.
"Longo (Longabardi) will be the leader (defensively)," Rivers said shortly before participating in a celebrity golf tournament at the Weston Golf Club.
[…] "It was something I always wanted to do," Rivers said. "I always thought it was the right thing to do. Having spent a lot of time with the football coaches, you always felt they were ahead of the curve. They either hired an offensive or defensive coordinator. I thought if they do it with the amount of players they have, we should be able to do it with the amount of players we have."
CSNNE: Longabardi to be Celtics new defensive assistant
Right now, with no season in sight, at least any time soon, the Celtics' roster boasts seven names: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Jermaine O'Neal, Avery Bradley and Jeff Green. You could add an eighth by including No. 1 draft pick JaJuan Johnson, but he is not officially signed.
"We've got seven signed players," Rivers said Monday while attending the team's annual golf tournament benefitting the Shamrock Foundation at the Weston Golf Club. He said that was a concern.
ESPN Boston: Rivers on thin roster, defensive minds
Doc and Danny were golfing in the annual Shamrock Classic, which benefits the Celtics' Shamrock Foundation. And because we're in a lockout… and because David Stern has threatened million dollar fines… they can't say much. Part of me wonders if just saying "seven signed players" will draw his wrath.
The Celtics have a lot of work to do with their roster. And their 7th sign player, Jeff Green, is no guarantee to be back since he's a restricted free agent. So there's no possible way we can talk about what the Celtics really will or won't be until they get a few weeks to construct a roster.
The Longabardi thing will be overblown a little. The Celtics defense is going to be the same as long as Kevin Garnett is around. There's no way Longo is going to come in and scrap what's been done before… not if he wants to live past, I don't know, what is this guy… 18 years old? If he values his life, he won't make any major changes to the schemes. Where he'll prove his worth is if he catches things in-game so he can make adjustments. If he can't catch things until he's looking at the tape, then he's catching things too late. We'll also see how well new guys pick up the system. That's partly a function of a good coach… and if Longabardi is as good as we're told, we'll see the four, five or six new players this year pick up the defense at a good pace.
But Doc has placed a lot of faith in this guy and he's worked for a long time behind the scenes. It's not like he's giving someone like Chuck a shot at the job. This guy probably actually knows basketball.
The rest of the links:
WEEI: Longabardi is the new defensive coordinator | Herald: Slow play for idle C's brass | MWDN: Rivers playing the waiting game | Globe: Rivers, Ainge make most of free time
Photo: Celtics Twitpic
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