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.
Pierce suffered the injury during a workout a few days before the hasty opening to training camp. He directed reporters to Google “bone bruises in the heel” to learn the timetable range for a return.
“It can be anywhere between three days, a week, three months depending on the amount of pain in there,” he said. “But I don’t see it being a month or two. Right now, I’m day to day. That’s the reason I came on the trip.”
“It’s been improving week by week. With regular bruises, it may be a couple of days. But when you’re dealing with a bone bruise on a place where I have to walk every day and apply pressure to it, maybe it slows down the healing process.”
Pierce has been out shooting after practice. His movements don’t appear flawed.
“I have no problem with the cutting movements, shooting,” he said. “I haven’t tried to run up and down yet full-court. That’s where I set myself back the first week of training camp. I was going up and down the court, and I landed hard on it. I just want to be more cautious.”
Herald - Watching the Truth hurt more
This injury has me scared sh-t. Two weeks of rest and Paul Pierce is still unable to run full court?
We witnessed just how important Pierce is to this team. Not only does he often guard the opposing team's best player, but he's the best Celtic at creating his own shot.
Don't expect any help from Mickael Pietrus until Friday.
Related links: CSNNE – Pierce is day-to-day | Globe – Pierce staying patient
On Page 2, this is the Rondo we want.
“This is the Rondo we want,” Rivers said. “This is what we talked about last year — getting to the free throw line, taking the shots when they’re open. I thought he was the aggressor in the game.
“So, yeah, this is what we (want). I don’t know if you can do that every night, but overall that’s the Rondo we want. It’s terrific.”
“It wasn’t design, just how the game went,” Rondo said. “I started off trying to get us in transition and get us some easy looks, get to the line, get us in the penalty early.”
The free throws were, however, part of a plan.
“I’m going to try to get to the line a lot more,” he said. “Some calls went my way early on, so I’ve just got to stay aggressive.”
Herald – Rajon Rondo dead-on as Paul bearer
If I was handing out grades, Rajon Rondo would get an A. The only negative to yesterday's performance was his lack of scoring in the 4th quarter, when Rondo had just two of his 31 points. While Rondo said he was trying to get his teammates involved, he must keep the "attack" mentality for 48 minutes.
Related links: ESPN Boston – Rondo's aggressive style welcomed by Doc | CSNNE – Rondo shines in loss
The rest of the links:
Globe – An entertaining package to open on Christmas | Bass hits the boards in debut | Knicks edge Celtics | CSNNE – Bah humbug | Garnett may face suspension for battle with Walker | Bass debute a bittersweet experience | ESPN Boston – Cs fall just short |
Image courtesy: AP Photo/Kathy Willens
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