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.
“We made some bonehead plays,” Rivers said. “We leave Ben Gordon to trap. We rotate to Ben Wallace out to the 3-point line. We give up an offensive rebound on a free throw. Those three possessions to me changed the game. It went from a two-point game to an eight-point game, and to me, give a team that’s struggling for wins life, they’ll beat you. That’s what happened.”
“I said I was concerned going into the game, honestly, offensively, not having that big to stretch the floor, like Kevin and Brandon [Bass] do, and having two lower post bigs,” said Rivers. “I thought [Detroit coach] Lawrence [Frank] obviously knew that, and they trapped Ray and Paul every time they caught the ball, without really worrying about our bigs popping for shots, like we [typically] do.”
I was only able to watch the final 6 minutes of this game, but that (and reading through John’s game tweets) was enough to get a feel for what went wrong last night. Paul Pierce looked discombobulated on offense. One play that symbolized the lack of effort was the loose ball with 1:40 remaining in the game. Ray Allen reached down to get it, rather than hit the floor (Rajon Rondo did).
It’s hard to blame injuries when the effort is so piss poor, but as Doc Rivers points out, the Pistons capitalized on the absence of Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass. I guess we have to give credit to Lawrence Frank.
Last night’s loss did nothing to change my opinion of this team. They’ve always lost to bad teams, even during the dominant years (2008-10).
On Page 2, the Celtics wanted Jeremy Lin.
According to a source, the Celtics were poised to claim the Knicks sensation off waivers when he was cut by Golden State prior to the start of the season, but Houston chose ahead of them in the waiver order.
When Houston later released him, the Celtics were ready to make a move again, only for the Knicks to take Lin off the wire.
“I’m sure we looked at him, but Danny (Ainge) would have to answer that,” coach Doc Rivers said before last night’s 98-88 loss to Detroit. “I thought (Harvard coach) Tommy Amaker and I were friends. Maybe not. He never told me.”
Herald – Source: Celtics wanted to grab Lin
The Celtics have a full 15-man roster. Who would have been shipped out to make room for Lin? E’Twaun Moore? I don’t see it.
There’d be no Linsanity in Boston. Lin would be buried on the bench. And if he did play, he wouldn’t have the offensive freedom he’s currently enjoying in New York.
Related links: ESPN Boston – Doc on Linsanity: It’s a good thing | CSNNE – O’Neal: Lin has been tremendous | Celtics discuss Linsanity |
The rest of the links:
Globe – Something amiss | Garnett a late scratch | Wilcox contributed energy, points | CSNNE – Stiemsma: It’s still an honor to me | Talking points: Pistons 98 Celtics 88 | Pistons cruise by Celtics | Herald – Celtics lose w/o Kevin Garnett | Cs lost at home | ESPN Boston – Rondo: I made some, I missed some | WEEI – Wilcox is Duracell man | In glorious defeat, Rondo faces media music
(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
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