Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas will make his Cavs debut on Tuesday at home against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue. Lue also said that Thomas will come off the bench and will have a minutes limit in his first game since last season’s playoffs.
The Cavs face Thomas’ former team, the Boston Celtics, on the road Wednesday, but Lue said that Thomas will not play in that game.
So Isaiah Thomas is making his debut tonight at home against the Blazers instead of making it tomorrow, on the road, versus the Celtics.
Seems fair to me.
The guy’s a Cleveland Cavalier now. The stuff he ‘owed’ us as fans of the Celtics last year, he now owes to fans of the Cavs. They’re his team (at least for the rest of the season), and they’ve got first claim on him. It’s thoroughly appropriate for him to make his season debut at home.
Sure there’s going to be Celtic fans who are going to be all bent out of shape about this–they’ll be saying that IT is ‘ducking’ the Celtics, and so on and so forth. They must think that IT still owes them something. He doesn’t.
I hope IT’s every bit as good as he was last season. I hope some team backs up the Brinks truck for him in the off-season (pretty sure it won’t be Cleveland). And if the Cavs beat the Celtics in the ECF this season and he’s one of the reasons why, I’m perfectly OK with that. That kid has put in the work and he ought to have a shot at a championship, and this year might be his best chance (certainly a better shot than if he was still with the Celtics).
ISAIAH THOMAS
Former #Celtics G Isaiah Thomas talks about not playing in Boston on Wednesday night and what kind of reception he'll get from @tdgarden fans. #wbz #Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/P5vhIhQylj— Scott Sullivan (@sullybunZ) January 1, 2018
The rest of the links about Isaiah Thomas
Boston.com | MassLive | Boston Herald
Page 2: Where Blakely’s got grades
JAYSON TATUM
Being selected with the No. 3 pick on a team that was among the best already, Tatum has had to prove himself not only to opponents but also to his teammates. He has made the transition to the NBA game look a lot easier than it really is, showing a level of confidence and comfortability with the team and the NBA as a whole that you don’t expect to see from a rookie let lone a rookie who is just 19 years old. He has been among the league’s rookie leaders in several categories in addition to ranking among the NBA’s top two or three players for most of the season in 3-point shooting. Grade: A-
Zuh?
An A minus?
Is this because he wore a tux to the game on Sunday and showed everybody up?
Finally: Joe Giza’s got me thinking about the old Garden
Joe Giza tweeted some old photos of the Garden on Friday & Saturday, and they’re definitely worth a second look.
📸 Final #Celtics game at the Boston Garden – May 5, 1995 vs Orlando Magic pic.twitter.com/YxQpLif2YN
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 29, 2017
Few more looks at the old Boston Garden pic.twitter.com/kMdSFagibw
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 30, 2017
Scanning some more old photos – Here's the Boston Garden setting up for Boston Blazers indoor lacrosse – early/mid 1990's pic.twitter.com/i4GmYOkkcL
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
A look at the old parquet floor in the Boston Garden #Celtics pic.twitter.com/4w1EuoIe4r
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
Old Boston Garden banners pic.twitter.com/tfdi3k9c3R
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
Locker room/dressing room at the old Boston Garden. Not sure which one. Not too different from what the #Bruins had for a changing area when they practiced in Wilmington before last fall pic.twitter.com/Iqh64AWiy0
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
Just a few more old Boston Garden pics pic.twitter.com/UbiiOUIOuo
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
Boston and Maine Railroad sign on the front of the old Boston Garden pic.twitter.com/OZGDs7YHjF
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
Here's me in front of a half-demolished Boston Garden.
You see kids (begin grumpy old man voice) in my day, we didn't have any fancy smart phones. We took pictures on film with crappy cameras and didn't know if they were in focus until weeks later. AND WE LIKED IT! pic.twitter.com/cA9s0ar1oN
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
Found this one of the old Boston Garden in the middle of demolition. Literally. pic.twitter.com/pIpMUZ65ih
— Joe Giza (@JoeGiza) December 31, 2017
I would love to see someone scrounge some old Boston Garden blueprints and recreate that place in 3D. My earliest Celtics memories are tied up in the trappings of that place. The weird stair-step pattern of the upper deck seating, the Panasonic ads. The folding tables with paper (or maybe cloth?) sheets stuck to the front of them advertising the Bank of Boston (est. 1784), and the floor. Definitely the floor. And the obligatory color commentary during every game about how Larry Bird and DJ supposedly knew where all the dead spots were, and where all the uneven joints were.
And someone repeating a legend about how it was bad luck to dribble across the leprechaun (only later did I realize that, well of course, it’s bad luck to dribble across the leprechaun–you bring the ball up the court on one side or the other to use the sideline as a protection against turnovers.)
And the banners. All of the Celtics banners, and all of the weird Bruins banners. Heck, I became a Bruins fan because of the old Boston Garden.
The rest of the link:
Our own John Karalis, on why the Celtics should be paying attention to the Grizzlies:
Celtics fans looking for a schadenfreude fix now that the Brooklyn picks are gone should start paying attention to the Memphis Grizzlies. They’ve got all the ingredients for a prolonged fall from grace… ownership strife, a disgruntled star, immovable bad contracts, and a lack of self awareness. This could be the perfect formula for yet another slow-burn fleecing by Ainge.
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