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.
Despite being down 2-0 in their Eastern Conference semifinal, the Sixers still have better odds (12-1) of winning the NBA championship than the C’s (25-1).
Those are the odds according to Bovada, which also has Philadelphia with better odds than Boston to knock off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and win the East in the next series despite their current 0-2 hole. The Cavs lead the Toronto Raptors in their East semifinal, 2-0
So, I don’t think the Celtics are going to win the championship this year, and I don’t give them good odds to do much beyond make LeBron work his rear-end off for his whatever-consecutive-ith trip to the Finals.
But this? This is ridiculous! I mean, these guys have exactly one job, and apparently either they haven’t been watching the games or they haven’t been paying attention to the games when they’ve been watching them.
Philadelphia has to win four of five just to make it out of this round, and they’re still favored?
Bovada, I believe, trusts the process a bit too much. Either that or they figure there’s such a small chance of either team making it out of the east that there’s no point in updating the odds (it’s probably this)
Page 2: Where Jaylen’s sore and still a game-time decision
Brown, who said his hamstring was “a little tight; a little sore” following Boston’s practice on Friday, said he intends on playing in Game 3.
The biggest concern at this point is Brown returning to action and re-injuring it which could possibly sideline him even longer.
This season has basically given us Celtics fans PTSD. Jaylen Brown has a hamstring strain, I mean, I think I’ve done worse to myself just sleeping the wrong way.
And we’re freaking out. Like, there’s a chance that we’re going to be watching the game and his leg’s going to just come off Monty Python Black Knight style.
“They said that it’s one of those things; it’s gonna be uncomfortable,” Brown said. “They’re trusting me what I’m saying. I’m trusting what they are saying. It’s one of those things. You can’t really prepare for playing playoff-level intensity, you can’t simulate that.”
The question is, do we trust Jaylen’s trust in the medical staff’s trust in his account of how he’s feeling?
Finally: Larranaga’s in the mix in Charlotte too
Larranaga is one of general manager Mitch Kupchak’s top choices for Hornets job, according to the Observer. Kupchak, formerly the Lakers general manager, joined the organization just prior to the end of the regular season and fired former coach Steve Clifford last month.
Oof. Jay, I know you want a head-coaching gig, but do you really want it to be Charlotte? Charlotte is the NBA equivalent of a Styrofoam packing peanut. They exist pretty much to fill out the NBA’s roster of teams.
You’re going into a situation where your owner has conclusively demonstrated two things over the past decade and a half: 1) he can’t construct a team and 2) he can’t or won’t let other, smarter, people construct the team for him.
He hired Mitch Kupchak, who should, but does not get enough blame for destroying the Lakers’ future with the Dwight Howard and Steve Nash trades, and for a laundry list of ‘who cares?’ actions with regard to the team’s draft picks.
So Jay’s potentially working for a guy who is nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is, and that guy is working for an owner who is nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is.
That ain’t gonna end well.
(Side note: South Dakota native/Spurs assistant Becky Hammon is interviewing for the Milwaukee job. The stuff I just said about Charlotte? You can pretty much say all of that about Milwaukee too.)
The rest of the links:
Globe: Jaylen Brown sore, but ready for Game 3
NBC Sports: Rozier adds Drew Bledsoe to ‘Scary Terry’ short
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