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.
“Every time somebody sits out now, somebody thinks it’s for rest, and I’m not one of those guys,” the Celtics guard, clearly feeling caught in the crossfire, said last week. “Not to put anything against those guys, but I’m not one of those guys. I don’t ever want to rest.”
The issue stemmed from the Celtics’ decision to leave Thomas behind for treatment on a bruised right knee during a road trip through Brooklyn and Philadelphia last weekend. Noam Laden, the father of a devoted 13-year-old Thomas fan named Gabe, went on Twitter the day before the Nets game to express disappointment.
[…] “That guy didn’t understand what it was — he was coming at me like I was taking a rest, like I was one of those guys who rest — and I was kind of upset at it because he tweeted me numerous times, like trying to call me out,” said Thomas. “I’m not a guy who is going to take a rest. I had to stay back here to get treatment because I was not able to play, and if it was a playoff game, we would have figured out some way to play.”
Herald: Murphy: Isaiah Thomas rages against rest
I am definitely one of the people who put “knee bruise” in quotes. It’s not that I disputed that he hurt his knee and there was some pain. However the “if it was the playoffs, I’d play” thing just tells me that it was not a huge deal and the opportunity to keep Isaiah home to get a little extra treatment and maybe some extra sleep in his own bed was very conveniently taken.
I’m not going to go off the rest vs. playing thing for the third week in a row. My stance is pretty clear on this: I understand all sides have valid arguments but I’m always going to skew towards player safety. Until a new schedule is in place and some of these grinds of travel are reduced, this will be how things go.
Isaiah is an interesting dude, though. He doesn’t take personal sleights lightly. The years of shoulder chips create a higher sensitivity to any perception that he’s anything but a 100% effort guy at all times. He has made it clear that he wants to be on the floor at all times.
I wonder what would happen if Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge sat him down and said “you’re not going on this road game. Stay home to rest.” I wonder if he’d try to fight them both.
Of course, these are mostly team decisions, and the Celtics can simply say “stay home” and he’d have to. They’re going to make him inactive anyway in that situation so there’s not much to fight. But it’s admirable to have that desire to play all the time.
In the end here… it’s Isaiah being Isaiah. He’s a scrappy guy that never backs down from anything, and he’s certainly not the type to ask for time off just to take time off. I still think that Brooklyn/Philadelphia trip had a rest element to it, but I think that was a convenient opportunity for the team to do it around a minor injury.
Page 2: Watching the standings… but don’t worry so much about seeding
The Cavaliers lost last night… but to Washignton… so let’s take a look at how things shake out
So Washington’s win keeps them two games behind Boston and just one game ahead of Toronto. The Celtics, meanwhile are now a half game out of first and a win tonight over Miami (the current 8th seed) would put them in a virtual tie with Cleveland (Boston would have one more win, but also one more loss). And of course… the C’s play Cleveland again, which I reminded people on Twitter last night and got some of these responses…
so in a perfect world we'd get 1st an hope Toronto moves into 3rd?
— BLANCO (@MILLYZ) March 26, 2017
My answer to this specific question is that I think Toronto will actually slide back into the third seed, so if we’re hoping for a Washington matchup, then we’re probably gunning for that top seed.
But in a broader sense, it doesn’t really matter what seed the Celtics get so long as they play well. The goal for the Celtics at this point is to get solid, consistent play from its starters. Meanwhile, we can get all caught up in rooting for certain things to happen and suddenly the 3 and 4 seeds flip. Or what if Cleveland’s slide continues? Or what if we root for a matchup with Toronto and DeRozan gets hurt?
There’s so much out of control with the seeding that it’s pointless to root for the myriad of possibilities that exist. A series against Toronto or Washington will be tough either way and while you’d like to avoid Cleveland until the conference Finals, you take what’s handed to you and deal with it.
The most important thing for Boston is to find consistency and to play well. If they go into the playoffs on an upswing, then they’ll be in a good place to take on anyone.
The rest of the links:
Globe: Jaylen Brown could change how rookies enter the league
CSNNE: C’s-Heat Preview: Do C’s need to bounce back from a win?
ESPN Boston: Chip on shoulder Celtics find motivation everywhere
Herald: Isaiah plays role across NBA in getting “little guys” a shot
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