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.

“It’s not rocket science,” said Stevens. “I want to do as much as we need to and as little as we need to. That’s the way that I look at it.

[…] “You’re playing against the best,” said Sullinger. “So you just gotta prepare and hold yourself as one of the best. Then come out with confidence and just play hard.”

[…] “I always say it — you’re at your best when you’re out there just playing basketball, not thinking,” said Bradley. “In the playoffs, you can tend to think a lot, because of the scouting reports and all the information you have to know. But at the end of the day, you’re just out there playing basketball.”

ESPN Boston: Celtics are cool customers

“We have nothing to lose, really,” Turner said at practice Friday. “We’re playing with house money. It’s going to be hype. There’s going to be two great environments involved. You go to Cleveland, their fans are crazy, then you come back to Boston, and their fans are even crazier. So, it’s going to be fun.”

Boston.com: Evan Turner: Celtics playing with house money vs. Cavs

The Celtics really have no choice but to have a “eh, screw it, let’s go” approach to this series because it’s such a tough matchup. This isn’t a series where the outcome is going to hinge on who makes the right adjustments at the right time. This series is about the Celtics working their asses off and hoping Cleveland gives them windows of opportunity.

So when you’re facing the longest odds, you might as well just throw the nerves out the window. When you go into the fight knowing you’re supposed to lose, you might as well just give it all you’ve got and try to shock a few people.

The Celtics know going into this series that they’ll be as prepared as possible for what they’re going to face. They’ll know what every Cav has for breakfast, their bathroom schedule, the route they like to take to the game… everything. There will be no stone left unturned.

Travel isn’t an issue. Scheduling isn’t an issue (though the Celtics might be pissed there aren’t any back-to-backs the way they’ve been going).

They only thing the Celtics can control out there is their effort and preparation.

We know the chances of winning much more than a game in this series are slim. We know this probably won’t end well. But I know that in the end, no matter what the final series outcome, we’ll be able to look at how the Celtics handled themselves and how they fought and be proud of this team.

So screw it, fellas. Go give ’em hell.

Related links:  CSNNE: Blakely: C’s feel like they can go into Cleveland and win  |  Zeller: Stevens “more prepared than we are”  |  MassLive: Sullinger: Stevens built to pick teams apart with playoff adjustments

Page 2:  Holy shit guys are going to get PAID in a couple of years!

Sources told ESPN.com that based on current projections, league officials expect the salary cap to increase from its current $63.1 million figure to $67.1 million next season, $89 million in 2016-17 and $108 million in 2017-18. The jumps represent massive increases triggered largely by the influx of television money that will begin pouring in after the 2015-16 season, when the NBA’s new nine-year, $24 billion TV deal kicks in.

[…] In subsequent years, sources said, league officials are projecting a slight decrease in the cap, down to $100 million in 2018-19 (with ‎a $121 million tax line), $102 million in 2019-20 (with a $124 million tax line) and $107 million in 2020-21 with a $130 million tax line.

ESPN: League to teams: significant salary cap jumps loom

We knew the new TV deal was going to bump the cap way up, but the long-range projections are still staggering when they’re all laid out.

This signals a significant shift in how teams can approach free agency and building a team. The Celtics are actually in a pretty great position to reap some serious benefits here.

In addition to their stockpile of picks over the next few years, the Celtics have at least $22 million in cap space next season, and potentially more than $30 million if they make a few moves (like using the stretch exception on Gerald Wallace and waiving Phil Pressey). Even if they get up to a, say, $70 million roster (let’s say they go over to sign Jae Crowder, who is a restricted free agent), they’ll get another $19 million in cap space the following year, then ANOTHER $19 million the year after that.

So the Celtics will have money to spend over the next few years as well as a bunch of trade assets, a hot whiz-kid coach, a great ownership group, and the BEST DAMN FANS IN THE WORLD… It’s really going to be up to Danny Ainge to make something happen.

The down-side is EVERYBODY is going to have this same bump in cap so there is a lot more competition for players. I feel pretty good, though, about where the Celtics are and the peripheral stuff they can offer. No, it’s not South Beach sun or New York nightlife, but there’s one thing people overlook when it comes to wooing a player. Maybe the most important thing.

A player’s ego.

A stroll onto the parquet… the stories of Red Auerbach’s mind games… a gaze into the rafters…. the empty spots on the retired numbers banner… the championships.

“You could be the next legend. You could be the next guy whose number goes up there. You can be a basketball immortal mentioned in the same sentence as Russell, Havlicek, Bird, Pierce….”

Yeah, you’ve heard a lot of stories about how the Celtics haven’t signed a ton of free agents over the years. But that exaggeration overlooks the fact that the Celtics haven’t really HAD to sign a lot of free agents.

Free agency began in the mid-70’s. A few years later, the Big 3 era began via draft and trade. In the 90’s, Rick Pitino turned the team into a grease fire and no free agent wants that. Then Danny Ainge took over, rebuilt, and started a new Big 3 era through trades.

Find me a time where a free agent snubbed the C’s at a time where they were attractive? David West? That’s the only one I can really think of.

So don’t fall into the fallacy that “free agents don’t go to Boston.” Free agents will go anywhere where (a) they can make a shit-ton of money and (b) become a star on a winning team. Money and ego… that’s the free agency formula.

And Finally…

The Celtics draft order has officially been determined…

After losing a coin flip Friday, the Boston Celtics now know the exact position of their four selections in the upcoming NBA Draft.

Barring future trades, the Celtics will pick 16th (their own first-round pick), 28th (from the Clippers), 33rd (from the 76ers) and 45th (their own second-round pick).

The Clippers and Houston Rockets finished the regular season with the same record, but Houston — whose pick will go to the Los Angeles Lakers — won the coin flip for the 27th pick.

One of the most common questions I get on Twitter is “will the Celtics trade up in the draft?”

I guess my response is…

Related links:  CSNNE: NBA has random drawing for tie breakers

The rest of the links:

Globe: Best way to defend LeBron? Give him space  |  Stevens doesn’t plan to shorten playoff rotation  |  First NBA playoff experience crucial for Stevens  |  Kareen Abdul Jabbar undergoes heart surgery  |  Herald: Game plan begins with “best player”  |  LeBron seems a familiar foe  |  Celtics 2nd unit tough to solve  |  CSNNE: Most important thing for C’s is playoff experience  |  Will Celtics keep leaning on bench for playoffs?  |  Bradley good to go in Game 1  |  ESPN Boston: Stevens on Lebron: “Best player in the game” |  Turner transformed his game to become difference-maker for Celtics  |  WEEI: Celtics roundtable wrap up: team awards  |  MassLive: Can anything be learned from the Celtics/Cavs series?  |  Ainge: Exceeding expectations sheds a better light on Celtics |  John on The Pulse Maine talking playoffs