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.
Now that it’s over, how do you feel about it? Now that the temporal gratification of four more games to watch and, if you got to the Garden, two more games to hoot at LeBron James has been washed into memory, are you still happy the Celtics made the playoffs?
Or do you feel as you did the day after you stayed out for a few more drinks and ended up at Kelly’s on Revere Beach? (Seemed like a good idea at the time, but, really, did you have to go with the roast beef sandwich and the scallop plate?)
Let’s even grant that those issues are entirely personal value judgments, subjective matters to be discussed with your conscience — and, in the case of the latter, perhaps your liver. The morning after for the Celtics, however, arrives with some hard and fast facts of NBA life.
The most visible difference in making the playoffs is that the Celts know their first-round draft positions for the June 25 dispersal. They also know they do not have to gather good luck trinkets for the May 19 lottery drawing.
To many who spoke up, the playoffs/lottery question was of little consequence. The Celtics will have the 16th pick, in addition to No. 28, which they received from the Clippers as compensation for letting Doc Rivers play golf in the winter — and do a little coaching.
The argument went that there is almost no chance the Celts would get so lucky as to move into the top three in the draft and that they will get the same player at 16 that they would with No. 14, the worst they could have landed had they been in the lottery.
Putting aside for the moment that Oklahoma City now occupies that 14-with-a-lottery-ticket chance and how difficult it will be to see a team that much better than you picking earlier, do you really get the same player in that range?
Boston Herald – Playoffs place Celtics out of position
So now that the temporary high of making the 7th seed in the playoffs and getting swept by LeBron James and the Cavaliers has worn off, do you still feel the same way you did a few weeks ago? Or does that fun and unexpected two-month run to end the season still make you feel the same now? Personally, I don’t feel any different, and back then I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t as overjoyed by it as most fans and media were.
Look, it’s never fun to see your team consistently lose, and lose big time. Just ask the Lakers or Knicks fans. But now is when the payoff comes for them. Overall, the Celtics are in a much better position, in every conceivable way, (except their current top draft picks) than both of those teams… even combined perhaps. But it still doesn’t change the fact that this Celtics team would have been better off getting as high a draft pick as possible.
Mainly because we don’t know who exactly is going to be here next month, never mind next year. I mean there’s already rumors about acquiring Ty Lawson. Umm, I thought Isaiah Thomas was supposed to be their point guard, especially at that cheap of a contract. Or is it Marcus Smart? Or is he, a high lottery pick himself, just a combo guard? An eventual back up guard?
The point of all this is there are still so many holes to fill and questions to be answered. For a team that’s in the playoffs making a run, there shouldn’t be so many roster issues. It should be about filling minor gaps and needs. Now, as Steve Bulpett points out, we’ll see if those gaps in the draft order really are meaningless as most said a month ago… or if they turn out to be that much more.
On Page 2, Evan Turner is a pretty cool guy
And then last week, before leaving Boston for the offseason, he made good on his promise. Turner bought more than 100 pizzas and treated the students and teachers to lunch.
He visited classrooms. He asked the students what books they’d read since he left. He sat in the lunchroom and munched on his food and talked about whatever the students wanted to talk about.
“It’s cool that they look up to you,” Turner said, “but it wasn’t so much that they looked up to me as much as they appreciated someone doing something nice for them.”
Said Scholz, “He was so open and generous. He really spent time with the kids and listened to what they had to say.”
One student showed Turner an autograph from former Celtics forward Jeff Green. Another asked what it was like to defend LeBron James in the playoffs. Turner played basketball and was the pitcher in kickball during second- and third-grade recess.
“There were some great athletes out there,” Turner said. “Three or four of the kids took me yard right away.”
This was not Turner’s first random act of kindness since signing with the Celtics last summer. In October, he told the team’s public relations staff that he wanted to do something special for children at Halloween. Soon after, he was at Boston Children’s Hospital wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume — accompanied by teammate Kelly Olynyk, who was dressed up as Mario from the Super Mario Bros.
“I’ve never seen a player quite like Evan,” said Heather Walker, the Celtics’ director of public relations.
Boston Globe – Celtics’ Evan Turner keeps promise to students
It’s always good to read/hear about stories like this. We all heard the negative things about Evan Turner before he arrived here, mostly on the court stuff. But like anyone else, I tend to clear the slate to give them a fair chance here. And while he delivered his share of head-shaking moments on the court, it’s hard to argue against what he brought, especially when factoring in his contract. He’s been arguably the best value (other than Thomas) and he clearly brings it in charitable ways off the court too.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston – Ainge offers support for Brady
CSNNE – How ex-Celtics are faring in playoffs
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