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.

[Austin] Rivers came off the bench and helped the Clippers use a 20-3 run to finally get the separation they lacked in the first half. Rivers scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in a dominating, offensive outburst that extended the Clippers’ lead to 99-76 going into the fourth.

Rivers was so good that his dad kept him on the court for the first two minutes of the fourth. Fans saluted Austin Rivers by chanting his name and giving him a standing ovation when Paul replaced him.

“Our relationship has always been coach-player,” Austin Rivers said. “He’s hard on me, but it’s because he wants the best for me.

ESPN

Austin Rivers crushed Houston last night. 25 points in 23 minutes on just 13 shots.

Pretty sure it said in the bible that when Austin rivers scores 26 in a playoff game that it’s the beginning of the rapture.

— @KGTrashTalk (@KGTrashTalk) May 9, 2015

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Yeah, that guy that was a throw-in “sure we’ll take this problem off your hands, New Orleans” in the Jeff Green trade has bailed out the Clippers a few times now in the playoffs.

And if that last line in the opening quote stood out as odd to you because it seemed out of context, here’s the interesting back-story of that quote in context, as part of a larger father-son story of Doc and Austin:

“Yeah, you want him to do well, but like I keep saying they’re all my sons, and I really believe that,” [Doc] Rivers said. “Like, if Lester [Hudson] or Matt [Barnes] had done the same thing, I would have been proud, because I see all of them do the work. So, good for him. He knows the way I think, though. We’ve got another game, and you’ve just got to be ready for the next game.”

If Doc comes off as a cold father in that answer, he’s not. He’s simply treating Austin the way he has always treated him. The feel-good, father-son story we all tried so hard to write when Austin was traded to the Clippers four months ago was never written because it never existed.

While Doc was coaching the Boston Celtics from 2004 to 2013, Austin was growing up in Winter Park, Florida, going to Duke and getting drafted by New Orleans. While his siblings would routinely go Celtics games, Austin can remember only attending the Celtics’ championship-clinching game in 2008 at the insistence of his family.

“I was kind of the one that spaced out and did my own thing,” he said.

Doc actually had to be talked into trading for his son by longtime friends Dave Wohl, the team’s general manager, and Kevin Eastman, the team’s vice president of basketball operations, who both knew Austin would be an upgrade over what they had. When Austin was presented with the trade, he didn’t talk strategy with his dad; he talked it out with his mom, Kristen, before agreeing to the deal. Father and son would now officially be coach and player, which isn’t much different than the way it was before the trade.

“Our relationship has just kind of always been that,” Austin said. “It’s always been coach-player. That’s the way it’s always been. He grew up in Boston. I grew up in Orlando. Every time we talk, it’s always basketball. Now when I came here, it’s kind of been solidified. He’s the coach, I’m the player. He’s hard on me. You ask him, you ask anyone — he’s hard on me, but it’s just because he wants the best out of me.”

It kind of puts a new spin on the father-son stories we’ve always heard, or assumed, about Doc and Austin. He was a little kid hanging round Celtics practices…. that moment Doc flipped out about the game-winner at Duke… the draft night picture…. you just have this warm fuzzy image of things with them and then that story (read the whole thing) gives you a much different impression of their relationship.

Meanwhile, the Clippers, who I thought were going to get bounced in the first round, are now up 2-1 on the Rockets and could be headed to the Western Conference Finals.

That’s not really that surprising, except they’re doing it with a hobbled Chris Paul, Blake Griffin dropping triple doubles, and Austin freakin’ Rivers causing problems off the bench.

This has been the craziest year I’ve seen in the NBA. Nothing makes sense anymore. None of it.

Page 2: International possibilities for the Celtics on draft day

ALEKSANDER VEZENKOV, BULGARIA

Height, Weight, Position: 6-foot-9, 225, power forward-small forward

Strengths: Good shooter; excellent shot mechanics; high basketball IQ.

Weaknesses: Needs to get stronger; lateral quickness not there; defense needs lots of work.

Projected draft position: Middle to late second-round.

 

MOUHAMMADOU JAITEH, FRANCE

Height, Weight, Position: 6-foot-11, 250, center-power forward

Strengths: NBA body; good offensive rebounder; 7-4 wing span.

Weaknesses: Limited low-post game; lateral quickness; has trouble catching passes cleanly.

Projected draft position: Middle to late second-round.

CSNNE: Some international possibilities on Celtics draft radar

Those are just a couple of the people you’ve never heard of or may never actually see in the NBA. But if the Celtics feel like taking a shot at one of these guys in the second round, they could come away with a Spurs-like gem somewhere.

No team is better at scouting international players than San Antonio. They’ve played that system beautifully. The C’s could maybe find a guy that gets tucked away for a few years then actually decides to play in the NBA and becomes decent Tiago Splitter-type role player.

The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston: Who was most improved Celtic?  |  Wicked Local: Jo Jo White biographer talks about new book  |  CBS Boston: Top players the Celtics should target this offseason