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.
The Celtics had a pretty good game against Washington last night, huh? It was one of those games where just about everyone had a good game (sorry, Tyler, you’ll get yours some other time).
But the big story was Jared Sullinger:
Sullinger had tweaked his back a few plays earlier and signaled to the Boston Celtics bench that he needed to come out. Play continued and all Sullinger did before the next whistle was make consecutive 3-pointers, block a shot, go to the floor to collect a rebound and deliver a highlight-worthy outlet pass from the seat of his pants before the Washington Wizards scrambled for a timeout.
It was the outlet pass that will serve as the defining highlight from Boston’s inspired 118-98 triumph that snapped a three-game losing streak. After getting a piece of a Bradley Beal jumper that came up well short of the rim, Sullinger and his sore back dove on the floor to collect the loose ball before rolling to a seated position, from which he was able to spot Thomas racing up the court.
Using his momentum, Sullinger threw a two-handed, 65-foot dart that caught Thomas in stride for a layup that pushed Boston’s lead to 22. The Wizards never threatened the rest of the way.
Jimmy Toscano adds this insight into Stevens’ decision to play Sullinger more after a preseason in which most of us bystanders were wondering when trader Danny would ship him off for a bag of balls and a protected second rounder:
Brad Stevens had been happy with the way Sullinger played defense in the preseason. And in the last couple preseason games, the offense started to come around to. It’s carried over to the regular season and now Sullinger finds himself going from a guy who was thought to be one of the last off the bench to now a starter.
The rest of the postgame writeups:
Boston Globe: Celtics ride hot start past Wizards | Boston Herald: Celtics find their shot, rout Wizards to snap three-game skid; Faster pace too much for Wizards to handle | Boston.com: Celtics end slide with dominating win over Wizards | CSNNE: First quarter the biggest key to Celtics win; Stars, studs and duds: Sully and Turner for the win | NESN: Celtics Wrap: Boston’s Offense Explodes In 118-98 Win Over Wizards | Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk Jump Start Celtics’ Lagging Frontcourt
On Page 2: Where we all get a bit carried away
is this what it’s like to be the warriors?
— CJ (@CJcoolgrey) November 7, 2015
Suffice to say, this was the kind of game we all thought we’d signed up for at the beginning of the season. Hopefully, it jump starts a team that seemed to be going through the motions for most of the last week. Beating a quality opponent soundly and by dictating the pace of play is a good thing. It’s an opportunity for the Celtics to “learn by doing”. As we saw last season, once the Celtics figured out how to win, they became pretty adept at it.
Also, it’s amazing how little time fans spent criticizing Brad’s rotations last night when the Celtics were actually making shots. It’s a reminder that Stevens, like every other star in the league, is going to get too much credit for victories and too much blame for losses.
Page 3: Did the Nets win last night?
No, the Lakers won 104 – 98. #nets
— Did the Nets Win? (@DidTheNetsWin) November 7, 2015
The Nets are now 0-6, and I expect that Sam Hinkie is in a real sweat trying to figure out how to deliberately make the Sixers at least as bad as the Nets have inadvertently ended up being. By the way, you do remember who has the Nets’ first rounder next year, right?
Finally: Let’s all watch Jared Sullinger throw a 20 yard pass from his butt. Again. And Again. And maybe a third time.
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