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.
Celtics fans weren’t about to pardon this turkey. Oh, they pleaded and encouraged and shouted their club to a 9-0 run that closed out last night’s game and a questionably deserved 84-80 victory over the 76ers.
But for most of the night, the Garden residents took in the Celtics’ Thanksgiving Eve performance and told them to stuff it.
They booed the C’s into their huddle after Brad Stevens called a timeout following a Hollis Thompson 3-pointer that gave the Sixers a 68-59 lead. They let out an audible groan when Avery Bradley was way off on a trey and Jahlil Okafor stepped to the line and gave Philly an 11-point advantage.
It was kind of a slow news day for Celtics fans yesterday. Sure that makes it hard for an ink-stained wretch such as myself to accumulate morning reading for you guys. But, on the other hand, having a big story with lots of articles to catch up on isn’t always a good thing for fans of a team….
Page 2: Jahlil Okafor gives an obnoxious Boston fan 15 minutes of fame
I mean, first of all, there’s the whole issue of Okafor’s sparring partner wearing white after Labor Day, also the black socks and, oh right. Jahlil running around very late at night getting into fights.
Philadelphia hasn’t hidden its desire to lose big now to win big later, but it shouldn’t just view veterans as salary-cap holds or a means to acquire more second-round picks. The Minnesota Timberwolves finished with the league’s worst record last season but invested in expediting the development of No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins and fellow first-round pick Zach LaVine by bringing in aging vets Kevin Garnett, Tayshaun Prince and Andre Miller to help serve as examples on and off the court.
First Philadelphia apparently couldn’t get Joel Embiid to adhere to diet, exercise and rehab regimens over the past year, now they can’t keep Okafor from making a fool out of himself in front of dozens of cell phones.
Already, the Sixers are tied with themselves for the worst losing streak in the history of the NBA (the post-LeBron Cavs also lost 26 in a row). Tonight they have an opportunity to wrest the record away from the 2014 version of themselves and claim sole possession of this particular hallmark of incompetence.
“Trust the process,” indeed……
Finally: The Eastern Conference is not what it used to be
Remember this?
The superiority of the West is laughable
That statement is not even a year old, and it came from highly regarded ex-Boston blogger Zach Lowe.
Things have changed a bit since then.
So far this season, the East is 38-36 against the West. And when you remove the lowly 76ers and Nets from the equation, the East is 37-25 (.597). For the purposes of assessing playoff teams, that is significant.
Last season, only six Eastern teams finished with records of .500 or better. Currently, 11 are at that level.
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