Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“I don’t want to hype it up too much, but I’m saying that if our training camp were starting today that they would be here today going full speed,” Ainge said. “It’s not like they need an extra month. I think that they know they have an extra month, so they are sort of pacing themselves. They’re playing as if to build up to that opening day of training camp [Sept. 26].”
I think we were all a little nervous before last season started–at least I know I was. I’m pretty sure most of us thought there would be an appreciable adjustment period with the departure of IT and Jae Crowder.
It helped that the C’s were adding the number 3 pick in the draft–again–and they’d signed Hayward.
However, the Kyrie Irving they picked up from Cleveland was a rock-pounding offense-stopper. Sure, we were told he’d grown tired of that role and wanted to be part of a less dysfunctional team, but talk’s cheap.
I don’t think I was the only person who thought the Celtics were going to slip back a bit from their 2016/17 win total.
And then five minutes into the season Gordon broke his ankle, and then everybody and their dog started getting hurt, and the Celtics ended up hitting the playoffs with neither Kyrie nor Hayward–and they came within an ace of the NBA Finals.
Last year we were looking at the loss of some key players and some unknown additions.
This year, the Celtics didn’t lose anybody from the rotation, and they’re going to add two healthy all stars.
Are you excited?
I am.
And I’m betting Ainge is too. Ainge put together a championship caliber team only a few years after getting the Celtics’ front office gig. But–and I’m sure he’d tell you the same thing–there was a measure of luck that went with that team.
Luck didn’t necessarily enter into the Ray Allen trade, but it was definitely a factor in the Kevin Garnett trade.
People can yammer all they want about Kevin McHale ‘doing favors’ for Danny Ainge, but that’s Monday morning quarterbacking at its finest. The Celtics sent more players to Minnesota than any team had ever included in a trade.
They also included a pick that a smart GM could’ve used on Steph Curry.
There was a measure of good fortune in the Celtics’ ability to put together what was unquestionably the best offer for Kevin Garnett (don’t think so? go back and read the press leading up to the trade).
This team, on the other hand, is the result of a multi-year effort that included some incredibly gutsy trades and a coaching hire that was widely dismissed by the chattering classes.
The ’08 championship team came about because the Celtics were in a position to take advantage of a pair of opportunities that presented themselves. If the Celtics win a championship next year, it’s going to be the result of a long-term construction project.
Page 2: This picture
Doc Rivers was back in Boston, making an appearance at an ABCD fundraiser, and the Boston Herald’s Keith Pearson caught up with him, giving the paper’s sports editor an opportunity to use this photo of Doc as Nathan Detroit in an off-Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
