Your Afternoon Dump..Where Stevens May Alter the Lineup

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.

Brad Stevens is apparently tired of simply riding out the storm. The Celtics have lost three straight games, and the optics within have been quite unpleasant, so the coach was asked before yesterday’s workout if changes to the rotation may be in the offing.

“Yeah, we might have to,” Stevens said. “We’ll see. I’m going to let today’s practice bear itself out. We’ll practice again tomorrow, see how we look and feel. We’ve got a long film session today. So we’ll see. But we may have to.

Will Brad Stevens alter Celtics lineup now or later? -Steve Bulpett

By my count, Brad Stevens has used five different starting lineups over the first 27 games of the 2015-16 season. Not overwhelming, but no doubt we’ll see more changes going forward. Tyler Zeller was Boston’s starting center for the first three games, but after Jared Sullinger started playing some very inspiring ball, Zeller was put into Stevens’ doghouse. Since Marcus Smart went down near the end of November, Brad has gone with an AB, Crowder, Amir, Sully & IT starting lineup since 11/22, and that group has averaged 88 points per game. The Celtics are currently ranked 6th (tied with Indiana) in the league with an average of 103 PPG for the season. Stevens says that the offense is just one of many things that he’s not been pleased with over the Celts’ last three games.

“Our ball movement, our assists-to-field goals made in the last three games is bad,” said Stevens. “Our defensive points per possession’s bad. Our free throw rate the last three games defensively is bad. So those are all things that we need to re-center ourselves, refocus ourselves on. And, hey, we need to play well to have a chance to win. We’ve talked about that over and over.”

Danny Ainge said last week that Smart could make his return at the end of December, and I’m sure the lineup will once again go through a shakeup once that happens.

Related links:

ESPN Boston: Stevens Mulls Changes, Turner Pleads For Patience|CSNNE: Celtics Lineup Changes?|Globe: Celtics Considering Changes

Page 2: Jordan Mickey tearing it up for the Red Claws

Celtics draft pick Jordan Mickey continues to dominate for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. In 13 games, Mickey is averaging close to a double-double with 18.8 ppg and 8.6 rbg. He also leads the league in blocks with 52 total and 4 per game. The next closest player is Daniel Orton who has tallied 41.

Mickey had yet another big game for the Red Claws last night. He finished with 26 points on 11 of 16 shooting and 8 rebounds to lead Maine over Westchester 112-100. Check out the highlights below:

The rest of the links:

Globe: Skid Shows Celtics Have Holes To Fill|Kyrie Irving Will Return Sunday

Herald: Ex-Celtic Griffin Still Grateful For Rick Pitino’s Faith

CSNNE: Added Attention Causing Drop In Bradley’s Offense