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.
that Celtics trainer Eddie Lacerte phoned coach Doc
Rivers Wednesday to alert him that the 37-year-old swingman might
not be available against Toronto. But, not only did Finley play
Wednesday night, he scored 14 points on on 5-of-7 shooting with a
quartet of 3-pointers in the win.
"It's amazing, going into the game, Eddie called me and didn’t think
Mike could play because he strained his back in the room, picking up
luggage," said Rivers. "That’s when you know you're old. But Mike went
out, warmed up, and said he felt great."
If Lester Hudson was still with the Celtics, this injury wouldn't have happened. The oldest guy on the team uses the rook to carry his bags.
The Raptors have some greyhounds, but they weren't able to stop our graybeards – Ray Allen and Finley. The duo combined for 21 points in the 4th quarter.
On Page 2, Doc pinpoints the team's biggest defensive weakness.
The Celtics have a short time to
solve what coach Doc Rivers said is their biggest
defensive problem: failure to stop dribble penetration. He said allowing
players to drive into the paint forces the Celtics to help on defense
and creates more cracks in the interior.
“I think it leads to a lot of other things
when we don’t control the ball,’’ Rivers said. “At all the positions,
we end up with help half the game and scrambling. That’s where the
offensive rebounds and the 3-point line opens up. I don’t think that’s
changed.
Globe – Perkins believes its in their heads (Notebook)
Who is the Celtics primary defender on the perimeter? Gambling man, Rajon Rondo. I don't want to dump all the blame on his shoulders (because I've seen Pierce and KG get beat repeatedly off the dribble), but this is proof he needs to stay in front of his man. The guys behind him can no longer cover his ass when he gets beat.
The rest of the links:
Herald – Celtics prevail by a nose | Doc loosens up on old age | WEEI – Cs right ship | A needed win | CSNNE – Finley, Allen carry Cs | Globe – Finley spurs Celtics to victory | Celtics Hub – It could be worse | Celtics Blog – Perk, Counterpoint |
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