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.
Somehow they pulled it off. Somehow they’re still alive. They’ve done this before, of course, but never quite like this with Pierce fouling out and Rivers running Garnett on and off the court just to give him a minute here and a rest there.
With Daniels and Mickael Pietrus on the floor in the overtime, the Celtics were playing 3-on-5 offensively and Rondo told Garnett it was time: “We have to take over.” Only they couldn’t. They scored only four points in the overtime, but it was enough.
They’ve never had to win a playoff game of this magnitude with Daniels guarding Wade on the final possession, Pietrus crashing the glass for offensive rebounds and Keyon Dooling draining corner 3’s.
“It’s kind of similar to [2008],” Rondo said. “It’s not the superstars that get all the praise ââ well, they do get all the praise, but the guys like the PJ. Browns, the [James] Poseys. It’s similar to what we’re doing this year.”
WEEI – Celtics stay together, together
Not sure I'm buying the comparisons to 2008. The Celtics had reliable role players during that championship run. While Posey, Brown and Eddie House would take turns making big plays, they were much more consistent than this heart attack inducing crew.
But hey… they are making some plays.
Keyon Dooling is having a great (for him) series. Last night he added 3 threes to his ball-hawking defense.
Michael Pietrus continues to churn out bad fouls. But those consecutive offensive rebounds late in overtime were huge.
Marquis Daniels had a tough 15 minutes. His biggest contribution was not fouling Wade on the final play. Good enough for me.
The role players are really no different than the stars. Nothing comes easy.
Related links: ESPN Boston – Wade miss gives Celtics new life | Globe – No points, but Pietrus comes up big | Herald – Dooling takes his turn |
On Page 2, Chris Bosh will play in Game 5.
According to multiple sources, the Heat are hoping to activate Chris Bosh for Tuesday's Game 5 if he doesn't suffer a setback in workouts over the next two days. Bosh declined to discuss his status following the Heat's 93-91 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, which tied the series at 2-2.
He has been doing on-court workouts for the past week and got on the floor with teammates during practices while the Heat were in Boston. Typically players who return from abdominal strains take awhile to return to full strength and Bosh could be playing on a minute restriction when he comes back.
ESPN – Sources: Bosh back for Game 5
Chris Bosh, come on down. You're the next starting center for the Miami Heat.
Bosh is an obvious talent upgrade over Joel Anthony and Ronny Turiaf. He will impact the game. But given the minutes restriction, potential for rust, and the fact no two games in this series have looked alike, I'm not overly concerned.
The rest of the links:
Globe – Heat got it half right | Wade had his chance | Allen gets his game in fast lane | James sorely missed at finish | Herald – Celtics survive OT for Game 4 victory | Footloose and fancy 3 | Rare seat for Lebron | Rondo now routinely great | Pierce applauds call | CSNNE – Rivers on last shot: Red wasn't going to let that go in | Allen's improved health coming at perfect time | WEEI – Pierce has last laugh on LeBron |
Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
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