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.

 The man driving that 3-point train early was Avery Bradley, who put on one of his best shooting performances of the preseason, scoring all 20 of his points in the first half while going 7-for-12 from the floor. He was especially effective from deep, sinking five of his first six threes. Bradley is known best for his skill on the defensive end, but he has made a habit of taking a ton of shots this preseason, particularly early in games. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens spoke after the game about the connection between the two aspects of the guard’s game. “I thought Avery did a good job,” Stevens told reporters. “I told Avery, the biggest thing that he can do is he needs to let his defense fuel his offense and not the other way around. And (Thursday), I really thought he did that, and I really think that when he plays his best, that’s what he does.”

NESN – Celtics Notes

Any strong performances still come with the “it’s only preseason” caveat, but it’s hard not to get excited about how Bradley’s game has looked. The term 3&D may suit AB best, since he’s established as one of the league’s best guard defenders and his 3-point shooting clip is on pace to be excellent, but he could still shed that label this season. Yes, he still struggles to dribble and handle the ball at the NBA level, but so did Ray Allen at times, and that didn’t matter too much with Rondo and Pierce capable of doing covering. AB’s strength defensively is matched by only a few guys. Maybe the only player better defensively is Tony Allen, a one-way player. Add in Bradley’s stellar ability to knock down mid and long-range shots, plus a backdoor cutting karma he shares with Rondo, and we should be seeing one of the top backcourt tandems across the league.On top of that, I think this’ll be the season Bradley establishes himself as an elite shooting guard, more than just a 3&D guy.

At $8 million a season, the only risk revolves around his health. Which brings be to my next point…

Page 2: Could Al Horford be available at some point? And if so…

It happened in stealth mode last season, when the Hawks reached out to a select group and made it known that Horford could be had for the right price — including an unprotected 2014 first-round pick, per several league sources. Nothing materialized, and Horford is ready to return from another torn pectoral muscle.

A healthy Horford is a top-20 player on a below-market contract that runs through 2015-16 — long enough that some team could talk itself into gambling on him. He could net a hefty return for the Hawks, who have been happily skipping down the “pretty good with cap room” path under Danny Ferry.

Grantland – 33 Crazy predictions

Coming off a second pectoral muscle injury, Horford would be a risky addition for teams hording assets. This is especially be true for the Celtics, who’d then presumably rebuild around Horford, Bradley and Rondo, three guys with several injuries in recent seasons. Even with that risk, Horford seems like the type of player Rondo would want to play with — big man with touch and playoff experience, plus he’s locked up for two seasons and shares the same age as Rondo. As far as an asking price, adding Horford would probably mean parting with either Olynyk or Sullinger, which would be tough given how good they’ve both looked in preseason. Still, if Ainge intends to get the best out of Rondo during his next few “prime” years, then taking a risk to add an (often injured) All Star power forward/center sounds like something he’d do. Rondo, Bradley, and Horford would be a potentially strong core, though there’s a little too much injury history there.

The rest of the links:

ESPN – Brook Lopez to miss two weeks – Joel Embiid’s brother dies in Africa

CelticsBlog – Celtics beat down shorthanded Sixers – ESPN predicts 26 wins for Celtics