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.

Sullinger has some credit to pass around for the Celts’ improvements on the defensive end.

“I think you’ve got to put a big chunk of that on Brandon (Bass) and a big chunk of that on assistant coachRon Adams,” he said. “Ron Adams was the defensive coach and assistant coach in Chicago, and obviously Chicago plays some tough defense, and he knows his stuff. And also I think Brandon really, as far as the bigs standpoint, took on that role of talking to us and teaching us defensive principles.

“And also Gerald (Wallace) as far as the guards. Gerald is a defensive-minded guy, obviously. He’s always on the ground. He’s always taking charges. Those three guys right there have really helped us out.”

Herald

“He brings energy every night,” said Jordan Crawford. “You know what you’re going to get out of B-Bass. He’s talking on defense, just being more of a leader, the anchor in the back of the defense.”

CSNNE

People are slow to give Bass a lot of credit for the Celtics success.  It’s easy to look elsewhere and dole out credit….

• Jared Sullinger is having a hell of a start to the season, and by most measures, he’s had the most positive impact on the team.
• Jordan Crawford is capturing hearts and minds with his completely unexpected season.  By any measure, he’s having his best season in the NBA so far.
• Brad Stevens is getting all sorts of love for being, among other things, the “Crawford-whisperer.”  The coaching performance has been so good so far, Charles Barkley said Stevens is his early candidate for Coach of the Year during last night’s Nets-Knicks broadcast.

While all those things are huge parts of the Celtics’ success, no single player is good enough to single-handedly swing an entire season.  This is as much of a team effort as you’ll find in the NBA, and Bass is a big part of that effort.

Aside from moments like the pictured Brandon-on-Brandon violence, Bass generally won’t wow you with his numbers.  But time and time again, guys are quick to credit him with doing the little things to make the team better.

The 5-man unit of Bass, Sullinger, Bradley, Crawford, and Green has a defensive rating of 91.4.  They also happen to have an offensive rating of 108.5, giving that unit a nice net 17.1 rating when Bass joins the 4 regular starters.  Bass is anchoring that defense.  He’s the guy who’s stepping into the Kevin Garnett roll of seeing everything that’s happening, and trying to help get guys in position.

The team is quick to credit him for the job he’s doing.  It’s time we do the same.

Page 2:  Man do the Brooklyn Nets suck right now

Carmelo Anthony may have thought the New York Knicks were the “laughingstock of the NBA” going into Thursday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets, but that’s no longer the case.

That distinction now belongs to the Nets, who were obliterated by the Knicks 113-83 Thursday night at Barclays Center.

[…]  New York led by as many as 34. Boos rained down from the rafters throughout the second half and faint “Fire Kidd!” chants could be heard late in the fourth with the game well out of reach.

“It’s not ideal. It’s not ideal,” Kevin Garnett said. “Nothing just went our way from the giddy up. They came out fast. The first quarter it seemed like they made everything [70.6 percent], and it seemed like we were playing catchup from that minute on.”

ESPN New York

I don’t know if you watched that game, but holy shit do the Nets look bad right now.

Of course, that could change once Deron Williams gets back.  They also haven’t had Andrei Kirilenko due to injury.  Last night Reggie Evans and Paul Pierce also sat out.  So if the Nets can ever get all their pieces on the floor and healthy, they could turn things around and make a run.

But right now, they look like crap.  And, of course, that’s leading to some questions about their draft.  So here is the breakdown of where the Nets stand (via Real GM), year-by-year, draft wise:

• 2014:  The Celtics own the Nets pick, however, Atlanta has the right to swap places with the Nets.  If Atlanta exercises that option, they’ll take the Nets spot in the draft, and the Celtics will take the Hawks spot in the draft.
• 2015:  The Hawks have the right to swap places with the Nets.
• 2016:  The Celtics own Brooklyn’s unprotected first round pick
• 2017:  The Celtics have the right to swap places with the Nets.  If they exercise that right, they also give the Nets a protected second round pick (protected for picks 31-45)
• 2018:  The Celtics own Brooklyn’s unprotected first round pick

Remember kids, unprotected swaps can really come back to haunt you.

The Nets took a big risk with this team this season.  It’s still waaaaaaay too early to count them out, but it’s hard to imagine this team can get it rolling enough to compete with the Pacers and Heat in the East.  If this is a bust, then they’re in deep shit, because they don’t own their own first-round draft pick until 2019.

There exists the possibility that the Nets could be a lottery team for most of the rest of this decade, and a pair of playoff teams could reap the benefits.

The rest of the links:

Herald: C’s understand at first  |  Celtics prepare for angry Nuggets  |  Globe:  Former coaches impressed with C’s competitiveness  | How would you grade Stevens  |  Ainge:  Rondo won’t return in next few weeks  |  CSNNE:  Green showing consistency C’s need  |  Sullinger’s health a pleasant surprise  |  ESPN Boston:  Freeze Frame: Strength in numbers  |  Satch sits in on practice  |  C’s seek success via togetherness  |  Stevens amused by record chatter  | Ainge: Different MVP every night  |  WEEI:  Pump the brakes on Rondo’s return