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
In the era of 24-hour news cycles, instant-reaction blog posts, and sports-talk radio, it can be hard to keep an eye on the big picture when there is so much space to fill in the immediate foreground.
When the Celtics win three games in a row, they are destined for 50 victories and a date with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. When they blow an 18-point lead on their homecourt – as they did in Wednesday night’s 106-102 loss to the Dallas Mavericks – they are an immature squad, without a go-to player in crunch time, that can’t beat the better teams in the league when it counts.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens understands that mentality of the masses, but he doesn’t coach to it. Following what could have been a devastating loss, the coach’s tact was not to tear down his team for what it did wrong in the fourth quarter, but to acknowledge the flaws, while pointing out many of the things he thought the players did right to build that lead in the first place.
“You have to learn from it,” he said following a tidy, 45-minute film and practice session. “You have to grow from it. You have to maintain a positive attitude about it. We got beat by a good team that’s playing well.
“We’ve been playing well. We had really good moments. Learn from the good ones, try to bottle them up. Try not to repeat the bad ones.”
Providence Journal: Brad Stevens stays positive day after excruciating Celtics loss
“Today, all we did was we showed what we did well,” Stevens said. “We did a lot of good things. You know what? I’m going to stay positive and we’re going to move on and we’re going to be better tomorrow hopefully than we were last night. But it’s hard in this league because somebody’s trying to beat you.”
CSNNE: Stevens focuses on what worked in Celtics’ loss to Mavs
I was as frustrated as anyone watching the Celtics hand back the game they won in the first quarter on Wednesday night, but Stevens probably has the right attitude for this squad. This is a team that has been projected to win like 45-50 games. And right now their winning percentage pegs them at 45 wins by the end of the season. That means we’re probably going to have to get used to games like Wednesday’s loss. They’re going to win some games they should’ve lost and, as on Wednesday, they’re going to lose some games they really should’ve won, but after 82 games, the standings will probably be a pretty fair representation of their abilities, even if individual games aren’t.
Page 2: Evan Turner: Voice of Reason.
When he says stuff, we listen because he’s not just putting out a whole bunch of stuff. He’s putting out the more important stuff and what’s important to focus on.
Providence Journal: Brad Stevens stays positive day after excruciating Celtics loss
“You may be getting (expletive) disguised as steak, you know what I’m saying?” said Turner, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft.
CSNNE: Turner not paying attention to Nets record
And there was Evan Turner still in the gym, working on his game with a shooting routine similar to one used by former two-time league MVP Steve Nash.
The reason is simple.
“Just so I could stay ready,” Turner said. “You never know if somebody gets hurt or whatever and I go heavy minutes”.
CSNNE: Turner prepared to play any role for Celtics
Evan Turner is one of those guys where if he’s logging a lot of minutes for a team, that team is not an elite team. The Celtics are not an elite team. Yet. However, after being part of the “process” in Philly, and finding himself on the wrong side of Lance Stephenson in Indiana, Turner has become another guy who’s turned over a new leaf playing for Brad Stevens. We saw it with Kris Humphries and Jordan Crawford. We also saw it with Gerald Wallace who went from grumbling about his minutes to being almost a fan favorite by the time he was traded for David Lee over the summer.
Finally: Don’t cross Mrs. McHale
Evidently, though, all the grim countenances and regretful tones didn’t register as especially genuine with McHale’s wife, Lynn, who took to Twitter on Thursday to register her discontent with both the firing and its aftermath:
If you aren’t following Kevin McHale’s wife, @lynnmchale today, you’re missing out. She’s spitting fire pic.twitter.com/MenNfab9y5
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) November 19, 2015
*update: It appears Mrs. McHale has deleted her Twitter account.
The rest of the links:
CSNNE: Five possible NBA Draft targets for the Celtics | ESPN Boston: Did the Nets win last night? Celtics fans know the answer | Boston Globe: Celtics focused on beating Nets, not their draft picks |NESN: Celtics, Jazz, Timberwolves Among NBA Teams With Brightest Futures | You’ll notice I didn’t link to any coverage of Dan LeBatard because don’t feed the trolls.
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