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.

Stevens spoke to all his players prior to them leaving for the summer, with some reflection on this past season but also a clear vision of what they should be doing in the offseason to improve.

But whatever success the Celtics enjoyed this past season is just that – a thing of the past.

“The one thing they can’t expect is that we start the season as a seventh seed in the East,” Stevens said. “It’s not what we want to be here, nor is it a given that it’ll happen without any change.”

CSNNE – Brad Stevens: All the young guys have to improve

The Celtics surpassed all expectations this season when they emerged from the glut of mediocre, yet pesky Eastern Conference bubble teams to nab the seventh seed in the playoffs. Where will they go from here? While a lot will depend on the actualization of trades, movement in free agency and, as Stevens points out, the development of players currently on the roster, history can also give us an idea of what to expect.

In the last eight years, there are three Eastern Conference teams that have jumped into the playoffs after not making it the previous year, that can serve as case studies for the Celtics.

In 2007-08, a young Atlanta Hawks team stumbled into the playoffs with a losing record. Led by veteran point guard, Mike Bibby, blossoming shooter, Joe Johnson and athletic young bigs, Josh Smith and Al Horford, the Hawks took the Celtics to the limit before falling in game seven. In the process, they generated momentum they hoped to carry into the next season. Those Hawks haven’t missed the playoffs since. While it took some time, they were able to identify keepers from that original core, – just Horford – build around them and are legitimate Eastern Conference contenders seven years later.

In 2010-2011, Doug Collins’ Philadelphia 76ers rebounded from a losing season under Eddie Jordan by winning 41 games and making the playoffs. After a first round loss, the Sixers returned to the playoffs in the following strike-shortened season and rode favorable match-ups to game seven of the Eastern Conference semis against the Celtics. The Sixers then had a decision to make: fall back down the standings as the team had seemingly hit its ceiling, or try to make a splash in free agency or via trade. Philly went all in on Andrew Bynum, failed miserably and subsequently blew their team up to the D-League outfit they have now.

Last season, the Artists Formerly Known As the Charlotte Bobcats burst onto the post-season scene. They were little more than a welcome mat to the Miami Heat’s run to the finals, but they had every intention of improving in the weak East. The newly minted Hornets, like the Sixers before them, tried to make an off-season move to improve their roster, only to have it end up blow up in their faces. Adding Lance Stephenson destroyed team chemistry, didn’t move the needle on the court, and resulted in the Hornets missing the playoffs.

There are myriad factors that will influence where the Celtics go from here. Stevens’ charge for the Cs young players to improve is an important one, but the landscape of the East, and the moves made by the front office will also go a long way in determining which way the Celtics go.

On Page 2, Tony Allen being Tony Allen

“Tony Allen has no chill” was a popular Internet refrain for a brief period on Sunday, as he walked straight through a performance by the Golden State Warriors’ Jr. Jam Squad at Oracle Arena.

By straight through, we mean straight through. It didn’t seem to register with him, either… although he did give another Jam Squad member a high-five after cutting in.

Allen, who scored nine points and added two rebounds and two assists during the first half, was later booed quite intensely by the Warriors’ crowd while shooting free throws shortly after the Jam Squad debacle.

SI – Memphis Grizzlies’ Tony Allen walks through Warriors’ Jam Squad

With the Celtics out of the playoffs, there isn’t much of substance to report on regarding the Green until draft season. We can take solace in the fact that Tony Allen will almost always do something Tony Allen-y.

All this needed was Kevin Harlan on the call: “TONY ALLEN. WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE!”