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.

On the other side, there’s a good chance that the East at least remains in place. Boston improved with getting Al Horford, Toronto isn’t going anywhere and the Cavs obviously remain in place. The Hawks fell off, as you can argue they’re still a playoff team but losing Jeff Teague and Horford and getting back only Dwight Howard isn’t a great swap. Miami, too, should tumble to a degree after losing Dwyane Wade with no real addition to make up the difference and questions about Chris Bosh’s future.

[…]

There are three top teams in the West (Golden State, San Antonio, the Clippers) and three top teams in the East (Cleveland, Toronto and Boston — though Toronto or Boston could finish lower). And there are 10 teams in the West realistically vying for the other five spots, and realistically seven teams in the East vying for three spots (if we consider Indiana and Detroit near-locks).

CBSSports – East vs. West: An early look at what it’ll take to get into the 2016-2017 playoffs

With the slow churn of the NBA off-season calendar now heading into August, many sports websites are looking to start water cooler conversations at the office by predicting the standings in both conferences. While ESPN went with full-blown projected standings (with the Celtics tied for second in the east with the Raptors), Matt Moore over at CBS takes a birds-eye view of each conference and then drills down on who the 16 playoff teams could be come April of 2017.

No surprise that the Celtics are firmly entrenched as a top three team in the east and that the Raptors are the Cs main competition to that second spot. I, for one, am already excited for four, meaningful games against Toronto this year. When the Cs were last this relevant during the Big Three era, their competition in the east came from teams outside the division. Yes, I realize that divisions, and division titles, in the NBA mean absolutely nothing, it’s fun to have four, guaranteed games against a rival during the regular season.

As August rolls along, we’ll likely see more early predictions (perhaps some from here) including those from Chris Forsberg locally. Try not to get too brazen just yet, but so far, the Cs are universally seen as a top three team in a highly unpredictable east.

On page 2, Leon Powe: Lifelong Celtic

On this day, he went with the story about a directionless kid. He told the campers that when he finally did find something that motivated him — basketball — he worked hard on the court to make the Oakland Tech team his freshman year, only to be academically ineligible.

“I had a 1.83 grade-point average — raise your hand if you think that’s good,” he said to a collection of arms nestled low to the hardwood. “I let the team down. I let down people who believed in me.”

He said he made it his mission never to let them down again. He got up at 5 a.m. every day to go in for extra help before school started at 8:30. After school and on weekends, he dedicated his time to basketball, playing against anyone he could — including college players in the Bay Area. He told his friends, who could be a bad influence, he couldn’t hang out with them anymore.

By his senior year, his GPA was 3.8, he was a star player on a two-time state finalist, and was one of the top high school recruits in the country.

Along with LeBron James.

Providence Journal – Former Celtic Leon Powe passes along life lessons to younger players

As a teacher, I always love it when athletes (which, let’s be real, 90% of kids deep down want to be an athlete, a singer or a movie star) stress the value of their education.

When Leon Powe came to the celtics in 2006, was a contributor on a title team and then a few playoff teams, and then left and retired after injuries did him in, there was no way to expect he’d stay a part of the Celtics community. I personally forgot until I read this piece that Powe works with the Celtics’ community relations department. Powe struggled to get out of Oakland, was then touted as a near can’t-miss high school prospect, and then never realized that potential due to circumstances that weren’t completely in his control. He has every reason to be disappointed with how his career turned out. Instead, he’s stayed a part of the game in meaningful ways.