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.
“I don’t know what the (expletive) tonight was, just to be honest with you,” Wallace said. “I don’t really know what was going on.”
…
Stevens was unwilling to just move on from this one.
“I think there’s more to it,” he said, “so I want to make sure that we don’t play like that again. I never look at it that it was one of those things. There’s something behind why you don’t play the way you’re supposed to. There are games where things don’t go your way, but we’re letting one end affect the other, and you don’t do that on good teams. Guys can take it one of two ways. When adversity strikes, you can go inward or you can come together.”
If the Celtics were a veteran squad, the message following last night’s debacle in Houston would be simple: Let’s forget this ever happened and never speak of it again.
But with a lot of young players and few leaders outside of Gerald Wallace and Rajon Rondo, Brad Stevens wants to make sure that effort never happens again.
Jeff Green cranked out another no-show performance. In his last three games, he’s 6-25. My biggest gripe isn’t the low shooting percentage, it’s that he’s not being aggressive enough. I shouldn’t be surprised. Green is, who he is.
How about Avery Bradley stepping up and jacking 22 shots? It’s not ideal, but at least the kid is being aggressive.
Here’s Rondo’s reaction upon seeing Bradley’s stat line:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5NgXnA5nm8]Related: CSNNE – Once again, Celtics go down swinging
Page 2: Kevin McHale thankful he was never traded
“I remember Red coming up to me and saying, ‘I’m not going to trade you,’ ” recalled McHale, whose club routed the rebuilding Celtics last night. “He said, ‘I told management that if they were going to trade you that they should fire me.’ Red said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be here, so just relax and don’t worry about everything you hear.’
“I was glad to finish my career as a Celtic. I played hard there and loved it there. But that’s really not up to you as a player.”
“I thought at the end of the day that’s what made the Celtics unique and different,” he said. “That’s what made Red unique and different. Now, maybe he might have been too loyal to a fault and everything else, but if you went out there and you laid it on the line for him and you were one of his guys, he was going to take care of you.
“It was a different era. Probably now, you make that move. Back then there was more of a sense that these are our guys and we’re going to stick with them. Back then I think there were more Red-type guys around and there was more of a sense that that’s just what you did.”
McHale certainly doesn’t fault Ainge for making his big deal last summer, getting in return five players and possibly four first-round draft picks.
Watching Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trudge their way through this season reinforces the fact that Danny Ainge made the right move.
It hurts and sucks to see KG and PP wear Nets jerseys, but it’s for the best.
The rest of the links:
Globe – Rockets send Celtics to 4th straight loss | Ainge, McHale reflect on Big 3 | CSNNE – McHale values spending entire career with Cs | Stevens knows there’s work to be done | ESPN Boston – Rapid Reaction |
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