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.

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens has always been measured with his praise of players, especially in the early stages of training camp, when it would be easy to overhype his charges.

Which is why it was notable that Stevens offered such high praise for point guard Isaiah Thomas before Thursday’s practice session at the team’s training center.

“Isaiah is last on our team in field goal attempts through the four days of practice that we’ve statted. And [he] has completely been unbelievable on offense, which tells you all that he’s doing for everybody else,” said Stevens. “He’s playing very unselfish. He’s making the right read, regardless of situation, and he’s not forcing anything. He really played great point guard on offense the whole time.”

That Thomas is spearheading Boston’s offensive attack should come as no surprise. The Celtics owned an offensive rating of 109.2 points per 100 possessions — the best mark on the team — when Thomas was on the court after his late-February arrival last season. Boston’s rating dipped more than nine points per 100 possessions without him on the court in that span.

But Thomas is typically regarded as a scorer after averaging 19 points in 26 minutes per game over 21 regular-season appearances for the Celtics. What’s often overshadowed is that he averaged more assists per 36 minutes (7.5) than at any other point in his career, once again hammering home his impact on Boston’s offense as a whole when he was on the court.

ESPN Boston – Brad Stevens on Isaiah Thomas: ‘Unbelievable’ start to camp

It seems as if it doesn’t matter how you approach rating Isaiah Thomas’ value to the Celtics.  If you’re more old school and go with the eye test and/or basic stats, you can just see and feel it.  If you prefer the new advanced analytics, he’s got that area covered as well.  Now, as Redsarmy friend Chris Forsberg aptly points out, he’s got the full endorsement from Coach Stevens.  I still feel he’s their best player, and he was clearly their leader during the season ticket member open practice the other night.  Obviously that’s a jump, making that statement but there are times when you can tell and he stuck out more than anyone else.  I also still feel like he should start, maybe perhaps along with Marcus Smart, shuffling AB to the bench as a scorer.  Obviously that’s a small back court and it would be tough on the defensive end, but he’s so valuable for them on offense I’d feel more than comfortable with Stevens figuring out a way to hide him (if needs be).

It likely doesn’t matter since he’ll be playing the majority of crunch time minutes.  What will matter is the internal competition at that spot between IT, Smart and Terry Rozier.  It might not seem like an issue now (especially since the C’s are clearly trying to win by playing hockey lines) but it eventually will be.  There’s never enough minutes to go around for guys that prove they deserve the minutes.  I’m glad I’m not Stevens, but it will be interesting to see how he figures it out.

Page 2: So, about that potential PG battle…

“Absolutely tough,” said Lee. “He’s not scared to get in there and be aggressive and go toe to toe with all these other guards in practice, which is no easy task. He’s done a great job thus far.”

When Rozier’s nerve was being discussed further, Lee broke in.

“Not only that, but having the attitude to work,” he said. “I mean, having that aggressiveness and courage to come in and to showcase what he can do is important, but really having that attitude of being coachable and being a good teammate, those are things that I think make it easier for you to have a good rookie year.”

It was clear during the summer that Rozier has to get better with running the offensive show. Getting his teammates into the right sets and executing instinctively will be a challenge. But in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, he seemed to get better late in close games.

“I was out in Las Vegas and saw him,” said Jonas Jerebko. “He looked good then and he’s been impressive here. He’s come in here and played hard. He’s got a lot of good guys to learn from.”

Said Tyler Zeller: “He’s extremely quick, extremely athletic. Obviously he’s got a little ways to go just learning the NBA game, but every rookie does. We all went through it. He’s doing a great job picking it up, and I think one he gets there he’s going to be very good.

“He can push the ball very, very quickly up the floor and make things happen. And I think he’s a very tough kid. We’ll see how that hold up over 82 games, but so far it looks good.”

Jae Crowder drove more directly to the point on Rozier.

“He can play,” Crowder said flatly. “Oh, yeah, he can play — and he has a good motor. Everything else, you can teach.

“He’s tough. You can’t teach that.”

Considering the Celtics’ backcourt logjam, it may be hard for Rozier to get much of an opportunity this season to prove the club right for drafting him. But crow can be a figurative dish best served cold

Boston Herald – Bulpett: Celtics Young restless for more

I would have highlighted Bulpett’s entire piece, because it’s full of praise for rookie Terry Rozier, which is interesting since there hasn’t been that many practices yet, and he’s still drawn a lot of positive reviews.  His play has stood out to me in the limited amount of time I’ve watched him and I’d be surprised if he didn’t force his way on to the floor more here than in Maine.  Now, he’s not an NBA caliber starting PG yet, but the fact that he’s already delivering this early is always a good sign.

And Finally… Some changes to the CSNNE broadcast

CSNNE adds elements

In terms of production and personnel, Comcast SportsNet New England has long featured a high-quality telecast for Celtics games. To the network’s credit, that doesn’t prevent it from striving for even higher quality by trying out new and progressive elements, something that will be particularly evident in the coming season.

While much will remain familiar — Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn return for their 35th season together, with Heinsohn working home games and Brian Scalabrine providing the color analysis for road matchups — there will be some intriguing new elements to the broadcasts, which begin Tuesday when the Celtics take on Olimpia Milano in a preseason game in Italy.

The telecasts will now include graphics and explanations of advanced analytics, including points per possession, effective field goal percentage, and rebounding percentage, among others. There will be certain nights when Celtics players will be mic’d up for sound; telecasts will feature an “AnnouncerCam” that offers an up-close look at Gorman, Heinsohn, and Scalabrine as they call the games; and there will be vignettes and features throughout the season celebrating the 30th anniversary of the legendary 1985-86 Celtics.

Boston Globe – Chad Finn: Sports Media

CSNNE is great with the Celtics broadcasts and it’s always fun to see them try new things.  The AnnouncerCam was there a bit last year, so that’s not entirely new (Gorman was campaigning for a ‘TommyCam’ for years).  The advanced stats thing should be interesting although I’d hope it doesn’t become like a busy stock ticker that’s constantly distracting.  I love the idea of anything involving the 1986 team so I’m excited for that.

The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston – Camp chronicles: Rookies get road map to playing time

Boston Globe – Celtics want Isaiah Thomas to adjust on the fly this season

Boston Herald – Celtics notebook: Terry Rozier makes impression

CSNNE – Thomas more of a playmaker at Celtics practice | Is rookie Rozier playing his way up Celtics’ depth chart? | Europe trip a good chance for Celtics to bond

MassLive – Isaiah Thomas changed by disappointment? Boston Celtics guard showcasing adjustments after sweep to Cleveland Cavaliers | Brad Stevens: Boston Celtics big man David Lee like a point-forward | Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr takes indefinite leave of absence after back surgeries