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.

By the start of the fourth quarter Isaiah Thomas had eight points on 3-for-13 shooting. The sprained middle finger on his left (shooting) hand was sore enough to alter his floater.

The Celtics guard didn’t have a good feel for the rim last night until the last 12 minutes, when Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews started burying a chain of big jumpers that nearly put the Celtics in the ground as well.

The fact the Celtics pulled out their sixth win of the season owes a lot to Thomas’ ability to suddenly spike from below freezing to the temperature of the sun, scoring 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.

Boston Herald – Isaiah Thomas takes over fourth quarter to power Celtics over Mavericks

Celtics coach Brad Stevens on Isaiah Thomas’s monster fourth quarter in win over Mavs “He’s got a knack for it. I guess I’m so used to being around him and so used to watching him operate that nothing surprises me.” Thomas scored 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday. Said Thomas: “I guess I just like that quarter, man. Sometimes guys get a little tired and the pressure gets a little tougher for them. I guess I like the pressure.”

ESPN Boston

As the fourth quarter began last night, all-world play-by-play man, Mike Gorman reacted to the stat line of Isaiah Thomas (3-13, 8 points), which flashed on the screen with a declaration of confidence: “my money’s on Isaiah.”

As Mark Murphy alludes to above, that seemed like a risky proposition– The Celtics, as a whole, were lethargic on offense and given Thomas’ injured finger and a huge game on the horizon Friday night, no one would have been surprised if the Cs either eked out a win in the low 80s, or even dropped a game to the walking-dead Mavericks.

Mike Gorman proved prophetic and Isaiah Thomas, to this Celtics fan at least, brought back memories of Paul Pierce in the fourth quarter– waking up the Garden crowd with big time shots and all of the right moves late in the game to will the Celtics to victory. All that was missing after Thomas’ deep three from the top of the key was him yelling “I’m cold-blooded!” as he strutted back down the other end of the court.

Often times I take Isaiah for granted and see him as the shiniest cog in Brad Stevens’ Celtics machine– part of a group of rag-tag, discount pieces who come together to be greater than the sum of their parts. Last night was a reminder that, while discounted (thanks, Phoenix), Thomas is an all-star and one of the true gems of the NBA. His offense single-handedly won the Celtics last night’s game.

And that’s the truth.

Related links: 

CSNNE – Isaiah Thomas leads Boston Celtics to victory with ‘tremendous’ fourth quarter

On page 2, the Celtics had a player-only meeting

The Celtics had a players-only meeting, an opportunity to clear the air and speak freely with one goal – to start playing Celtics basketball.

Since then, they have won three of their last four games which includes Wednesday’s 90-83 victory over Dallas.

Marcus Smart was among the Celtics players who felt the meeting was pivotal to this team at least starting to play at a higher compete level which has helped fuel their recent success.

“We had to look ourselves in the mirror and come to the conclusion that it is us and we’re the ones playing and that we have to get it together,” Smart said.

After ranking near the bottom of several defensive categories prior to the meeting, the Celtics have looked more like the squad that many projected – including players like Avery Bradley – would be among the top teams defensively in the NBA this season in their last four games.

In that span, the Celtics defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 93.3 which ranks second in the NBA. For the season, Boston’s defensive rating is 105.3 which ranks 24th in the league.

CSNNE – Boston Celtics player-only meetings contributes to recent improved play

Few phrases are as stigmatizing in sports as “player-only meeting.” In baseball and sometimes in basketball as well, such meetings signal a disconnect between manager and team. In this case, it seems the Celtics players just needed to call one another out for starting the season lacking the type of defensive grittiness that defined them last year.

I’m assuming Brad had shown and told them all they needed to see and provided them with the necessary steps to fix things– the rest was up to effort and a recommitment to taking pride in playing their signature brand of defense.

It’s interesting to note that Marcus Smart helped spearhead the meeting– now in his third year, which makes him a veteran on this club, Smart’s defensive tenacity and leadership have clearly shown over the past week. I, for one, can’t wait to see what he looks like when the Celtics are back to full strength, which leads to…

And finally, Horford taking the long-run approach

The fact that Horford signed a monster contract this summer (four years, $113 million) combined with Boston’s uneven play without him has left many Celtics fans restless for his return. What’s prudent to remember is Horford’s injury history suggests a player who exercises great caution with his health before returning to the floor.

Celtics fans need only rewind to the 2011-12 season. Horford tore his left pectoral muscle and underwent surgery in mid-January. After three months of rehab, he initially declared himself out for the opening round of the postseason, before being given the OK by his operating doctor to return as early as Atlanta’s regular-season finale. Horford still waited an additional 10 days, until Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Celtics, to make his postseason debut (this after the Hawks lost an overtime thriller to fall behind 2-1 in the series).

[…]

Part of the eagerness to have Horford back is that Boston has yet to see what it looks like with all its horses. At no point since the team convened for the start of training camp in late September has Boston had all of its players available.

ESPN Boston – Better safe than sorry: Celtics’ Al Horford cautious with injuries

I’m with Al on this one– don’t rush back from this. The Celtics didn’t sign Horford to win games in November. I might be singing a different tune if the horrendous play from last week carried over to this week, but the Cs are staying afloat with Horford and Jae Crowder recovering and in a weak Eastern Conference, staying afloat is just fine.

My frustration has nothing to do with Horford and everything to do with that last paragraph from Chris Forsberg– I want to know what this is all going to look like.

It’s been fun to watch Marcus Smart play defense and grow his offensive game; to watch Jaylen Brown get a step on a defender on his way to drawing contact at the rim and see Terry Rozier’s frenetic style of play bring energy to the second unit. What will it all look like when the Celtics have two of their five best players back on the court?

Maybe Friday we’ll begin to find out.

The rest of the links: 

ESPN – KD: ‘No attachment’ to Boston Celtics despite courtship

CSNNE – Stars, studs and duds

Herald – Celtics top Mavs 90-83  | Celtics Notebook: Isaiah Thomas holds no ill will for Kevin Durant

Mass Live – Kevin Durant disagrees with Jae Crowder about decision to sign with Golden State Warriors