Your Morning Dump... Where "It's just one game."

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.

Crowder: "This loss doesn't sit well with us, but it's just one game. We'll bounce back in Detroit."

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 25, 2017

That’s Jae Crowder talking. Jae is the voice of reason here. Stop for a moment and reflect on that, those of you who wanted Boston to trade a first-rounder for Serge Ibaka or two second rounders for three months of PJ Tucker.

Jae of the hot-headed takes is taking the calm and proper perspective here, while some fans are ready to treat 24ish minutes of butt-ugly basketball in one game in one single season that is 82 games long as a referendum on the entire Danny Ainge era.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself what Ibaka and Tucker did to prevent Boston from strolling out to a double-digit lead. Ask yourself what Ibaka and Tucker could have done–in their first game with the Celtics–to prevent the lollygagging and simple-minded possessions that have been a periodic issue for this team for two years now.

Boston was undone last night because of things that they have routinely had issues with–and not because the Raptors + Ibaka and Tucker did something that the Raptors – Ibaka and Tucker proved incapable of back in December–you know, the last time the Celtics blew a 16 point lead and lost the game?

Page 2: Where the Dancing Bear could be going to Maine

“We may see him in Portland, Maine, at some point this year,” Ainge said during his weekly interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich.

That path would allow Yabusele, the 16th overall pick in June’s draft, to receive reps with the Celtics D-League affiliate without starting his NBA clock. The big man has averaged 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in China, according to RealGM, while shooting 54.2 percent from the field, including 38.8 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

MassLive

I’ll admit, both of these overseas Celtics players are unknowns to me, but Guerschon is one even more so than Zizic.

I hope he’ll be able to play a bit for the D-League; it would provide more of a view into his abilities than we got from Summer League

Page 3: Where Terrence Jones is interested in joining the Celtics?

The Celtics could be a good fit for Jones, who averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a role player for the Pelicans this season. At just 25 years old, he’s a versatile swingman with some upside who also has made a habit of killing the C’s whenever he plays them.

NESN

Frankly, Terrence Jones looks like the prototypical candidate for the Brad Stevens Career Makeover™ (patent pending). He’s got abilities, and he has struggled to find a good situation. Brad Stevens’ reputation of being able to get the most from his players is only going to work in Boston’s favor. When Boston reaches contender status, they are still going to need guys like Jones on their roster–role-players who are good enough to swing a game your way when the rest of the team just isn’t clicking.

Yeah, Boston could address rebounding by trying to sign Bogut or Sully, but I think, at least as far as this season goes, the best help to their rebounding will be getting Bradley back healthy, and getting a guy like Jones that can both score and rebound at a decent clip. Bogut’s got injury issues, and while I don’t want to say he’d be David Lee Part II, you have to wonder how much motivation he’d bring to the team.

Page 4: Where ‘my team is on the floor.’

“And that’s why you want to get healthy. You want to have everybody on board so you can better gauge it. But I feel good about the guys in the locker room and how they complement each other.”

For all of Thomas’ surprise and regret over not making that trade for a big star, the Celtics guard has to admit that management’s show of faith in the current roster can have an inspiring effect.

“Knowing we had all the same guys in the locker room, knowing he had a chance to trade some guys and bring some new guys in, that shows what they think of this team,” said Thomas. “We just have to play these last 25 games out and see where we stand at the end.”

Boston Herald

Let’s not forget–again, while we’re all overreacting to a truly bad game last night–that Boston is squarely in the number two spot, that the number three team (Washington) just laid an even bigger egg against Philly, and that they’ve got a ton of young players.

Boston has gotten significantly better year-over-year, despite being positively plagued with injuries, they’ve got the ability to sign a max player this summer, and they’re all but assured of getting the 2nd of what could well be three consecutive top 5 picks.

Also, it’s worth remembering that basketball players are a perishable commodity. Instead of trading for Al Horford last season, Boston signed him over the summer. Boogie Cousins was untouchable two years ago. He was traded Sunday night for a single first round pick and Vivek’s mancrush. Time is not on Garpax’s side when it comes to Jimmy Butler. It’s not on Larry Bird’s side with Paul George.