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.
Humphries is one of the hardest workers on the Celtics. When his playing time was limited at the start of the season, the 10th-year veteran would hop on a treadmill after games to simulate what he had missed on the court.
When rookie Kelly Olynyk sprained his right ankle in late November, it opened up a door for Humphries, who has carved out a role as one of Boston’s key bigs over the past 16 games.
[…] Maybe it’s because of his limited on-court role, but Humphries’ numbers are practically staggering. He’s second on the team in plus/minus at plus-39 (Jared Sullinger is the only regular in the positive at plus-76). By making Humphries the first big off the bench on Saturday, coach Brad Stevens essentially had the two passing the (undersized) center baton to each other.For the season, the Celtics own a team-best offensive rating of 106.3 when Humphries is on the floor. That number dives to 97.4 when he’s off. Humphries owns a defensive rating of 101.7 (nearly a half point below Boston’s season average of 102.1) and his plus-4.6 net rating is best on the team.
If that’s not enough, Humphries tops the team in defensive rebound percentage (23.1) and total rebound percentage (16.4). His ability to consistently put a body on other bigs and allow guards to help out on the glass has drastically improved Boston’s team rebounding this month.
ESPN Boston: Kris Humphries working it
Kris Humphries was heading for a quiet Saturday. The Cleveland Cavaliers were in town, and the matchups had the Celtics coaches preparing to use Vitor Faverani more among the large people in reserve.
But then it was learned that Andrew Bynum had angered his bosses to the point where he was denied an all-expenses-paid trip to Boston and suspended indefinitely.
So Humphries was the first player off the bench and provided 10 points, three rebounds and an assist in 17 minutes of a three-point win. He was needed and he was ready.
“High level of professionalism,” coach Brad Stevens said. “HIGH level.”
[…] “You go home and people ask you about guys, and what I told them about Kris is that he’s as professional as you can be,” Stevens said. “He handles not playing, and he’s a positive teammate. We’ve got a lot of those guys, but he’s certainly a great example.”
Herald: Kris Humphries puts in work
One of the problems when you have, probably 13 or 14 guys out of 15 who deserve minutes is that there’s no time in a basketball game to give 13 or 14 guys the minutes they probably deserve.
Each position gets 48 minutes a game. That’s 240 combined minutes that will be played. Divide that by 14 and there’s 17 minutes per player to go around.
That just doesn’t work. Some guys need 30+ minutes out there. Some younger guys need playing time so they can develop. Some guys need to be on the floor due to the matchups the other team presents.
The math adds up to give us one of life’s harshest lessons: You don’t always get what you feel you deserve.
I hate to break it to some of you millenials who might be reading. The “everybody gets a trophy” culture in which you’ve been raised is a lie… a parental overreaction to not getting their own trophies as kids. In the real world, you can be good at something and not get the job you want, or get on the project you want to be on at work, or the promotion and raise you swore were yours.
In the real world, a guy like Kris Humphries sits and watches a new coach on a young team make certain decisions with which he doesn’t agree. What does he do?
He doesn’t bitch and moan. He doesn’t storm out of the building.
If he gets a DNP, then he’s on a treadmill running the minutes he would have played. If it’s practice, he’s running extra at the end to push himself to be ready.
Which leads us to another of life’s lessons, but this is a good one: You make your own luck.
When you don’t get something you think you deserve, what do you do? Pout? Bitch about it on Twitter? Go on a yolo-fueled booze-filled overreaction weekend?
Kris Humphries doesn’t. All that ass-busting paid off when Kelly Olynyk turned his ankle. All that hard work paid off because Humphries was prepared to take advantage of the situation presented to him. And now he’s back in the mix.
Sure, he’ll get fewer minutes some games because of the matchups. But he’s proven to Brad Stevens that he is capable of executing the plan whenever he’s called upon. I’m sure Stevens is thrilled to have the focus shift to a guy who is getting his minutes through hard work and proper preparation (mental and physical).
So we’re happy to give Kris Humphries his due. The guy deserves it. I’m sure it’ll really pay off when he’s traded to a contender in February.
The rest of the links:
CSNNE: Celtics struggling to hold big leads | Globe: Brandon Bass adjusts his game
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