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.
Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving said he is relieved to have his left knee infection behind him, describing the treatment and recovery process as “a long, long f—ing two months.”
Irving went through one-on-one drills with his trainer Thursday and said he expects to be fully ready for Boston Celtics training camp.
ESPN: Irving glad ‘long, rigorous’ recovery behind him
The first thing that jumps out at me here is that this easily could have become a staph infection and “he had a catheter inserted into a vein going into his heart.”
That’s, ummmm…. pretty f’ing scary.
The good thing here is that Kyrie is going to be ready to go on day 1, he’s going to be healthy, and if you read through the whole piece, there is a silver lining to him being shut down early.
Just like most things, shutting him down wasn’t 100% bad. Between Kyrie and Gordon Hayward, the extra time is giving them an opportunity to approach their games a little differently.
Now… I can already hear the snarky remarks, but if you can it for a minute and open your eyes, you’ll see it.
No one wanted to get hurt, but they did. They didn’t want the extra time, and we didn’t want them to have it, but they had it. What Hayward and Kyrie have done is maximize that time to squeeze something good out of a bad situation.
Personally, I’m excited about the possibilities in both their games. Both guys are going to be ready on day one. When combine that with steps forward from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who knows how good this team can be.
Speaking of which…
Related links:
Herald: Kyrie Irving insists he’ll be ready for Celtics camp
Globe: Kyrie Irving shares an update on recovery from left knee infection
NBCS Boston; Kyrie Irving cleared for basketball activities and 1-on-1 work | Kyrie Irving not playing full-contact, but expects to be 100 percent for Celtics training camp
MassLive: Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving ‘nothing but excited’ to lead new/old-look team | Kyrie Irving could have developed a staph infection in his injured knee | Kyrie Irving Injury: Boston Celtics star cleared for basketball activities, 1-on-1 work
Page 2: Jayson Tatum works out with a fan
[protected-iframe id=”b18dc3cb140696c4e6bbc085533754a1-142507471-1227608″ info=”//www.instagram.com/embed.js” class=”instagram-media”]Jayson is learning Mamba Mentality from Kobe himself 😎(via @jaytatum0) pic.twitter.com/s1LuqJeDIa
— ESPN (@espn) July 27, 2018
This is sweet on multiple levels.
1: Tatum is picking the brain of an elite offensive player. He’s building on an already polished offensive game to reach levels that will help Boston take big leaps forward.
2: He’s getting to ball with his hero. Say what you want about Kobe, but a 20-year-old getting to learn from his hero is cool.
3: Lakers fans f’ing haaaaaaaate this. Kobe’s teaching Tatum how to be a killer on the court… just wait until he drops some Kobe signature moves on the Lakers to beat them in the Finals.
Speaking of which… this video is making the rounds.
I don’t like this at all. pic.twitter.com/DWQuQcbrQG
— Got ‘Em (@GotEm_Coach) July 27, 2018
In all fairness, those are moves a lot of players make. However, I have to commend the editing and effort of not only matching the moves, but matching the camera angles.
Reminder, Tatum was only 19 making those moves.
Related links: NBCS Boston: Jayson Tatum gets a workout in with Kobe Bryant
And Finally…
There might be many of you who remember the old Shaw’s/Reebok summer league held at UMass Boston. It went away in 2004 because of the Democratic National Convention, but for a few years before that, it was an amazing week or so of getting a chance to watch up-and-coming stars in an intimate environment.
In today’s Globe, Chad Finn compiles an oral history of the final summer league in Boston, which happened to be LeBron’s debut in 2003.
It started in the Pitino Era. Rick wanted his players to play in the summer, but didn’t want to spend the money to travel and put them up some place. That was the impetus.
The Celtics’ director of basketball operations at the time, Stu Layne, had a conversation with the mayor [Thomas Menino] and the mayor suggested that he come and see us. He did, and we developed a really good relationship. It was a situation that worked for everybody involved.
It’s hilarious to me that this whole thing began with Pitino being cheap. Times have changed, but Pitino’s frugality gave us a few years of July fun.
This is an excellent piece and amazingly well presented. There are some obscure names that will bring back some great memories so it’s well worth your time.
The rest of the links:
Herald: After solid summer, Celts sign Bird | ‘It means everything’: DeMar DeRozan eager to work with Popovich
Globe: Celtics award Jabari Bird two-year contract, final roster spot
The Athletic: Taking stock of Kyrie Irving’s first season in Boston: did he answer the questions surrounding him? | The ‘Scary Terry’ brand pays off as Terry Rozier joins the Puma stable
NBCS Boston: C’s-Bird deal shows how two-way contracts should work | Ex-Celtic Shane Larkin signs offer sheet with Turkish team
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