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.

Losing always gets old, but for these Celtics, the feeling has entered the octogenarian stage.

“You can only take moral victories out of something like this for so long,” Jared Sullinger said following Saturday’s relatively close loss at the Garden to perhaps the best team in the NBA, the Indiana Pacers.

Celtics Notebook-Celts Work On Losers Mentality-Mark Murphy

Over the last 6 years, Celtics fans were treated to wins-and lots of them. 6 playoff appearances, including two Finals trips and an NBA championship. The 2009 squad put together a 19-game winning streak, and the 2010 team strung together 14 straight. Well that is definitely not the case this year. In what’s been the C’s worst season since the 2006 campaign, Boston is 20-40 heading into the final 22 games of the year. The playoffs are out of reach, unless some miracle of the basketball gods takes shape.

Losing games at such a frequent rate tends to way heavier on some of the younger, less experienced players. Many guys come into the NBA from successful college programs and are simply not mentally prepared for so much losing-let alone the rigors of an 82 game schedule and what that does to a guy physically. Veterans like Kris Humphries, Brandon Bass & Gerald Wallace have been great to have around this year to teach the younger players how important it is to try & stay focused despite the virtual black cloud that losing can hang over a team. Danny Ainge knows and truly appreciates this.

“Kris has been great for our team this year — him and Gerald and Brandon Bass,” Ainge said. “Their roles have been inconsistent this year, but they’ve been real pros about it. They’ve been competing for minutes with the younger guys. But you see the steadiness of them through those situations. They’ve approached it the same way every day. It’s a credit to them as people.”

For myself, as a fan, heading into the final month or so of this season is bittersweet-for a few reasons. This will be the first time since the 2006-07 season that I will not be able to watch my Celtics in the playoffs. The final regular season game on April 16th will not simply be a night where the starters rest and you get yourself ready for another playoff run. It will be the end of what will seem like a very long season and the beginning of a bit of uncertainty. Where will the Celtics pick in the draft? Will they use their first-round pick, or trade it away for a veteran player that can immediately make them a contender? Who will Danny sign? I talked to a fan/friend at Saturday’s game about this, and we agreed that it will be an exciting off season despite all the lingering questions. Sure, we won’t be watching the Celts in May or June, but we will be able to get excited about the draft lottery (circle your calendars-it takes place on Tuesday 5/20) and of course the actual draft itself.

As far as how the losing affects me as a fan, I’ve been frustrated at times, as we obviously all have, but I’ll survive. I sat through many a game at the Garden before KG, Ray, Paul & company brought the glory days back to Boston, and I’ll sit through many more if I have to. But it does take it’s toll-especially when you’re there. You see, being a Celtics fan is like nothing else. You really become attached to the team, your fellow fans and everyone & thing in between. It’s impossible not to. We have some of the most passionate, dedicated and truly real fans in all of sports. Whether each loss brings us closer to a better draft pick or not, it still stings. We expect to and want to win every game. But alas, losing is just a part of the process that is the rebuild. So fear not Celtics-we will be here,waiting, as patiently as possible, for Banner #18…

Page 2: New Zealand Boy Arrives In Boston

This is such a fantastic story. Louis Corbett, the 12 year old boy from New Zealand whose Celtics dream Wyc & Corrine Grousbeck are helping make come true, arrived in Boston last night. Louis has a degenerative eye disease that unfortunately will render him blind, but before that happens, the youngster wants to experience a few of the things on his “bucket list”. The Grousbecks and many others have gotten together to make sure that this young guy’s dream of seeing the Boston Celtics in person comes true. He will be at the Garden on Wednesday night to watch the C’s take on the Warriors. You can follow Louis’ trip via his family’s Facebook page. Here’s a short vid of Louis’ arrival in Boston via WCVB.com:

The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston: Babb Thrown Into The Fire

CSNNE: Celts Forced To Use Young Lineup

Globe: Celtics Team Up For Stay In School Event (photo)

Alabama.com: Catching Up With Ronald Nored

Bleacher Report: Can Rondo Ever Thrive As Celtics Leader?