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.

Marcus Smart missed 70 of his 87 threes (19.5 percent) entering Sunday’s 112-92 Celtics win over the Sixers. But after taking extra time to develop a rhythm during Saturday’s practice, Smart bounced back.

Smart scored 16 points in the win, with a 3-of-6 performance from downtown.

“It felt good. I’ve been trying to find my rhythm,” Smart said to reporters after the game. “I finally got a couple to go down.”

All of Smart’s threes came over a 87-second stretch in the second quarter, so he still needs to prove he can stroke it over an extended period of time. But it’s encouraging to see any progress after such a long drought. Smart hit a trio of threes only twice this season: on opening night against the Sixers, and on Nov. 15 against the Thunder.

“It was good to see him make some shots,” Stevens said. “He’s gonna need to continue to shoot and make those shots.”

CSNNE – Smart catches fire from three against Sixers

After last winter, we in the New England region were happy to see Winter Storm Jonas scoot on by to the south and out to sea, but after witnessing what a snowed-in afternoon at the gym can do for Marcus Smart’s jump-shot, by all means, let it snow!

A quick spurt of treys does not a sharp-shooter make, but I for one have very little hair left to pull out from the anger that has coursed through my body from Marcus feeling emboldened enough to take contested threes early in the shot-clock this season. It’s like he goes to the Evan Turner school for kids who have totally misplaced confidence in long-range shooting and can’t shoot good or do other things good, too.

Last night’s offensive performance as a whole is an encouraging sign for Smart, who has spent the entire season, pre and post injury, mired in a pretty terrible shooting slump. It’s Stevens words that ring most true, though: Smart needs to become a more consistent offensive player. While defense is his calling card, he can’t be a one-way player and a starter in the NBA. Very few point-guards are scoring-challenged, with Ricky Rubio being one of the only examples of a guy who is still a valuable starter because of his transcendent ball-handling and passing. Smart will never be that much of an offensive maestro, and so he needs to continue to sharpen his all-around offensive game.

Either do that, or pray for snow like I and my students do.

Related Links: CSNNE – Smart: Celtics wanted to ‘punch first’ vs. 76ers 

On page 2, OK, Boston, its you and the Cs now — get used to it

For the casual Boston sports fan, basketball season doesn’t truly begin until football season ends. So as New England Patriots fans come to grips with Sunday’s lossto the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game, the Celtics have room on a bandwagon the team hopes is bound for the playoffs.

The Celtics enter the final week of January at 24-21 overall and have quietly shimmied up to sole possession of the No. 5 seed in a log-jammed Eastern Conference. Winners of two straight and five of their last seven overall, the Celtics are only two games behind the two teams directly ahead of them — theChicago Bulls (a team Boston beat on Friday) and the Atlanta Hawks.

[…]

Statistical projections remain rosy for Boston. The Celtics rank seventh overall — and third among East teams — in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. Boston projects at 45.7 wins, which would leave it jockeying for a top-4 seed and potential home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs (New England fans know just how valuable home court can be, right?)

[…]

Boston is positioned well — for this season and beyond. There’s a chance to lure some of those Boston fans that need a new distraction after the Patriots’ season ended and before pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers, Florida. Boston fans will perk up again when the playoffs arrive in April, but the Celtics need to show they are worthy of attention right now.

ESPN Boston – With Patriots done, Celtics deserve a closer look

Look, none of you need to hop aboard the Green-team train, you’re all here because you are fans of this team -or you have conquered the entire internet- but I really just needed to write this for me more than I need any of you to read it. I’m sad. Many of us are sad. Chuck and Rich are fans of lesser football teams, and they’re not sad. But thankfully, this isn’t 2006-07 when the Patriots lost an AFC Championship game to Peyton Manning in soul-crushing fashion; the Celtics are interesting and competitive and amazingly in fifth in the Eastern Conference. There’s something toward which to turn our attention.

Over the next month, we’ll watch as the Cs continue to try and work their way up the Eastern Conference playoff ladder, the Nets hopefully continue to plummet down the standings (OKC, you have some serious explaining to do after last night), Isaiah Thomas donning an All-Star jersey as the first Celtic to play in the game in the post-Big Three era, a trade deadline full of intrigue and, if all breaks right, at least one playoff series with this team on the rise.

There. I feel better already. If the Pats could just waive Marcus Cannon today I think I’d be completely back to normal.

And finally, the Cs are 1-0 when playing in front of less than 5,000 people

For weather-related reasons, this game was weird. The game was initially scheduled for Saturday, but got pushed back one day. Because of snow, the Celtics flew to Philadelphia the morning of the game and had no time — or gym — for their normal pregame shootaround. The team typically travels at least one night in advance, and had only flown and played on the same day six times over the previous 15 years, according to radio play-by-play man Sean Grande.

The blizzard in Philadelphia didn’t just impact the Celtics. It also made the commute tough for 76ers fans who wanted to see the game. CSNNE sideline reporter Chris Mannix estimated the Wells Fargo Center held only about 3,000 people. The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn described the crowd as a “first game of NCAA Tourney atmosphere,” and a Sixers blogger reported the Sixers actually invited fans in the mezzanine level to join the lower level, leading to “a mad panic to find new seats.”

Mass Live – Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas lead Boston Celtics to business-like win against Philadelphia 76ers, 112-92

I have a rec league game tonight and I’m expecting more fans and more noise than I saw and heard while watching last night’s game (we’re a big deal and it’s Ben Mark bobble-head doll night for the first 25 in attendance. Also, if we manage to score more than 50 points the whole crowd gets free burritos).

I understand the game was rescheduled due to snow, and having lived in Philly for a few years, believe me, they don’t really know what to do with the white stuff even days after it falls. I’m also assuming maybe only 6 or 7,000 more Philadelphians planned to go watch their joke of a franchise play on a Saturday night anyways, but I’ve never seen such a strange and frankly, sad scene at a regular season game.

Year three of The Hinkie Project and the Sixers continue to hit new lows.

It all begs the question, if Marcus Smart hits three 3-pointers in under two-minutes, but only 3,000 paying fans who moved down from the upper bowl in some sort of minor-league baseball promotional stunt were there to see it, did it really happen?