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.
Perkins went through the entire practice, which consisted mostly of skeleton drills. “He wants to play [tonight], he’s already approached me about it,’’ Rivers said. But the coach said Perkins’s availability will be determined by trainer Ed Lacerte and team doctor Brian McKeown. “I’m not going to listen to Perk, I can tell you that"
We could actually use Perk tonight. Without Shaq and Jermaine, Semih is our only 7-footer. And if he gets into any kind of foul trouble, we'll see a lot of a small lineup (really small if Marquis can't go) with Baby at the 5 and Luke Harangody at the 4.
But the C's won't rush Perk back just to be an extra body against the Cavs… nor should they. The real reason I even used this to lead the dump is the fact that Perk WANTS to go tonight… that he feels like he can.
Nope… we're gonna have to wait another 10 days for him to come back. And after what feels like forever, we're down to counting days until his return. That's just great news.
Note: I'm going to be on Cleveland.com's "Locked & Loaded" show today at 10am to talk C's-Cavs. Follow the link to listen in.
Related links: WEEI: Celtics won't rush Perkins back
On Page 2: The C's address their mental breakdowns
“If you look at the whole season, we’ve had a terrific season so far,” Doc Rivers said Monday after the team’s practice. “But if you look at that terrific season, we’ve had some bad losses. Those are tough losses for a team that shouldn’t lose those games. More lessons learned and we’ve got to keep teaching them.”
WEEI: The Celtics curious tendency to lose to bad teams
"It's all mental with us," Glen Davis said. "That's all it is. We try not to look past anybody. We just have to go out there and play, do what we have to do."
Two weeks ago, Davis said after a victory against the Kings the Celtics had been having a hard time taking some teams seriously.
"It shouldn't be (a problem)," he said following yesterday's 90-minute practice. "But the mentality we have, I don't think we go out there and approach (every) game as we know we should. It's simple. It's something we have to work on.
"The mentality changed in the second half (on Saturday). The first half we were doing what we need to do. The second half we didn't."
MWDN: C's attempt to get serious about their opposition
I hate to break it to these guys, but the attitude isn't going to change. It's too late.
These guys simply have shown no propensity for change when it comes to this. They will, as long as this team has these players on it, take lesser teams less seriously if not for a whole game, for a large portion of it.
Now… they might come out and blast the Cavs because they might be motivated by some measure of revenge. But unless the C's have some bit of motivation like that in the back pocket, they're going to coast against these bad teams.
Is it infuriating? You bet it is. And, as I've said before, these guys would actually get more rest out of blowing a team out in the first half and letting the subs finish things out during Gino-time… but they simply don't want to do that. They want to give about 15 minutes of effort. About 8 to start the game… and then another 7 or so to finish it.
The only ray of hope is what I brought up yesterday… that the return of Perk and Delonte will cure some of the boredom and their effort will be infectious enough make a difference. Otherwise, this is what this team is.
Related links: WEEI: Rivers doesn't want his team taking anyone for granted, not even Cleveland
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston: Rivers an All Star coach? | Morning Shootaround: Misery loves company | WEEI: What makes Ray a 3 point machine? Here's a video clue | Herald: Doc feels Byron Scott's pain | Shaq to return out West | Globe: Cavs thumbnails
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