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.
While the somewhat contrived controversies that have enveloped the Patriots the last several months were a summer (and winter and spring) blockbuster to the rest of the country, it was all little more than a sequel for many in these parts.
Nods and wry smiles were very much in fashion for Celtics types who recall well the 1980s. A highly successful team accused of subterfuge? They’d seen that movie — and now the remake.
“Oh, sure,” said former Celtics general manager Jan Volk when asked if he had flashbacks amid reports of deflated footballs and general paranoia among Patriots opponents. “I’d been through that experience — not with the same media frenzy, because the media environment is very different now than it was then, but in many ways it looked very familiar. There were all sorts of presumed advantages that were being taken by Red (Auerbach) — by our whole organization — but obviously Red was the marquee person.”
Danny Ainge, a player then and president of basketball operations now, was hit with the parallels over the summer.
“Belichick is Red, and Brady is Larry,” he said.
“It’s crazy, all the things that are being said. But a lot of it was really familiar. I’ve been watching all this, and all I can think of is that it’s a real compliment to the Patriots.”
Herald – Bulpett: Before they hated the Patriots, they hated the Celtics
Somewhere, Red is smiling.
He was the master of the technique called “gamesmanship.” Auerbach never objected when opponents accused him of screwing them over. If other teams thought there were dead spots in the floor, Red didn’t correct them. He knew if you’re in someone’s head, you’ve already won the psychological battle.
He had 16 rings to prove it.
On Page 2: Rankings, get your rankings here
Celtics players in #NBARank (301-400): No. 375 Rozier, No. 367 James Young, No. 349 Perry Jones, No. 324 R.J. Hunter http://t.co/ULSFp52Y9f
— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) September 23, 2015
Who will be the best player this season?
To get the final ranking, we asked the panel to vote on pairs of players.
LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry. James Harden vs. Kevin Durant. Kobe Bryant vs. Pau Gasol.
We asked, “Which player will be better in 2015-16?” To decide, voters had to consider both the QUALITY and the QUANTITY of each player’s contributions to his team’s ability to win games. Over 100 voters weighed in on nearly 30,000 pairs of players.
ESPN.com – #NBArank 2015: The “bottom” 100
In the website’s future power rankings released Tuesday, Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton tabbed the Celtics No. 10 – an improvement of 14 spots from last September. No other team saw a bigger leap in the rankings, which are meant to project how much success teams will experience over the next three seasons.[…]
The Celtics’ management score jumped up to third overall thanks in part to the brilliant coaching of Brad Stevens and the continued patience and shrewd asset collection of Danny Ainge – the Celtics rank second overall in the draft category thanks to as many as five first-round picks in the next two years.
The team is also looking at massive cap room the next few years. So the Celtics are well-positioned to add stars via trade, free agency or the draft.
MassLive – ESPN NBA future power rankings: Boston Celtics make biggest jump to No. 10
The Celtics aren’t looking good right now, but they will someday soon. That’s according to these two sets of rankings from the “Worldwide Leader.”
The low end of the player rankings contains four young Celtics. Have to wait and see where the rest fall, and if anyone in green will crack the top 100. If so, it won’t be more than one or two, since everyone seems fixated on Boston’s lack of star power.
Some familiar names in the bottom segment: Big Baby Davis at 343, Phil Pressey at 365 and Tayshaun Prince at 368. Ranked lower than Rozier are such notables as E’Twaun Moore, Carlos Boozer, Jimmer Fredette and Charlie Villanueva. And good news for the Celtics’ 2016 draft hopes: Shane Larkin is ranked at 388, down from 290 last season. Larkin signed with Brooklyn to replace Deron Williams at point guard.
By the way, Jordan Mickey missed the cutoff to be included in the 400. No problem, he was a second-round pick. Oh, and Kendrick Perkins didn’t make it either. (Insert laughing-so-hard-I’m-crying emoji here.)
As an organization, the Celts did better in the future power rankings. Attribute that to strong ownership; Ainge’s management proficiency; Boston’s treasure trove of draft picks; and, of course, the star of the franchise, Brad Stevens.
The future rankings seem more important that the rankings of current players. It’s much easier to change players than to develop a strong management base, salary cap flexibility and draft position. If nothing else, the opinions of Ford and Pelton indicate that the rebuild is progressing well.
And, finally: Bill Walton loves passing, and he loved being a Celtic
30 years ago, the light was shining, thanks Boston for making me so happy, I’m the luckiest guy on earth, https://t.co/ZNpvbYq0h6
— Bill Walton (@BillWalton) September 23, 2015
The Big Redhead and World’s Most Famous Deadhead has always cherished his time with the Celtics, brief though it was. He clearly relished this highlight video that surfaced this week (and was featured in Tuesday’s Dump). And why not? In the pantheon of great passers, Walton was to centers as Bird was to forwards. Unsurpassed.
The Rest of the Links:
CBS Boston – Month-By-Month Breakdown Of Celtics 2015-16 Schedule
Herald – Celtics notebook: David Lee perfect for Brad Stevens’ Celtics
CSNNE – Creating a lineup rotation will be ‘a challenge’ for Celtics
ESPN Boston – Tyler Zeller sees positives in Celtics’ overstocked frontcourt
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