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.

Looking back across the hallway at the Celtics, Rondo had kind words for Thomas (“He’s been unstoppable this year”) and simply likes the way the club competes.

“They play well as a team,” he said. “They may be 13, 14 guys deep. You never know who’s going to get it going for them each night. You look at the box scores, there’s someone (different) leading in scoring every night. . . . Brad (Stevens) had these guys rolling, believing in the system, and they’re playing very unselfish.”

He knows because he watches and he keeps in touch.

“I sent Avery (Bradley) a text,” Rondo said. “That was a big shot he made the other day (to beat Cleveland). My young guys — Kelly (Olynyk), Jared (Sullinger) — a lot of these guys are my rookies, so it’s good to see these guys playing well and wish them health and happiness. Continue to play and try to win the East.”

Herald – Rajon Rondo still part dazzle, part puzzle

Even the most enigmatic, abrasive and often alienating former Celtic can look across to his old locker room and see that his old team is doing just fine, in fact, much better, without him. As Murphy alludes to earlier in his piece, this game proved exactly the reason why the Celtics parted with Rondo when they did: On a struggling team, Rondo’s facilitator role feels self-serving — as though each pound of the rock for seconds on end is for the ultimate goal of tallying another assist to pad stats, and every angle-playing gamble on defense is to notch another steal in a quest to lead the league in that category. Is that actually what goes on in Rondo’s head while his team languishes in mediocrity night after night? Probably not. But those stats do feel and look quite empty. Brevin Knight once averaged an impressive 10 points, 9 assists and 2 steals a game  for an 18-64 Bobcats team in the mid 2000s and Rondo feels a bit like Brevin Knight this year.

With all of that in mind, one has to wonder if Rondo looked over at that Celtics bench and locker room with a bit of forlorn jealousy and maybe even a twinge of embarrassment. His team looks to be imploding while the Cs continue to rise and they’ve been trending up ever since the day he was shipped to Dallas.

If he is feeling that way, he didn’t let it be known through his complimentary words about his former team and his former guys. Hopefully Rondo can land with a competitive team next year -maybe the the Wolves will be ready to compete and ready for him next year- because it’s far more enjoyable to watch Rondo’s magic when it actually counts for something. Otherwise it feels empty and downright Brevin Knightish.

Related links:

ESPN Boston – Rajon Rondo hopes Boston Celtics ‘try to take the East’  |  CSNNE – Rajon Rondo: Brad Stevens has Celtics rolling  |  Mass Live – Isaiah Thomas, Rajon Rondo highly complimentary of each other

Page 2, Sorry, John, Sully needs to keep taking those long 2s!

For the game he had 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting.

Having the hot hand certainly helped, but good things tend to happen for Boston when Sullinger gets a good number of shot attempts.

This season, Boston is 18-10 when Sullinger takes at least 10 shots from the field with victories in the last six games in which he has been a double-digit shot taker.

CSNNE – Sacramento Kings continue to bring the best out in Jared Sullinger

Shoot ’em when you’re hot, shoot ’em when you’re not, Sully! The big fella can go 1-11, yet apparently the Cs will be in great position to pick up a win. Sully has not been shy about attempting open looks from just inside the three-point line and when he gets into a rhythm and the Cs offense is generally humming, it’s a nice option on pick and pops to stretch opposing defenses.

According to Blakely, it happens often against the Kings, against whom Sully averages 13.4 ppg, his third highest against any opponent.

And finally, George Karl praises Cs, warming up for his role back at ESPN

The Kings head to Cleveland tonight, and coach George Karl spent considerable time watching video of the Celtics’ win Friday over the Cavaliers.

Karl was impressed.

“I’ll tell you what, they have a chance against Cleveland,” Karl, who pins the Celtics’ secret on a matter of effort — effort over and above what an average NBA team can manage, said. “I think NBA players play hard. It’s the teams that have the talent to play harder than their opponent is what the Celtics have.

“In a 48-minute game it’s not dominant. But they have those five-minute moments, or those 15-possession moments where their energy is substantially stronger than their opponent. Some of it comes because they’re a defensive team that creates turnovers. Some of it comes from young kids fighting for minutes. Coach (Brad) Stevens does a great job of pushing buttons and keeping everyone highly motivated. They’re a fun team. I watched three films on them.

“They’re a 48-minute team, that’s what I like about them,” he added. “The first thing I saw was that their bench is probably as strong as their starters. Their energy is good; more consistent than most NBA teams. They don’t have a lot of ego, and they know that their defense creates offense for them, so they play at a very difficult and high energized level.”

Herald – George Karl doles out ‘respect’ after Celtics latest win

Get ready for those same quotes on next week’s 10:00am Sportscenter with former Sacrament Kings coach George Karl. As a coach, it’s hard not to take notice of what the Celtics are doing and Karl sums up the Cs quite accurately. In this 9 of 10 stretch for the Celtics the whole idea of out-working opponents every night, which seemed to disappear in December and early January, is consistently happening.

We look forward to hearing more from you, George after your impending axing this week.

The rest of the links: 

ESPN – Little Isaiah Thomas with big block on DeMarcus Cousin  |  Herald – Big ‘Z’ brings his ‘A’ game  |  CSNNE – Isaiah Thomas celebrates 27th birthday with win over Sacramento Kings