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.

Prior to Rajon Rondo’s torn right ACL injury, he was widely considered one of the top five point guards in the NBA.

Today, he may not even be in the top 10.

There’s little doubt that Rondo will be a better player next season as his legs continue to get stronger. But even with stronger wheels, Rondo will hard-pressed to regain a spot among the elite point guards in the NBA.

The first round of the playoffs was a coming out party of sorts for point guards such as Portland’s Damian Lillard, Washington’s John Wall, Memphis’ Mike Conley and Atlanta’s Jeff Teague.

They join an already crowded VIP club of playmakers that’s led by Los Angeles Clippers Chris Paul, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Golden State’s Stephen Curry.

And let’s not forget about Brooklyn’s Deron Williams, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving or San Antonio’s Tony Parker who has been the best player for the Spurs the past couple of years.

CSNNE – Rondo still a top 10 point guard in the NBA?

With an early start to the offseason you’re likely going to see a lot of posts and discussion points like the one above.  Is Rondo still a top 10 point guard?  Such are the “issues” that are brought up during the “waiting-for-the-lottery” period.  But let’s entertain it anyway, shall we?  As always, a lot of it depends on the makeup of the rest of the team and what type of PG you prefer to have.  Do you want a scorer? Then Rondo won’t rank high on your list.  Do you want a distributor and big time playoff performer?  Well, he’s definitely up there.  The problem is, we’ve now been robbed of two consecutive years of Playoff Rondo while several other elite point guards, have blown up the playoff scene.

The last we saw of Rondo in the playoffs was in 2012 when he nearly lead the Celtics past Miami.  If you factor in his elbow injury in 2011, we’ve only seen Playoff Rondo for 4 series since the 2010 NBA Finals.  So right now, a huge function of this is due to the fact that a lot of the guys listed above are playing now and playing well.  Guys like Curry, Parker, Chris Paul and Westbrook have all played a lot of playoff games since Rondo’s brilliance was last seen.  Now, Damian Lillard has taken that torch and setting fire to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, another guy who wasn’t even mentioned above is in a similar boat than Rondo and that’s Derrick Rose.  Both have a lot to prove to show they are still at that level.  It’s a fun argument to have, and there is no bigger lightning rod on the C’s than Rondo, it’s more of a function of biding time until the lottery in a couple of weeks.  Until then, have fun with lists like these.

Page 2: One-on-One with Phil Pressey

Speaking of point guards, Marc D’Amico on celtics.com recently chatted with C’s backup Phil Pressey:

The rest of the links:

CSNNE – Rockets expected to have interest in Rondo

ESPN Boston – Report card: The braintrust | Reflections after report cards

Boston.com – Celtics Mailbag: The Waiting Game

Boston Globe – Celtics looking for anthem singers

MassLive – Dwyane Wade thought Miami Heat had buried Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett after 2012 playoffs