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.
Both Sullinger and Olynyk were fan-voted starters, joining New Orleans ‘Anthony Davis, Orlando’s Victor Oladipo, and Philadelphia’s Michael Carter-Williams on Team [Chris] Webber’s first unit. Sullinger lived up to his promise of hanging out around the 3-point line, putting up nine of his 11 shots beyond the arc. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting (three triples) to go along with four assists, two rebounds and two blocks over 20 minutes. Olynyk was more efficient, scoring nine points on 4-of-5 shooting with three steals, two assists and a block over 25 minutes. Team [Grant] Hill emerged with a 142-136 triumph fueled by a monster 30-point, 25-rebound effort from Detroit’s Andre Drummond, who took home MVP honors. Dion Waiters put on a show with 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting as well, dueling with New York’s Tim Hardaway Jr. (36 points on 12-of-23 shooting) at one point.
My extravagant Valentine’s day plans kept me from watching this game, but the reality is that no one really gives a sh*t.
KO and Sully played well and, most importantly, neither sustained an injury.
ESPN’s Michael Wallace took the game seriously and graded all the players. KO scored a B, while Sully received a B-:
Why not use the Rising Stars Challenge to show off seldom-used aspects of your game? Sullinger did just that Friday, displaying a 3-point shooting touch early that set the pace. But on a night when someone – anyone – needed to step up and keep Drummond off the boards, Sullinger faded.
I don’t blame Sully one bit. I thought boxing out was forbidden in all-star games.
Related: Herald – Numbers up for Celtics duo | Globe – Olynyk, Sullinger embrace opportunity | CSNNE – Olynyk turning out to be among best of 2013 draft
On Page 2, Danny Ainge could go both ways.
“We would do a deal to make our team better and use assets to get better right away,” Ainge, who is remaining back home to work the phones this weekend, said yesterday. “And we would also move veteran players to create flexibility and get draft picks. So we could go either way right now. But right now I think it’s a feeling-out process.”
Don’t misunderstand him when he talks about improvement now. He is not looking to move the Celts a few rungs up the ladder.
“I’m not talking about getting three wins better,” the Celts’ president of basketball operations said. “I’m talking about being able to be significantly better next year.”
But, yes, he is willing to look at opportunities that would jump the C’s out of the lottery picture this year. He will not refuse if an opposing team wants to make him an offer that’s one-sided — in his favor.
“I mean, I have some deals that I would do,” Ainge said with a laugh, “but I don’t have a trading partner as of this moment.”
Oh Danny, you’re one funny guy.
Bass and Bogans will be gone by the end of the week. Book it.
Related: ESPN Boston – Stevens braces for 1st trade deadline
And finally…
When asked who he would choose as teammates for a three-on-three game if he had to select one current player and one all-time great, Kevin Durant chose Dirk Nowitzki and Larry Bird. Durant then expressed admiration for Bird, the former Celtic great, saying he was one of his favorite players.
“He does it all. Larry Bird, I like his trash talking, for one. He didn’t back down from nothing. He was the toughest guy I’ve ever watched.”
KD giving props to Legend. Both Durant and LeBron James have Bird on their Mt. Rushmore of the NBA.
John threw out the Mt. Rushmore question on Twitter yesterday.
Give me your #Celtics #MtRushmore and #MtFlushmore .. be sure to use all the tags like I just did. We’ll toss them all together in a post
— John Karalis (@RedsArmy_John) February 14, 2014
Feel free to share yours.
Playing the harp is exhausting. I need a nap.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston – Taking stock of C’s at break | CSNNE – A leader emerges (Sully)
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