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.

“I think we’re on our way to being a good team and doing things the right way, and, at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with being a blue collar team, you know what I’m saying?”

[…]“The NBA is supposed to be full of superstars, and we kind of prove it wrong,” said Turner. “It’s a situation here where we don’t have four or five quote-unquote superstars like most teams. We come out and we try to play our butts off every night. We earn the right to be on the court, and we earn the right to get our wins.”

Herald: Evan Turner: Celtics do things the right way

The Celtics have amassed a nice little resume for themselves after 52 games (aside: holy crap 52 games already? Only 30 games left??) . They’re third in the Eastern Conference and one of only seven NBA teams with winning records at home and on the road. They still have the second-best defensive rating in the league and the seventh-best net rating.

The Celtics are good.

They’re good with just one All Star, and even that selection was up in the air for a bit. They’re good with Evan freakin’ Turner playing a pivotal role off the bench. They’re doing it, like ET says, by working their asses off.

But we knew that would be the formula going into the season. The Celtics roster is full of good talent, but it’s not good enough to just stroll onto the court and be granted a win by willing other teams to lay down. That’s Golden State’s turf.

Boston is like a pride of lions… they work together to take down the big prey, and they can only do it if they work together. Going at it alone will rarely work out well.

This all makes this team infinitely likable. Boston loves its “blue collar” teams… the teams that scrap and fight their way to success. If people aren’t paying attention to the Celtics yet, they will be soon.

Page 2: Brad Stevens explains how he got to these rotations

CSNNE

I could sit there and listen to Brad Stevens talk basketball forever.

One of the really great wrinkles over the past couple of weeks is moving Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart off the ball some when Evan Turner is in the game. It allows Turner to work in a successful role, and it gives Smart and Thomas a chance to get free in other ways. Like Stevens said, getting Isaiah a second pick-and-roll to take advantage of shifting defenses, is something that’s helped the Celtics.

We’ve talked about this on Rainin’ J’s for a long time now… the solidifying of rotations has been a big key to the Celtics’ success. Now that David Lee is sitting and guys are generally being used in consistent ways, the team is experiencing fewer lulls and is playing better for longer.

Now let’s see what happens with the trade deadline and how they’ll react if there’s a deal that ships some guys out town.

And Finally….

This was from the other night, but it’s too good to not share. Pop & Tim Duncan laugh at some no-name who decided to talk trash

Pop and Tim laughing about Meijri @poundingtherock pic.twitter.com/K7cfqGGET9

— Megan (@MegaMaz) February 6, 2016

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He apologized for it after, but the Pop “what did I do?” look was really worth it.

The rest of the links:

Globe: Doc facing trying time with the Clippers  |  Warriors match best 50-game start in history  | CSNNE: Blakely: Karl is fired, Cousins trade talk will pick up  |  Bradley evolving into a go-to guy  |  Celtics players explain why they chose their jersey numbers  |  Top 5 plays of the week  |  ESPN Boston: Rondo on bracing for 30th birthday: “I don’t try to wish any time away”  |  WEEI: Which NBA players have ability to play in the Super Bowl  |  MassLive: George Karl discusses Kings future, challenges of coaching Rondo  |  Herald: Visiting Rondo chasing victories