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.
The Celtics understand that their challenge will be daunting and that the rest of the basketball world will be watching, but they are being careful not to get swept up in the hysteria. Confetti will not rain from the rafters if they win, and their season will not end if they lose.
After Boston defeated the Bulls on Wednesday night—an impressive win in its own right—forward Jared Sullinger made it clear the Warriors are not otherworldly, pointing out that they receive paychecks on the first and 15th of each month, just like the Celtics.
Following Thursday’s practice, players said they admired what Golden State has accomplished, but also emphasized that the streak does not really affect them.
“I feel like it’s just another game for us,” guard Avery Bradley said. “They are playing great as a team right now, but we can’t go out there thinking like this is the championship. It’s not. We have to go out there and play the right way and continue to build off of [the Chicago] game.”
“We know what we have to do,” forward Jae Crowder said, “which is to win a game and keep a streak of our own going.”
Yep. The Golden State Warriors hype train pulled into North Station on Thursday. Look, I get why Golden State’s got hype. We live in the age of the “Like”, the “Favorite”, and the “Retweet”, and the easiest way for a person to get validation is by having someone he’s possibly never met in person click a button in an app or a browser signifying his approval of something. What this means is that every trend gets magnified as people try to one-up each other in the extravagance or cleverness of their praise or censure.
So, naturally, this means you’ve got people now talking about the Warriors going 82-0. It’s not going to happen folks. Someone is going to beat them, and frankly, why not the Celtics? They plainly are not afraid of the Warriors, having lost by only 8 points total to a slightly worse version of this team back when the Celtics weren’t as good as they are now either.
And before getting caught up too much in the hype surrounding The Streak, take a look at who they’ve played. Thirteen of their 23 games have come against teams that are .500 or worse. They’ve only played FOUR games against teams with a top ten defense, as opposed to NINE games against teams with a bottom ten defense.
I’m not trying to say the Celtics are going to win tonight. I’m not going to say that they should be favored to win tonight. And I’m not trying to rag on the Warriors, because winning 23 straight is pretty hard to do, even if your schedule does you some real favors. And I’m certainly not trying to rag on Steph Curry. I can’t hate a guy who gets this excited about a toilet:
You also recently tweeted with glee about a new automated toilet your wife, Ayesha, bought for you. How big of a role has that hole played in your season?
[Laughs] Is this your first interview with a toilet question?Sadly, it is not even remotely my first interview with a toilet question.
Oh, man, that toilet just makes me happy in life. And when you’re happy, you play better. I bet if I did a case study on my performance since I got the toilet, you’d see the difference.
Sounds exciting. Were you on the new pot when you posted that tweet?
Well, I am a big social-media-on-the-toilet guy, because that’s my break time. But no, I was in Minnesota when Ayesha told me about it. And the next day I had 46 [points]. There’s a reason for that. I was very happy.
But for crying out loud can we just let the game be a game, and stop trying to hang all this meaning onto it? It’s 1.2% of the season. That’s it. If the C’s win, it’s on to the next game, and if they lose, it’s on to the next game. And you can bet the more right thinking Warriors out there have exactly the same attitude.
Page 2: Doc’s back in Chicago, but Chicago’s not home anymore.
Doc was always sure to talk when he entered the room in her home in Maywood, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago, not knowing how much was connecting. She could understand him most nights; he could just tell.
“‘Hey, Mom, it’s me,’” he’d say.
Usually, there wasn’t much in return. Maybe a look. Maybe a gesture.
That changed one night this June.
“Glenn,” she said.
“And,” Rivers said, voice cracking, “that was the last time she said my name.”
Look at that pic. It’s just a guy, his mom and his kid. I still don’t like how Rivers left things with the Celtics, but reading an article like this kind of helped put it all back in perspective for me.
Finally: Marcus Smart played Marcus Smart in NBA2k
#Celtics Brad Stevens ducked in Game Truck while Marcus Smart was playing himself in NBA2K. Smart said coach took him out for Isaiah Thomas.
— Scott Souza (@Scott_Souza) December 10, 2015
The rest of the links:
Non-Warriors game stuff
Boston Herald: Celtics notebook: Jared Sullinger kicks butt again on boards
Boston.com: ‘Whoa’ is the appropriate response to Evan Turner’s 360 dunk | Celtics player power rankings: Bradley, Thomas making All-Star cases
Boston Globe: At last, Bruins find a way to beat Canadiens (okay, so it’s not a Celtics article, but this list was a little thin otherwise)
Warriors game stuff
ESPN Boston: Just another game? Celtics try to downplay visit from Warriors
Boston Herald: Bulpett: Celtics ready to bring on the undefeated Warriors |Brad Stevens has been wary of Steph Curry ‘magic’ since NCAA days
Boston.com: Isaiah Thomas on the Warriors: ‘We want to be the first team to beat them’ | Celtics will have a golden opportunity against unbeaten Warriors
CSNNE: In Curry and Warriors, Celtics see the best getting better | No Celtic knows Warriors better than Lee | Celts: Playing unbeaten Warriors is ‘just another game’
Boston Globe: Unstoppable Warriors come streaking into Boston | Luke Walton has a deep connection with Celtics
SouthCoastToday.com: Brad Stevens says focus is on Celtics in Friday’s matchup with Warriors
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