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’ve been chronicling Boston sports for the better part of 34 years and assumed I’d seen just about everything, but something unfolded Sunday afternoon that I never imagined possible: a standing ovation for a team that got swept in the first round of the playoffs.

You know what? The Boston Celtics deserved it.

Long after the buzzer sounded on a Game 4 rumble that enabled the Cleveland Cavaliers to advance (and simultaneously jam the breaks on this surprising Boston season), the appreciative capacity Garden crowd continued its resolute chant of “Let’s go Celtics!”

[…]

The Cavs never did lose their handle on this game, in part because Boston shot 13 percent behind the 3-point arc, missing 20 of its 23 attempts. The Celtics also coughed the ball up 14 times, which Cleveland converted into 15 points. Oh, and Boston missed 13 free throws. These are all ill-advised trends against a superior team with the best player on the planet roaming the parquet.

[…]

That left Celtics fans to revel in smaller victories, such as when diminutive Phil Pressey lined up for a jump ball against LeBron and Boston got possession on the tip. Or when Smart coaxed in a reverse layup over the outstretched arms of LeBron and Kyrie.

ESPN Boston – Boston Celtics fans recognize promise to build from after being swept

Where to begin this morning’s dump? Olynyk on Love? Perk/JR on Crowder? Where the Celtics go from here?

How about we start with yesterday’s game, which embodied this rendition of our Boston Celtics more than most any game this season. It was ugly, devoid of a superstar, there was a lack of rebounding, some bad turnovers, some really, really ugly shooting, a double-digit deficit against a far more talented opponent and there was the collective question on the minds of all Celtics faithful: “how in the world can we win THIS game against THIS team with the guys on OUR team?

But, without fail, just like on the majority of the other 85 nights of Celtics basketball this year, this team did not quit. Fans couldn’t knock the effort, resourcefulness and creativity that typified both team and coach all season long– the same grit and resolve that disallowed a tank job and trip to the lottery when the team pawned off its best players in the first four months of the season. So the fans, as they planned on doing all along on Sunday regardless of the game four outcome, spent much of the fourth quarter willing and coaxing on the Cs before conceding defeat and applauding them for their year-long effort.

Was this outcome — a hard-fought, first round exit and a mid-round draft pick the best strategy for the future Celtics? Only time will tell. But we’ll remember this group in a way we won’t remember the 2006-2007 Celtics who tanked unceremoniously, or the 2003-2004 Celtics who rolled over as a lower seed in a four-game sweep.

We’ll remember them fondly. Because they typified Celtic Pride.

Related Links: CSNNE – Boston Celtics proud, but not satisfied with end of season

On Page 2: Will yesterday’s tangle hurt the Cs chances at Kevin Love?

The Celtics were waiting for July, and the chance to let coach Brad Stevens lay out Love’s expanded role in his system. General manager Danny Ainge wanted a chance to sell Love on a vision for surrounding him with complementary talent, on maximizing his popularity as New England’s next star.

And so, suddenly, maybe everything changed on Sunday. Kelly Olynyk and Love tangled, Love’s left shoulder apparently separated and clearly he’s beyond furious. He called the play “bush league,” and insisted that Olynyk “did it on purpose.”

[…]

It is only natural that if Love lost something significant in Boston – his season, for instance – embracing a free-agent move to the Celtics could be complicated, if not completely compromised. Love left the Garden with legitimate loathing of the Celtics on Sunday, and how that lasts could shape the future of the Cavaliers and Celtics.

Yahoo Sports – Did ‘bush league’ play complicate Love, Celtics’ mutual free-agent intrigue?

Ok, ok. Slow down, Woj. Yesterday’s tangle and subsequent Kevin Love injury is not going to be the driving force behind Love’s free agent decision.

It won’t even be a measurable factor.

Odds are good that Love will be back in a Cavs’ uniform this post-season, and this will become but one small moment in a long and memorable post-season run for his team. They should grind out a long series with the Bulls and Love could be back by the Eastern Conference Finals. If anything, the Cavs performance without him in game four and their expected performance without him in this coming series should only dissuade Love from returning as a member of Lebron’s catch-and-three-point-shooting posse next season.

Everything at this point in the coming free agency summer is conjecture. If Kevin Love is thinking of Boston as a possible destination, he’ll have the chance to clear his head, sit down with Brad Stevens and take a long view at a future in Celtics green.

And, if Love coming to Boston means parting with Kelly Olynyk in order for appeasement’s sake? By all means, sign me up.

And finally, where do the Cs go from here?

For now, this Celtics season will be deemed a success — a surprising playoff run engineered by a brilliant coach during a year in which the front office stripped the organization to the bones, trading the lone remaining piece of the 2008 title team.

But the true determination shouldn’t come until this summer, when we discover whether or not Danny Ainge can build on the momentum Brad Stevens created.

“You know, I’m not a big salesman,” Stevens said after the first playoff series of his career. “Never have been. The only thing I can ever say is: You want to be part of a great environment? This is a good environment. That makes the whole experience better, and for me that is our task — to continue to build and grow within that environment. Because we’ve got a good foundation and culture moving forward.”

WEEI – Success of Celtics season depends on summer

After last off-season’s promised fireworks never had their fuses properly lit, I, for one, had already turned my attention to the next off-season. I figured this 2014-15 Celtics would flounder and feel distant. Instead, they progressed and won me over. But now, here we are, the second full off-season in this post-Big Three rebuild.

There will be plenty of posts about where the Cs should go from here, so I won’t delve into a plan for the rebuild, but instead just pose some of the essential questions staring Danny Ainge directly in the face:

Who should he re-sign from this amalgamation of spare parts? Jae Crowder is a restricted free agent. Brandon Bass, who has survived every trade deadline of the past two seasons, is unrestricted.

What should the Celtics do in the draft? They have two picks in the first round: 16 and 28. Is there a rim protector, stretch four or scoring three that Danny Ainge will like at those spots? Will he trade up? Can he use either of those picks along with the trove of future first round picks to acquire a proven commodity?

Will a disgruntled star looking for a change of scenery emerge? Boogie, LaMarcus, we’re looking at you.

With money to spend and a hot young coach, can the Celtics make their first free agency splash in the last 20-plus years?

It should be a very interesting off-season. Stay tuned.

Related Links: Boston.com – C’s are a bump on the road to… what exactly?

The Rest of the Links: ESPN Boston – Lebron: ‘I highly respect’ Brad Stevens  |  Work in progress: Celtics optimistic moving forward