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.
It doesn’t work every time.
David Ortiz didn’t go yard every time he came up with men on base and the Red Sox trailing in the bottom of the ninth. The Globetrotters did suffer rare losses to the Washington Generals (you can look it up). Amarillo Slim occasionally went all-in with aces and got edged out when the last card was turned on the river.
And Isaiah Thomas might still be the king of the fourth quarter, but he is not undefeated. The same guy who went for 17 points in the final period Monday vs. Charlotte was merely mortal in the last act of a 39-point performance in the Celtics’ 117-106 loss to the Knicks last night.
Trailing 88-83 after three quarters, the Celtics went all-in with their ace, but this time they lost their remaining stack of chips. Thomas managed eight points, but he was 2-for-9 from the floor as the C’s pulled within a point and then let it all slip away.
“It happens. I mean, I can’t make every shot,” Thomas said. “But I’m going to just keep going and keep being aggressive because I know that’s what my team needs.
“But I could have played a lot better in that fourth. I need to lock in and concentrate a lot more, especially when I’m around the basket. I can’t miss a few layups that I usually make. But other than that, it was more than what I did in the fourth quarter. As a team, we weren’t there.”
Boston Herald – Isaiah Thomas can’t deliver fourth-quarter magic to save Celtics
The stage was set, the script ready to be written yet again, but Isaiah Thomas willing the Celtics to fourth quarter victories doesn’t just occur like clockwork. This is the flip side of that Celtics home victory a few weeks ago against an undermanned, struggling Miami Heat team. In that game, the Heat “punked” (to steal a work from IT’s post-game presser last night) the Celtics, who took them for granted –outhustling and outplaying the Celtics– until Isaiah bailed his team out with an absurd fourth quarter and a career scoring night.
Just as the Celtics hadn’t lost to a team below them in the standings in nearly two months (Detroit on November 30th), it felt as though Isaiah hadn’t looked mortal in the fourth quarter for about that span.
Isaiah is right– his inability to be superhero in the fourth wasn’t the reason the Cs fell to the floundering Knicks. But last night was a reminder to us as fans that neither the Celtics nor we can get complacent and expect the Cs to either roll over inferior teams, or expect Thomas to bail the team out.
On page 2, Avery Bradley back on the shelf
“I can see him missing a little more time,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said following Wednesday’s loss. “I just think maybe he came back a little bit too early, whatever the case may be.”
Bradley was expected to play against the Knicks, but was a last-minute scratch.
Celtics big man Al Horford said he didn’t find out Bradley was out until the team was on the floor doing pre-game warmups and he didn’t see him.
“He was really sore,” Stevens said of Bradley. “Went through our walk-through and then came on to the court and did some stuff and was more sore today than he has been. I think he did treatment the whole game.”
CSNNE – Avery Bradley ‘could miss a little more time’ with Achilles injury
Take it from me, armchair doctor and owner of an achilles injury, off and on for the last five years, achilles strains/tendonitis don’t just go away. They nag until you finally give in and let them rest. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bradley is given another 1-2 weeks to try and let this injury heal.
That won’t help the Celtics, obviously, whose rebounding woes are exacerbated while Bradley sits and it puts pressure on Marcus Smart to lock up the best scoring guard on the opposing team for the entirety of a game, but it’s likely what Bradley will need to come back healthy.
Related links:
Herald – Avery Bradley may miss additional time
Mass Live – Avery Bradley injury update
And finally, Woj interview with IT worth the listen
New Pod w/ All-Star @Isaiah_Thomas. On becoming a franchise player, Iverson, Brady, the old ABCD All-American Camp. https://t.co/mwTX0K8Ejp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) January 18, 2017
It was a treat listening to this interview on my train ride home from work yesterday. Great stuff on IT about just how much he worships Iverson, an explanation about his “players and coaches gave up” comment after the Warriors game and how Brad Stevens handled it and Isaiah’s dogged determination to be considered one of the best guards in the league.
Worth the 45 minutes to, from or at work today.
The rest of the links:
Mass Live – Al Horford: ‘I have to be better’
CSNNE – Al Horford on rough night: ‘They deserved to win’ | No late-game heroics for Boston Celtics | Stars, studs and duds
Herald – Derrick Rose, Knicks prove a thorn in Celtics side at Garden
ESPN Boston – Isaiah Thomas feels Boston Celtics were punked by New York Knicks | Rose powers slumping Knicks past Celtics
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