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.
Photo: Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston
Early in the morning session, before the players even stretched their muscles, coach Brad Stevens brought 10 of them onto the court and guided them during what he called a five-on-five walkthrough.
It was not a full scrimmage and it was not meant to be competitive. It was meant to be a simple primer.
Stevens instructed his players to give about 30 percent of their maximum effort during this exercise. But 30 percent effort is generally not part of this highly competitive group’s fabric, and these players have been waiting five months to uncoil.
“If that was 30 percent, we’re going to be able to fly around,” Stevens said later. “I think it was just a misjudging of what 30 percent is, but they were flying early on in practice.”
Globe – Brad Stevens asked Celtics to take it easy on Day 1. This team doesn’t do that
Obviously, the Celtics were eager to start training camp. Day 1 of practice is in the books, and there’s already plenty of good news: everyone motivated, Al Horford feeling comfortable, Jaylen Brown showing up literally hours early. To learn more, take your pick from the long list of links below.
Training camp news:
CSNNE – First Celtics Practice ‘A Little Different’ But ‘Feels Right’ For Horford | Brown Knows There’s A Lot He Can Learn From Celtics Teammates | Stevens’ First Practice Observation: ‘We’re Going To Be Able To Fly Around’
ESPN Boston – Banners are motivation as Celtics look to take next step
Herald – Celtics notebook | First Celtics practice like a new school year for top pick Jaylen Brown | Celtics open training camp with Jae Crowder afoot | Bulpett: Avery Bradley ready to make a loud impact on Celtics offense
NESN – Isaiah Thomas Took A Page From Tom Brady’s Book With Offseason Regimen
Celtics.com – IT Hopes Lifestyle Changes Allow Him to Flourish
Boston.com – Jae Crowder explains his ‘slap in the face’ comments about Kevin Durant | Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown showed up hours early to his first practice
MassLive – Boston Celtics practice notes: Jaylen Brown arrives early to first NBA practice, prepares by studying sets | Al Horford’s first impression of Boston Celtics practice: ‘Definitely a faster pace’ | Jonas Jerebko: Boston Celtics forward wants to start, but ‘ready to do whatever’ | Boston Celtics free agency: Despite Al Horford, Danny Ainge wishes the team could have done more
On Page 2: Behind the scenes with Jae
Our video guru KWAPT found this behind-the-scenes look at Jae Crowder from this past summer, as he trained for his fifth NBA season.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MohjTgvUL98]
On Page 3: More love from Vegas
The Boston Celtics have a talented team — perhaps one of the best rosters in the Eastern Conference, with the addition of Al Horford — and the latest Bovada odds now give the Celtics surprisingly good odds at winning the NBA championship.
Celtics now have 4th best title odds in the NBA at 18/1 via @BovadaLV. Only Warriors (4/5), Cavs (3/1) and Spurs (9/1) ahead of them.
— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) September 27, 2016
MassLive – Boston Celtics gambling odds: Per Bovada, Celtics have fourth-best odds at NBA title
It’s amazing to think how far the Celtics have come since Brad Stevens became head coach. Three years ago they were a lottery team, now they’re expected to be among the very best teams in the NBA.
Last week, Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas said Boston had the fifth best odds to win the championship this season. Now Bovada has them even ahead of the Clippers and behind just three teams that last season combined for 197 wins.
Although we realize the Cs are still a couple of players away from legitimate contender status, it’s damn near unbelievable that oddsmakers have ranked them this high this year. Now they just have to live up to it.
On Page 4: Knicks fans glad to see Pierce go
Some opposing players just get under your skin. You know the ones. They rip your heart out of your chest time after time, making you curse their name, and they enjoy the hell out of it.
For me, that player has always been Paul Pierce. Pierce was great against everyone, but it always seemed that he reserved a little something extra for games against the Knicks, and especially for those at Madison Square Garden. This is confirmed by the fact that he’s averaged 22.0 points a night against New York heading into his final season, his second-highest scoring average against any opponent (Lakers, obviously). He of course has scored more total points against the Knicks than any other team.
Medium – Paul Pierce was a cold-blooded m—–f—– (headline NSFW)
Must be something about number 34 from Boston versus New York. This week David Ortiz is playing his final series in Yankee Stadium, and fans of the Pinstripes are happy to see him go because of all his clutch hits against them. Same for Knicks fans about Paul Pierce, who tormented them regularly at Madison Square Garden. This piece offers a bitter goodbye to The Truth, and for our amusement includes video of the time Paul nailed the game-winner that sent Nate Robinson flying.
Related: Globe – Paul Pierce shows he’s still driven to win
And, finally: Jaylen wants you to design his kicks
I see @adidasHoops dropped the #CrazyLight 2016 on #miadidas. I need @celtics fans to customize pairs for me to wear in games this year. pic.twitter.com/JMyXnGGv5D
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) September 27, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsJump on this, sneakerheads: Enter your design for Jaylen’s kicks, and he might wear it to dunk on someone’s head. If you win the contest, you’ll get your own matching pair of the custom sneakers. More details are in the tweet string.
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