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.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has gone with the same starting five in both games in part because of what they bring to the game as collective unit defensively.

But Friday night was not one of those games.

In fact, the five worst defensive ratings for the Celtics in the second half of the Toronto loss were registered by their five starters – Tyler Zeller (151.2), Marcus Smart (143.5), Jae Crowder (126.3), Avery Bradley (125.6) and David Lee (123.0).

For the game, the Celtics had a defensive rating of 113.8.

CSNNE:  Beyond the scoreboard: Celtics starters struggle on D

The Celtics have two distinct units that are supposed to do very specific things. We know the second unit is the scoring punch with Isaiah Thomas (the NBA’s 5th leading scorer after two games) leading that charge. But the first unit is supposed to be the “hold the opponent at bay” defensive squad that keeps things close.

However, they’ve struggled a bit with their defensive duties. Against Philly, the size was too much for the bigs. Against Toronto, the wings were getting torched. The latter is particularly disturbing because it’s that perimeter defense that had us wondering if there was even a better collection of defensive talent in the NBA.

So the question now becomes… why did such a good perimeter defense get burned so badly? Was a fluke? Did the lack of real competition over-inflate a few egos?  Are they just not as good as we thought?

It’s obviously WAY too early to judge. We know sample size is important when gathering the data to make any of these determinations. There’s also the matter of one of the best overall teams in the NBA coming to town today to challenge them. The San Antonio Spurs don’t just have a few good players… they’re a challenge at every position.

The Celtics starters can go a long way in rinsing the taste of the Toronto mess out of our mouths by holding their own against the Spurs. I’m not going to be silly and expect a win, but a solid defensive effort that makes the Spurs earn a victory will make me feel a lot better about how these guys can do as a starting five.

Related links: ESPN Boston: Celtics depth has been trick or treat while developing rotation

Page 2: Stop turning the ball over!

Blakely: “They’ve got to cut down on the turnovers. You can’t win against San Antonio, or any other team for that matter, when you constantly keep the ball in their hands, giving them more opportunities to score.”

The data: The Celtics are in the middle of the pack in Turnover Ratio, which is the number of turnovers a team averages per 100 possessions. But they also rank on top of the league in Assist Percentage, which could be a sign they are making too many unselfish plays, or forcing passes. Though the Celtics are piling up assists, they’ve also had some costly turnovers that translate into easy transition opportunities.

CSNNE: Celtics must improve turnovers, rebounds

This is a topic in our upcoming Rainin’ J’s podcast, but I’ll touch on it here.

There are turnovers we’re OK with, and turnovers we’re not OK with.

We’re OK with a team pushing the pace and occasionally missing on a long lead pass and the ball going out of bounds. Those kinds of turnovers, if there are any to be committed, are the one you live with because the team is being aggressive.

The turnovers from the second half of the Raptors game are not OK. Live-ball perimeter turnovers are the worst kind because they almost always lead to opponents scoring. Guys get tired faster because they have to sprint hard to try to get back. Guys get disheartened by their mistakes leading to points. It’s just bad all around.

Those are lazy turnovers, and are simple enough to stop.

Don’t be lazy.

That’s it. Don’t be lazy and just go through the motions. Read the defenses, make crisp passes, and cut hard.

The Celtics could have won on Friday night if they’d simply not made so many stupid turnovers. If they want to live up to some of the preseason hype, they’ll need to cut those out.

And Finally…

Steph Curry dropped 53 on the Pelicans… doing stuff like this

https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js

This dude… he’s pretty good.

The rest of the links

Globe: It’s always Opining day for Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal  |  Celtics could take a page from Spurs playbook  | Herald: “Good thing” spurs Celtics on  |  CSNNE: The Keys to Celtics-Spurs game  |  Zeller evolving skill with face-up game  |  Celtics owners talk about managing expectations