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.
Mahorn returned to what is now TD Garden on Friday night as part of the Big3, the 3-on-3 showcase that brings former NBA stars to arenas across the country.
Though 30 odd years removed from those massive playoff bouts with the Celtics, Mahorn still retains a distinct sensory memory of walking the grounds.
“Not this building,” Mahorn retorted. “Another nasty building. The Nasty Garden. They found a skeleton of a monkey that was here when the Ringling Brothers were up here. Am I lying? I’m not lying.”
Globe: Big3 stop in Boston stirs up Garden memories
(Note: He’s not lying)
Rick Mahorn, coaching in the Big 3, asked about his memories in TD Garden.
“Not this building,” he replied. “That other shithole.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) August 3, 2018
Every power forward from your childhood is here at the Big 3 Boston. pic.twitter.com/dwd6uPNgQi
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) August 4, 2018
It’s a big week for the BIG3, a 3-on-3 summer basketball league created by rapper and actor Ice Cube that’s made up mostly of retired NBA players. Each week of the 10-week season takes the league to a new location, and tonight’s event, which marks Week 7, brings the league to Boston for the first time.
It’ll be something of a reunion of former Celtics players back in the Garden, too. In addition to Scalabrine, tonight will also feature appearances from Nate Robinson, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Ricky Davis, Marcus Banks, Gary Payton, Mike James and Ryan Hollins.
“It’s going to be exciting,” said Robinson, who played for the Celtics in 2010 and 2011 and hasn’t played at the Garden since he was with the Denver Nuggets in 2013. “It’s been a long time coming. The Celtics fans were something special to me, man. They always show me love whenever I play here and it’s going to be interesting to see how the crowd’s going to be (tonight) and I’m just excited to play. I’m ready to go. …
Herald: Fan favorite Brian Scalabrine returns to Garden for BIG3 event
I admit, I don’t really watch the Big 3 on a regular basis but it’s actually kind of fun from what I’ve seen. There have been a few times when I’ve seen a close up of a player and thought “is that….???”
Yes, it is. Bonzi Wells. Stephen Jackson. Mike Bibby. It’s that guy.
And you can tell Boston basketball fans are thirsty af because a LOT of them showed up for these games. Part of it is the nostalgia of seeing Scal, Nate Robinson, and Big Baby out there, but part of it is just wanting basketball back in any form.
I don’t know what the Big 3 will become, but people seem to enjoy it and these guys make $100,000 for playing (plus revenue sharing) so there’s some incentive for these guys.
I’m curious to see if the league will stick with the nostalgia aspect or if it will just start getting the best available talent. The G League salary is $35,000… you mean to tell me some of those guys can’t come into the Big 3 with their youth and athleticism and be dominant? There’s no full court running, there’s no complicated defenses, and there is barely anyone in your way. Why not go make a cool $100,000 while you wait for the season to start up again?
The real question there is will the fans just go watch 3-on-3 basketball? Are they there to watch who wins or to gawk at grey bearded former NBA stars give competitive basketball one last go?
We’ll see. For now, the chance to get this many big former NBA names in one place is certainly the draw, and definitely fun for a night.
Page 2: Kyrie was pretty psyched to get traded to Boston
[protected-iframe id=”052f3faa82bcf8ceaa83d73da1a27bff-142507471-1227608″ info=”//vplayer.nbcsports.com/p/BxmELC/newengland_embed/select/media/hGfJHPwDzECk” width=”624″ height=”351″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]I know, I know, I know… more Kyrie crap.
Look, we keep getting inundated with “Kyrie wanted to go to New York” stuff so I feel the need to share the “Kyrie was excited to go to Boston” stuff too.
The Kyrie is leaving crowd need to see this stuff too so they understand that some people are speaking based on old knowledge. Kyrie is in a new relationship now. Of course his ex is bitter.
I really don’t know what will happen but I still feel like the odds are good that he’ll stay in Boston.
And Finally…
Dozier’s youth (only 21) gives the Celtics a little bit more untapped potential to work with than usual for a two-way deal.
Dozier is a freak athlete with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and an NBA body. He can guard multiple positions on the wing and can create problems in transition for opponents with his slashing ability.
It’s easy to see why he could appeal to the Celtics from a long-term perspective. Danny Ainge loves athleticism and length on the wing and he might be losing some of it next offseason if the likes of Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris are unable to be retained in free agency. Dozier has the potential to develop into an NBA contributor down the line and the C’s are going to need cheap end of the bench talent when the payroll soars over the next couple seasons. By getting him into the system now, the C’s can do their best to groom him and grow his game, with the hope that he’s ready to compete for an NBA roster spot next year, when there is more opportunity at the bottom of the Celtics roster.
Related links: NBCSN Boston: Report: Celtics sign P.J. Dozier to two-way contract
The rest of the links
NBCSN Boston: Could Celtics still be title contenders without Kyrie Irving?
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