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Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“He’s written down every ATO (after timeout play) that I’ve ever run,” Doc said. “We’ve run literally a hundred ATOs that nobody’s ever seen because we run them every day in practice. And he was writing them all down. I used to kid him and say that some day that’s going to come back and haunt me.
“Maybe I’ll mess him up and put a new play in.”
Herald – With Thibodeau back, Celtics defend strength
Thibodeau will have the Bulls prepared for tonight's game vs the Celtics. But the plays teams run are really no secret. Everybody knows whats coming, it's all about executing the defense to stop it.
Speaking of defense, the Celtics D is faring fine without Thibs:
The Celts have done well on defense thus far. They gave up 95.6 points per game on 45.1 percent shooting last year. Though the sample size is small (five games), the C’s have given up 92.8 points on 42.3 percent shooting this season.
The return of Thibodeau is really the subplot to tonight's matchup vs the Bulls. The main event is Rondo vs Rose.
The Bulls point guard is averaging 26.8 ppg, 10 apg and 4 rpg…
My concern is that Rondo, who has a tendency to force this issue against top tier point guards, will do just that.
One other factor – the Bulls are coming off a 120-112 loss to the Knicks.
On Page 2, Delonte is waiting in the wings.
It unquestionably was a concern for the Celtics as to what West would do during this three-week hiatus. Although team officials weren’t crazy about West’s altercation with Wafer, they have been pleased about his work ethic and his budding friendship with Ray Allen, who has served as a mentor to several Celtics the past few years.
“To pass the time? I’m in here, two, three times a day,’’ said West. “That’s where I should be. It’s a sanctuary in here, man. It takes your mind away from things.’’
The second unit will look remarkably different with Delonte in the fold. Nate Robinson (5 – 26 FG) might benefit the most. Same goes for Quisy. Delonte also allows Doc to give Rondo additional rest.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston – Morning snapshot: Scal-a-brin-eee | Forsberg Mailbag | WEEI – Power Rankings | CSNNE – Erden impresses while learning ropes | Globe – Bulls thumbnails | MWDN – Thibs set to face former team | Celtics Blog – Second unit shortcomings | Is Twitter bad for Celtics? |
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