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.
With Boston playing without starting shooting guard Avery Bradley the past three games, an opportunity opened for a shooter and Datome got his chance. The 27-year-old swingman matched his NBA career high by scoring 13 points Monday on 6-of-9 shooting with three rebounds over nearly 21 minutes, this after scoring 10 points in 10 minutes in Saturday’s loss to the Orlando Magic.
Datome, with his scruffy beard and man bun, has quickly elevated to cult figure in Boston. Choosing obscure No. 70 (a nod to the year his first Italian squad was created), Datome built an immediate curiosity factor that hasn’t diminished.
And by the end of Monday’s TV broadcast, even Celtics end-of-the-bench legend Brian Scalabrine was commenting on the phenomenon of his Italian brother.
Datome endured healthy DNPs in seven of his first nine games with Boston, playing extended minutes in only a lopsided loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. His recent emergence hasn’t been lost on coach Brad Stevens.
“I’m drawn to people that are ultimate pros,” Stevens told reporters in Miami on Monday night. “I said that about [veteran swingman] Gerald [Wallace] and how he’s handled being in and out [of the lineup] — just guys that don’t complain, guys that come to work and do their very best. But you still have to take advantage of your opportunity and [Datome has been] putting the ball in basket.”
ESPN Boston- Luigi’s Mansion: Datome at home with C’s
Give Danny Ainge a lot of credit. Like his infatuation with Isaiah Tomas, he’s been locked in on Luigi Datome since before he even logged a minute in the NBA. Shit, with the way things are rolling for Danny, he may as well step foot in the house Robert Swift is probably still squatting in to convince him to sign for the league minimum.
But in seriousness, there was Luigi last night: the man plucked from the end of the Detroit bench; the man who barely saw the court in his first two weeks with the Celtics; the man with the beard and ponytail wearing #70; the man who, by playing against Mario Chalmers last night, achieved the ultimate dream of every NBA/Super Mario World fan worldwide. He played most of the fourth quarter, hit some big shots, got schooled by Dwyane Wade on a post-up, spin-move that lead to a three-point-play and ultimately factored into a must-win for the Cs in a tight race for the 8-seed.
The Celtics went 2-1 on their mini road-trip sans Avery Bradley while playing a guy who was previously seeing only garbage time minutes in his stead. Credit Ainge for his continually impressive player evaluating and roster constructing during this rebuild, credit Brad Stevens for getting the most out of his players, but let’s give the lion’s share of the credit to our man, Luigi.
The Celtics would probably be out of the playoff race if it wasn’t for the Datome, Jonas Jerebko return in the Tayshaun Prince deal on deadline day. Wow. I can’t believe I just wrote that.
Related Links:
Mass Live – Gigi Datome shines again
CSNNE – Stars, Studs and Duds: Datome continues to impress
On Page 2… Isaiah Thomas is hurting
Not what the Boston Celtics wanted to hear after a tough road win Monday night: Isaiah Thomas believes he will undergo X-rays for a lower back injury he suffered late in the fourth quarter.
[…]Despite the obvious pain, Thomas finished with 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter as Boston held off a throwback Dwyane Wade rush.
After the game, the Celtics announced Thomas suffered a bruised lower back and bruised right elbow (his off arm). No final word was given on his availability for Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
I for one wasn’t sure if Isaiah would get up from that tough and-one drive and continue to play. He moved gingerly in the final few minutes and was playing off of adrenaline at that point. I’m assuming the bus ride to the airport, ensuing flight home to Boston and imminent wake-up this morning only make the soreness worse. I would not be surprised to see him miss a game or two, which would be a huge blow for the Cs with a Western Conference power, Memphis, coming to town tomorrow night.
He was huge again last night, on the ball in the fourth quarter, unafraid of any shot and any moment against any player. His thirst for crunch-time translates perfectly to this late season playoff hunt. The Cs are going to need every inch of IT4 during every meaningful minute of play. Hopefully he can shake this off.
And finally… More back-to-backs, please!
The victory brought the Celts to a very impressive 8-5 on the second night of a back-to-back. They’ve won six of their last 7 in such situations.
“One of the things I wanted to know when I got in the NBA was where do people make excuses?” Stevens said. “And tired is a big one, right? You play 82 games and travel all over. Well, we’ve just got to take care of ourselves as well as we can and not use excuses. So it’s been an emphasis from day one.”
Boston Herald – Celtics handle heat to stay in post-season chase
Biggest difference I’ve seen in the Doc to Stevens coaching transition: the way the Celtics play on the second night of back-to-backs. Now, if you swapped the coaching situations and had Stevens coaching a veteran group with more of an on/off switch, maybe the records would be nearly identical, but I doubt 2015 Doc Rivers, who had no patience for a rebuilding job, could get this team to play this hard on the second night of back-to-backs.
The Cs have five more of ’em. Let’s hope the trend continues.
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