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.
Since Feb. 3, Boston has won 22 games, tied with the Houston Rockets and Cavaliers for third-most wins in the league in that span (only the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have more). The Celtics were 14 games under .500 at 16-30 after a loss to Miami on Feb. 1, but own a .647 winning percentage since that point.
What happened? Their 38-year-old coach, Brad Stevens, established himself as a master in-game tactician and a late-game wizard of the dry-erase board, the trade deadline delivered an influx of much-needed talent, including reserve point guard Isaiah Thomas, and Boston spent the past 34 games playing collectively at a level far beyond what you would expect possible from these players individually.
The Celtics didn’t shy away from this playoff push, they embraced it. While Stevens implored his team to avoid allowing scoreboard-watching to become a distraction, he encouraged the players to use the playoffs as motivation to make progress on the court.
Say what you want about the level of competition in the Eastern conference, but that .647 number is real. The Celtics are beating teams at nearly the same pace as the top teams in the league.
Sure, there have been plenty of cupcakes on that schedule (3 wins over the Knicks, 2 over Philly), but the Celts have also beaten Atlanta, New Orleans, and Memphis.
Playoff basketball is an entirely different animal, but you have to like this team’s combination of confidence…
Let’s getit
— Isaiah Thomas (@Isaiah_Thomas) April 14, 2015
Comedy…
And professionalism (via CSNNE):
And while Stevens deserves lots of credit, Wallace believes praise should be doled out to a group of players that in his eyes have shown maturity beyond their birth certificates.
“Usually when you got guys and they first come into the league, they enjoy the off the court lifestyle more than they do the on the court lifestyle,” Wallace told CSNNE.com. “They’re young. They have money. They’re able to do a lot of things they weren’t capable of doing on their own. We’re in different cities every night. There’s a lot of temptations but this team and these guys have done a great job of disciplining themselves and staying together to avoid those trouble issues.”
I’m not delusional. There are no visions of an historic upset over Cleveland or Atlanta in the 1st round.
I am expecting a few close games and one victory. And a lot of fun.
The rest of the links:
Herald – 5 ways Celtics have paved path to playoffs | Globe – Celtics clinch return to playoffs | ESPN Boston – Celtics clinch postseason berth | SI.com – Resilient Celtics clinch playoff berth | Mass Live – Now in playoffs, Thomas discovers Cs not one of league’s worst teams | CSNNE – Turner explains why he pulled Lebron aside after win
