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.

Boston Celtics decision-makers, including the team’s front office personnel and coaching staff, huddled up at the team’s practice facility on May 1 — about a week after the team’s playoff elimination — and began the arduous task of trying to hone in on the players the Celtics would target via the draft and free agency. Over 48 hours of meetings, Amir Johnson‘s name kept bubbling up.

“We spent about two days just talking about it and Amir’s name came up early and often as a target that we all thought would really benefit our team,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.

Two months later, when free agency opened at the crack of midnight on July 1, Stevens and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made a joint strike aimed at attracting free-agent Johnson to Boston. It must have worked because, by the time Johnson woke up the next morning on the West Coast, the two sides had hammered out a two-year, $24 million pact that made Johnson Boston’s first free-agent splurge in nearly two decades.

[…]

Now Johnson is being tasked with helping a young Boston team continue its own climb. Johnson played only 20 minutes in Wednesday’s opener, but put up 15 points and seven rebounds while finishing plus-16 in plus/minus. He continues to thrive in the pick-and-roll game with Isaiah Thomas that spearheads Boston’s bench attack.

“[Johnson is] an active screener. He’s not just a big body. He runs and seeks out screens. He rolls to the rim quick, and you saw that he has a variety of finishes at the rim,” Stevens said. “He’s a good athlete at the rim. I’m not surprised [at his chemistry with Thomas]. Guys like that, there’s a reason he impacts winning. It’s not always easy to tell. But there’s a reason he does. And I thought he was really good [Wednesday] night. I thought he did a ton for us, protecting the rim, finishing, rolling, making a big shot when we were only up five. He had a good night.”

ESPN Boston – Amir Johnson focused on helping new team, not facing old one

When free agency began back on July 1st, there wasn’t a huge faction of C’s followers that touted for the signing of Amir Johnson.  In fact, I can’t remember many that though of him first, second or even third on their list.  Instead, Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens apparently had him in incredibly high regard, as reflected by their aggressive recruiting of Johnson.  Now, they’re gushing over his play.  Sure, he missed a handful of layups and put-backs, but as always, Johnson’s presence on the floor was positively felt.

Look, he wasn’t the big splash that say the Spurs made by signing LaMarcus Aldridge.  That was a contending team adding a tsunami to their roster.  The Celtics are still quietly trying to build up a wave pool of sorts, hoping that fitting Amir into that calculation increases the size of the waves.  For now, he’s here on an incredibly team friendly deal in the short term.  He’s quickly becoming a fan favorite, if he’s not already.  He was already a favorite of the front office and coaching staff, so now it will be fun to see how he helps this team.

Related: CSNNE – Amir Johnson’s motor, hustle fuels team success

MassLive – Boston Celtics still thrilled they lured Amir Johnson from Toronto Raptors (notes)

Page 2: Closing execution is essential

“The end of the quarters are important to us; we want to finish well, we want to do well in those situations,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

[…]

FIRST QUARTER

Trailing 26-17, Jared Sullinger made a lay-up after getting a sweet assist from Isaiah Thomas. That made cut Philadelphia’s lead to 26-19 with 1:23 to play in the first.

With three seconds remaining in the quarter, Sullinger scored once again. Only this time, it was on a driving, 6-foot hook shot in the lane which left the Sixers ahead 26-21 after the first.

SECOND QUARTER

With Boston ahead 46-40, Isaiah Thomas made a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds in the half. Moments later, the Sixers turned the ball over with 2.9 seconds to play.

Brad Stevens called a time-out as well as made a couple of substitutions. Marcus Smart and Jared Sullinger were in for Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko. Take a look at how this play developed.

 

THIRD QUARTER

Clinging to a 72-67 lead, the Celtics got a pair of free throws from Isaiah Thomas, followed by another pair of free throws from Smart. Boston finished off the 7-0 run with a 3-pointer by Thomas.

CSNNE – Opener shows Celtics’ strength at closing out quarters

At every level of basketball, coaches plea for their teams to execute well at the end of every quarter.  It’s always better to head into the next quarter on a high note, but it’s easier said than done.  C’s fans can feel good knowing that Brad Stevens is their head coach because he always has his team prepared.  They may not always have the best chance or score, but it seems that more often than not, they are ready.  It may seem like a small thing, but every bit helps on the path to becoming a good team.

The rest of the links:

ESPN Boston – James Young inactive for Celtics’ season-opener

Boston Globe – Amir Johnson’s knowledge of Raptors should help Celtics | Instead of cheerleading, Jared Sullinger seizes his chance

Boston Herald – Amir C’s through Raptors

CSNNE – Beyond the scoreboard: C’s advanced stats leaders in opener | Johnson proves to be ‘big’ help on defensive end | Blakely: Raptors better measuring stick for Celtics | Ainge: Maybe Celtics’ superstar is already here

MassLive – Boston Celtics analysis: Brad Stevens vows to think outside the box, shows some of that against Philadelphia 76ers