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.
The consensus is Rivers can’t stick with a 10- or 11-man rotation during the playoffs. There needs to be consistent minutes for his primary rotation so they can prepare for their postseason roles.
Globe: Rivers still sorting out playing rotations.“It seems like a short period of time but it’s a long time for us to come together even closer, get a solid rotation down, just to get our confidence in the right state of mind going into the playoffs,’’ Finley said following Sunday’s 94-73 loss to San Antonio. “You learn from wins and losses, more from losses, and [Sunday] was no different.’’
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“Obviously I don’t think we can go with 10 or 11,’’ Rondo said. “He’s done a good job every year. I think he knows his playoff rotation. I think maybe he’s trying to find one or two more guys that he wants to go with.’’
This came up in last week's edition of The 2 Man Game. Let's say Doc cuts the rotation down to 8 or 9. Who sits?
Nate Robinson is definitely going to play. So is Rasheed Wallace. So that's 7 total. Looks like Finley is going to get his fair share of burn, so there's 8. Does he replace both Marquis AND Tony Allen? Does it become a situational thing where if they need more of a defensive guy, they sit Finley and play one of the other two?
And then there's the 9th spot... which might just be a battle between Glen Davis and Shelden Williams now.
So someone who is used to playing might end up sitting come playoff time. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.
Coming up, Page 2... where Ray isn't worried
“You’ll see the guys in the gym tomorrow talking about it,” he said.
“I’ve been on teams that were so bad, at this time of year guys already had their vacation plans made, and that’s what they would be talking about. “But this team is so far from that, I’m not worried.”
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“But we’ve been on a roller coaster ride all year,” he said. “We just keep plugging. The bad games just crystallize what you want to do even more. It makes us work harder.”
Herald: Celtics shrug off latest hiccup
After every disappointing loss... and Sunday's loss was about as disappointing as any I've seen this season... the Celtics keep saying they're not worried and they'll figure it out.
And that's great. I don't want the team "worried." But how can they go from a practice where Doc focused on almost nothing but ball rotation and not playing selfishly... and play a game where they disregard almost all of it? Then they come out afterwards and admit that they got away from the system and say that if they had just done that they'd be ok.
Here's a thought...
Shut the F up about "if we only did..." and just do it. We're all tired of it. Am I gonna have to bust out the Yoda "Do... or do not... there is no try" quote again?
The rest of the links:
Herald: Kobe flips out after loss | MWDN: The Celtics remain an enigma | WEEI: Perk expects to play on Wednesday | NESN: Julian Benbow: Sheed aware of criticism | Celtics Hub: Accepting reality: Rondo's jumper hasn't improved | Ginos Jungle: Is this the KG we're looking for