Your Morning Dump... Where Doc says go hard or go home

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.

But Rivers clearly was thinking about the mail-in debacle against the Wizards when he said of Celts wanting to play, “I don’t mind that with all of them, as long as you do it hard. We say we want to play, but we’ve got to do it hard. If you’re not doing it hard or I don’t feel like you’re doing it hard, I’m choosing rest.

“I don’t worry much about Ray (Allen), because Ray plays the way he plays. Paul we may (sit) one of the games. We’re not even sure about (tonight). It’s 50-50 whether he plays.”

As for Garnett, Rivers said, “I don’t know if he goes the last two. He’ll most likely go (tonight).”

Herald - Cs balance shape, health

I'm with Doc on this one. Don't bother playing guys if they are going to have this infamous "we're saving it for the playoffs mentality."

Look at the bodies that are piling up out there. Andrew Bogut, Chris Bosh, Brandon Roy... The Celtics may not be playing their best, but at least they can enter the playoffs healthy.

On Page 2, an update on how the playoff seedings are shaping up.

The Atlanta Hawks (52-29) would clinch the No. 3 seed (and Boston Celtics No. 4) with a win (Wed. vs. Cavaliers) or a Celtics loss (Tues. at Bulls, Wed. vs. Bucks). The Celtics (now 50-30) would win a tie because they are division champions.

The Miami Heat (46-35) would clinch the No. 5 seed (and Milwaukee Bucks No. 6) with a win (Wed. vs. Nets) or a Bucks loss (Wed. at Celtics). The Bucks (now 45-36) would win a tie because of a 3-1 head-to-head record.

The Chicago Bulls (39-41) would clinch a playoff berth and the No. 8 seed with a win (Tues. vs. Celtics, Wed. at Bobcats) and a Toronto Raptors (39-42) loss (Wed. vs. Knicks). The Raptors would win a tie because of a 2-1 head-to-head record.

Yahoo! Sports

In short, the Celtics need to win out with a Hawks loss (LeBron and Shaq might play in that final game) to capture the 3rd seed. By winning out, the Celtics would drop the Bucks into the 6th seed and make them the first round opponent. Capishe?

The rest of the links:

Globe - Celtics eye fresh start | Hawks keep pressure on Cs | Bulls thumbnails | CSNNE - Celtics practicing like its playoffs | WEEI - Heat or Bucks? | Herald - Bulls/Celtics Scouting Report | ESPN - Kobe to miss final 2 games |