Your Morning Dump... Where Sheed and Doc make up

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.

"It happens. It won't be the last time," said Rivers. "As a coach, your job when a -- I call it an emotional hijack -- happens, your job is keep your team focused and you can't focus on the one guy. Then after the game, the next day, you have a conversation and get that right. Emotionally, it's not personal. When you have an emotional hijack, you don't get along with anybody at that moment. I understand that.

"We had a great talk. I didn't seek his apologies, but he said, 'Hey, I should have controlled myself.' I don't know if that's an apology, but I didn't ask for him an apology because I didn't need it."

ESPN Boston - Practice Report

Doc's wrong. He deserved an apology from 'Sheed. With that said, Wallace had every right to be pissed off at the officials. Chris Forsberg details the incident:

With 49.9 seconds left in the third quarter, Wallace got irate after Davis was whistled for a foul against Zydrunas Ilgauskas. It wasn't so much the play on the court that appeared to irk Wallace, but the fact that referees did nothing a short time before when James barked at them for not calling a foul on a layup.

After James scored under the basket, he barked at an official about a non-call, going so far as to slap his own arm and note, "That's my [expletive] arm," right in front of the Boston bench. The referees did not assess a technical foul for James' outburst.

Like Sheed, I noticed James' reaction and screamed for a technical foul. It looked as if Lebron wanted the tech (LBJ did have one tech in the game which I think came later in the 4th). This is just another example of the absurd double-standard that exists in the NBA.

On Page 2, Bob Ryan and Larry Bird on Dennis Johnson.

“I played with a lot of great players,’’ Bird said, “but if I had to play with only one of them it would have been DJ. I just had a connection with him. The backdoor cuts and many other things. We never needed any conversation on the court. No need for talking. He just always knew what we needed.’’

DJ’s résumé includes two championships with the Celtics and one with the Sonics. It includes nine selections to the All-Defensive team. It includes five All-Star Game appearances. It includes the MVP award in the 1979 Finals, when, among other things, he blocked 14 shots in five games from the guard position. There have been many great defensive guards, but Dennis Johnson was the only one I’d ever call destructive.

Globe - DJ was one of a kind

The greatest play I've ever witnessed - Bird's steal vs the Pistons - wouldn't have mattered if DJ didn't make the cut and finish the lay-up. We love ya, DJ.

The rest of the links:

Herald - Sheed, Wallace clear the air | Daniels, Robinson await next shot | Globe - Knicks thumbnails | Rivers, Wallace clear the air | CSNNE - Celtics ready for home stretch | Celtics Blog - So how about Miami? | Celtics Hub - Defending Lebron | WEEI - Sheed showing some love | Doc likes the Cavs hatred |

(Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis)