High five.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘If we lose [Game 6] at home, we’ve got to go back to Cleveland, and even though we know we can win there, at the same time, that’s their house, that’s their environment,’ Celtics forward Glen Davis said at Wednesday’s practice. ‘It’s just a tough situation. Sure, it’s hard to win three games in a row, but at the same time, the Suns did it. They pulled it out. The Lakers did it. Orlando did it. We’ve got to win this game.’ Echoed center Kendrick Perkins: ‘It’s Game 7 coming up. We don’t want to go back to Cleveland. We’ve got to come out with the right focus, the right mindset. And play our game.’ Celtics forward Kevin Garnett shared a similar opinion in his postgame comments Tuesday night, indicating there was an overwhelming sense of urgency for the Celtics in Game 6. ‘Anybody who gives two cents about this game and is very, very competitive, anything like me, then they’re going to go home and watch this tape, probably not eat, probably not sleep much, and be ready for Game 6,’ Garnett said. ‘So we have to be ready for that. We can’t put the onus on a Game 7 back here in this building [in Cleveland].’ Boston knows it has Cleveland on the ropes after Tuesday’s 32-point thrashing in Game 5. The Celtics wouldn’t mind if the circus surrounding LeBron James’ struggles (he scored 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting) and his potential future employer (he’s a free agent at season’s end) continued to cloud him for one more day, but they’re not expecting it. ‘We haven’t [won anything yet],’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘Listen guys, we’ve got one home game left in this series. We haven’t done anything and we’ve made that clear. You know we’re going to get Cleveland’s best shot. You know LeBron is going to play an amazing game. And we’re going to have to absorb that and still win the game.’”

J.A. Adande, ESPN – “It just showed that everyone wanted to know what everyone else thought about LeBron James’ passive performance Tuesday night, that suddenly this moment mattered more than oil spills or Supreme Court nominees. Everyone had to know if this was or was not the worst thing ever, if this was going to redefine the way we think of LeBron. Except, how can it define a career if we don’t even know that it has dictated the outcome of the series? Unless I missed the memo that Game 6 was canceled, there’s still at least 48 minutes of basketball to go. Unless I’m misreading the box score, LeBron did have 38 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists the last time the Cavaliers went to Boston coming off a home loss. That was last Friday. That was before people had written off LeBron as a failure who can’t win the big games. This Game 5 didn’t undo Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals, when LeBron put together one of the greatest performances in NBA history by scoring 29 of Cleveland’s final 30 points to knock off the Detroit Pistons in overtime. You can say LeBron didn’t come through this time. You can’t say he never comes through.”

Duane Rankine, Boston Globe – “Recent history is not on Cleveland’s side. With James, the Cavaliers are 0-3 in elimination road playoff games. They lost at Detroit in Game 7 in 2006, at Boston in Game 7 in 2008, and at Orlando last season in Game 6. However, James said Cleveland fans should count on the Cavaliers to force a Game 7 Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena. Why? ‘Uh, cause they got me,’ said the two-time MVP.”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “‘Everybody was making a big deal about [Kevin Garnett] being on the bench [during last season's playoffs], but nobody listens to a player that’s not dressed,’ Doc Rivers said. ‘They just don’t. I don’t care how good they are, because you’re not out there with them and they know that. So obviously his impact is better because he’s in the uniform.’ [...] ‘KG brings that intensity to the game,’ Perkins said. ‘His energy level is high. Forget his skills, but he demands a great focus and he demands his teammates to go hard. One thing about KG is he just leads by example, so guys just have to kind of follow.’ It’s the type of leadership Garnett wasn’t able to provide last year as a spectator. ‘When he wasn’t there, we had that leadership from Paul (Pierce) and Ray (Allen) and (Rajon) Rondo, but it’s a whole different experience when you have 5 in there,’ Glen Davis said. ‘When 5’s there, he makes sure everything runs right. If something is lacking, he says something. He can carry a team with his actions. Just having him this year is going to help us a lot.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “After multiple stretches when they weren’t sure better times would ever arrive, something has radically changed. They are on the verge of eliminating the league’s best regular season team and MVP from the playoffs. And doing it by remaining true to themselves. ‘Cleveland has so many talented players that they can have a chess match,’ said coach Doc Rivers. ‘But we are who we are. We’re not changing. We’re just going to be who we are and try to do that better. We need Rondo to get the ball, we need to get Kevin (Garnett) the ball in the post, we need to get Ray open. And we have to get Paul going. We knew that before the series. We’re not changing because we can’t.’”

Associated Press – “Already considered one of the game’s most skilled players James place among the all-time greats will be judged by the number of titles. And unless he does something drastic, No. 1 will remain elusive. He torched the Celtics for 38 points in Cleveland’s win in Game Three, and he can quiet his doubters by leading the Cavs to victory in Game Six. ‘I just need to play well,’ he said. ‘It’s not just me. It’s everyone. I put a lot of pressure on me, of course. That’s just the type of player I am and that’s how I hold myself accountable. I need one of those games and I look forward to having one.’”

Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “‘I don’t know if they’re psyched out or what,’ Perkins said of the Cavaliers. ‘I just know we’re doing it as a team. I’m not really worried about what’s going on with them. We kept saying we’re waiting for the playoffs to get here, so we could do what we got to do. We didn’t end the regular season too good, but once the playoffs got here, we locked in. It’s like a Game 7 coming up. We don’t want to go back to Cleveland. I think we’ve got to just come out with the right focus, right mind-set, just play our game. We’ve just got great veterans. I think Doc [Rivers] does a great job keeping us focused, taking it one game at a time, not looking towards the future, so I think we’ve just got to come out and take care of business. We can’t worry about the results, we’ve just come out and play basketball.’ Kevin Garnett missed last year’s playoffs and one game (suspension) against Miami in the first round this season. The Celtics squandered a 3-2 advantage against Orlando in the second round last season. ‘Totally different team, though — we didn’t have KG last year,’ Perkins said. ‘We were on the road, up, 3-2. I just think when it gets like Game 5, Game 6, Game 7, those games are important but you’ve got to embrace the moment and take it one game at a time. Last year we didn’t have KG, so I know the spirit is going to be there this year. Just having him for the focus for the locker room, once he gets to the game, it’s quiet, everybody’s going to get focused because he’s focused. One thing about KG is he leads by example, so guys kind of have to follow, whether it’s Paul [Pierce], Rasheed [Wallace], he leads by example. Just the leadership. KG brings that intensity to the game. His energy level is high. Forget his skills, he’s a man of great focus, and he demands from his teammates to go hard.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “The Celtics faced many questions during a listless second half of the regular season, but the team has returned to form in the playoffs. The players maintained all along that they would be fine once the postseason began, but it was a tough sell when the C’s went 27-27 after Christmas. ‘We didn’t know we were going to play like this,’ forward Glen Davis said. ‘We knew what we were capable of, but we didn’t know we were going to jell this well in the playoffs.’”

John Schuhmann, NBA.com – “Yes, LeBron James had an awful performance Tuesday night in one of the most critical games of his career. Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers melted down in a 32-point loss on their home floor. Yes, there is real reason to worry in Cleveland today. But James and the Cavs did not beat themselves in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. The Boston Celtics, who stumbled into the postseason but now have a 3-2 series edge on the team that had the best record in the league in the regular season, earned this win and the opportunity to close out the series at home on Thursday. The Cavs’ theme for these playoffs has been ‘All Together.’ The phrase is printed on signs in store windows around the city, on banners on the outside of Quicken Loans Arena, and on the towels they place on the arena seats before each game. The team that is playing ‘all together’ in this series, though, is not the Cavs. Game 5 was the latest example of how the good the Celtics can be when they play as a unit.”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “‘Listen, we have one home game left in this series,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We haven’t done anything and we’ve made that clear. And you know you are going to get Cleveland’s best shot. LeBron [James] is going to play an amazing game and we’re going to have to be able to absorb that and still win the game. I don’t even like hearing guys talk about ‘closing out.’ That doesn’t mean anything. You’ve still got to the play the game.’ The opportunity to capitalize on the Game 2 performance was ruined by a slow start in Game 3, as the Celtics trailed, 36-17, after the first quarter. After a three-day break, minor injuries to Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, and two poor practices, the Celtics stumbled into that game unprepared and lethargic. Such a beginning tonight could squander Tuesday’s standout performance and go a long way toward ending their season. ‘Yeah, it’s like our Game 7 coming up,’ said Perkins. ‘We don’t want to go back to Cleveland. I think we’ve just got to come out with the right focus, right mind-set, and just play our game.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “Perkins and Shaquille O’Neal were hit with double-technicals in Game 5. ‘I just got caught up in the moment,’ Perkins said. ‘If you let a guy keep throwing elbows and don’t tell him nothing, then sooner or later, he gets too comfortable with you and he’s going to keep doing it. At some point, as a man, you have to stand up.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Two years after their series followed strict geographical outcomes with seven straight holds of service, each team has set records for worst home playoff loss. Ever. Cavaliers-Celtics: Where amazingly strange happens. ‘I’m a little surprised, especially with two heavyweights with Cleveland and ourselves,’ Paul Pierce said after Tuesday night’s 32-point blowout of the Cavs in Game 5. “You expect a lot of games to go down (to the wire). ‘Like Kevin (Garnett) likes to say, both teams are giving out haymakers, man. There’s no jabbing in this one, just haymakers. We give one and you get one back.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Much of the focus, as always, has been on LeBron James, but the Celtics team defense has been stellar (again, aside from Game 3), and much of that credit goes to Thibodeau and the plan he has in place. ‘He’s terrific,’ Doc Rivers said Wednesday after the team conducted a short practice. ‘He’s the best defensive coach I think in the league. I don’t know if there’s a better one and our guys buy into it. I think that’s very important. If they don’t buy into what you’re doing, it’s not going to work. We have a group of guys who are willing to buy in to what we want them to do, to what Thibs wants them to do, and that’s why it works.’”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.