The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Brian Windhorst, ESPN – “Both sides attempted to deny it. The game was played Feb. 13, not even Valentine’s Day much less the All-Star break, which triggered a stream of platitudes about how in the grand scheme it is meaningless. Frankly, though, that’s too tough a sell. Wade and James know it and so do the Celtics, their pride at the victory and their continued dominance over this potential new rivalry shining through. Boston is now 3-0 against the re-tooled Heat this season, re-tooled to beat Boston, as a matter of fact. The two wins in the season’s first month can be minimized because they occurred squarely in the Heat’s adjustment period. This one came with the Celtics using really only seven players — five potential rotation players were out with injury — and with Paul Pierce having one of the worst shooting games of his career because of injuries to his hand and foot. ‘You can tell I’m upset,’ James said in an uncharacteristic tone. ‘I just want to win. We all want to win.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “‘I got the same feeling right now (as I had) in my third or fourth year, when we continued to play Detroit and we could just not get over the hump,’ James said after his Heat lost 85-82 to the Celtics yesterday at the Garden. ‘In the regular season, the playoffs, we couldn’t get over the hump. It took a long time for us to finally get over the hump.’”

Ben Rohrbach, WEEI – “Chris Bosh tripled his scoring output from his Heat’s 88-80 opening-night loss to the Celtics, and it still didn’t matter. The C’s held Miami to 82 points in a three-point victory on Sunday that gave the East leaders a 3-0 season advantage over the conference’s second-place team. ‘We’ll just have to wait to beat the Celtics in another month or so,’ said Bosh. ‘I really hate losing to these guys, man. We’re just going to have to wait a little bit longer. Things like this are going to make us better. Coming into an environment like this, against tough teams like this, battling for first place, it’s going to add to our experience and add to our trust. We’re just going to have to keep going and learn from it.’”

Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “‘This is classic, typical bigger brothers,’ Wade admitted. ‘You’ve got to get over it. . . . You’ve got to get over the hump. We’re getting closer and closer, but we’re not there yet. Whether or not they had all their guys, they had their guys that have carried them to get to this place. We still got to get over the hump. It can happen any time. We got plenty of time. It can happen in the playoffs. That’s when we would like it to happen anyways.’”

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports – “The Celtics blew out the Heat in the third quarter – outscoring them by 17 – and Rondo’s teammates were mesmerized watching a 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard bodying up and disrupting James. ‘I’ve never seen anybody make LeBron turn his back to the basket,’ Perkins said. ‘He really didn’t want to put [the ball] on the ground around him. When he picked him up, the energy just picked up.’ So much so, Rivers resisted pulling Rondo away from James when it began to work against the Celtics. ‘We can’t do this!’ Lawrence Frank, the Celtics’ defensive coordinator, blurted to his boss on the bench. ‘You’re right,’ Rivers said, ‘but we’re going to keep doing it.’ As Rivers would say later, ‘The matchup made no sense, hurt us a couple of times. …[But] the thing that I saw is that it gave us life.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Miami’s Big Three had been creating the type of hysteria that was expected at the beginning of the season. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade seemingly had developed chemistry, learned each other’s tendencies, and mastered halfcourt ball movement. But there was James yesterday, dribbling endlessly on the perimeter, searching for a crack in the defense, just as he was last May with the Cavaliers. The Celtics turned him into a freelancer while Wade continued his shooting doldrums against Boston. Bosh turned in a good game, but has there been a quieter 24 points and 10 rebounds? The Celtics needed essentially seven players to elbow — or hard screen — the Heat back to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Nate Robinson played five first-half minutes and did not return, and Avery Bradley spent nine seconds on the court in the first quarter. The Heat, meanwhile, were fully healthy. Sharpshooter Mike Miller, who missed the first two meetings with a fractured right thumb, was first off the bench. The Heat claimed they were a dramatically different team than in November and were ready to pounce on Boston, with little regard for its injury woes. But what we witnessed yesterday is a team that doesn’t respond well to teams that don’t fear them.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “While referees sorted things out, Rondo sneaked into the Heat huddle, attaching himself to James’ hip yet again. James twice pushed Boston’s lanky point guard out of the huddle before Ray Allen and the referees cleared him out (possibly with his safety in mind). ‘I think I was pretty poised and kept my composure,’ Rondo said with a shrug. ‘I was just trying to see the play. Nobody called a timeout. They drew the play up on the court and I wasn’t trying to start anything. I thought I could get my head in there and look at the play they were drawing up.’ Forget the huddle, Rondo was already in the Heat’s heads.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘They were on a winning streak,’ Kendrick Perkins said. ‘They have been playing well together. I think they started trusting in their system a little bit. I just feel like we needed this win. After coming off a few tough losses to the Lakers and Charlotte, I feel we needed this win.’ Especially as the trainer’s room door continues to swing like an ax. Pierce, for example, sprained his right (shooting) hand in practice Saturday and plans to have an MRI on his sore left foot today. ‘It was obviously a huge win with all of the stuff we have going on,” Rivers said. “Nate (Robinson, right knee bruise) had said he wasn’t going to play literally five minutes before the game and then said he wanted to give it a go. Paul said he felt awful. And so we thought we literally weren’t going to have enough bodies to play this game. We had to win this game with our energy, and I thought Rondo just willed us the game in a lot of ways. That wasn’t a set game plan for him to guard LeBron. We just wanted ball pressure, but Rondo took that upon himself that he was just going to guard and harass whoever was bringing the ball up.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics managed to bring the Heat’s streak to an end, reclaiming a half-game lead for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and regaining their footing heading into the All-Star break. ‘We’re shorthanded but we’re not short of heart and grit,’ Kevin Garnett said. ‘We work hard, we will come out here and compete. We’re at home, we’re still a good team. We’re without some major pieces here, but that doesn’t mean we’re not a good team at the same time.’”

Greg Payne, ESPN Boston – “His production was a result of his aggressiveness, perhaps best evidenced by his first basket of the second quarter. Just under a minute into the frame, Perkins secured a Davis miss, but had his putback attempt blocked by Heat forward Chris Bosh. Not willing to be denied, Perkins controlled the blocked shot, and this time, in a tussle with Miami center Joel Anthony, he stormed back up and put in a contested layup as Anthony fouled him. He converted the ensuing free throw, capping off a three-point play that sparked signs of life into a Celtics team that trailed by five at the end of the first quarter. Perkins played in a manner that wouldn’t suggest he was logging time in only his 10th game of the season. Perkins missed the first two and a half months of the 2010-2011 campaign while rehabbing from offseason ACL surgery, but he hasn’t altered his style of play as a brooding, physical force on both ends of the floor. He’s already slid back into the Celtics’ starting lineup and hasn’t appeared physically limited in any way. ‘Perk did a great job today. I tip my hat off to Perk,’ said Davis afterwards. ‘He’s been sitting on the sideline watching us play and he comes back and is making his presence felt. That’s what it’s all about. You can see how important he is to us. Just him being back, I’m just so happy he’s back.’”

Jessica Camerato, CSNNE – “Wafer entered the game averaging 2.8 points in 8.7 minutes. He scored 10 points in 14 minutes to give the Celtics an edge with their second unit. Despite being shorthanded by injuries, the duo of Wafer and Glen Davis (16 points) helped the C’s fight back from an early deficit. The Celtics trailed, 20-15, to start the second quarter. Within a span of 2 1/2 minutes, Wafer picked off two steals and connected on two fastbreak lay-ups. His second layup with 8:36 to go in the second gave the Celtics their first lead since 4:22 left in the first. ‘The bench won the game in the first half. They got us back into it,’ said Doc Rivers. ‘I thought in a role reversal they showed the first unit how we were going to have to win this game, and then I thought our first unit took it from there. But Von and Baby were absolutely huge for us and terrific.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “As for limitations with the wrist, West noted that he doesn’t have full range of motion quite yet and that might limit some of his passing and his ability to complete right-handed layups. But he’s not concerned. ‘Actually, I didn’t shoot layups with my right hand before the injury anyway,’ West said. ‘I normally average one [right-handed layup] per year and I think I made a right-handed layup already — I remember it, the Toronto game — so I’m good for the year. I didn’t need it anyway.’ West said playing in Wednesday’s game would give him a morale boost heading into the All-Star break, especially since his return wasn’t initially projected until after the break. ‘It would help tremendously, knowing that I’m back,’ West said. ‘Maybe I’m not 100 percent, but being back part of this team, being part of the flow — maybe even Doc yelling at me a little bit. There’s nothing like being out there in a game-time situation.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Paul Pierce entered yesterday’s game with the Heat nursing a sprained shooting hand, and he left it needing an MRI on his left foot, which was further banged up in the Celtics’ 85-82 win. Pierce said the foot issues originally crept up a week ago. He sprained the right hand in practice, he said, and banged it again yesterday. For the first time since 13 games into his rookie season, Pierce took double-digit shots and missed all of them, going 0 for 10 from the floor, 0 for 5 from 3-point range, and 1 for 2 from the line in 40 minutes. He said the hand clearly was a factor. ‘I think that really explains my tentativeness and my off shooting,’ Pierce said. ‘I told [coach] Doc [Rivers], I really didn’t have it, but I tried to grind it out, and thank goodness we came out with a win.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Brotherly love. The Celtics watch as Marquis Daniels lays motionless on the floor.

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “He was released from New England Baptist Hospital on Monday and has full use of his motor skills. ‘He’s in good spirits, all things considered,’ Daniels’ agent Mark Bartelstein said. ‘He’s frustrated because he wants to play, but he’s a lot better off than he was on Sunday.’ There are so many variables when it comes to Daniels, who suffered a bruised spinal cord on a play that featured limited contact with Orlando’s Gilbert Arenas. After the game, the Celtics revealed that Daniels has had spine issues in the past and it was those issues that caused him to leave Game 5 of last year’s conference finals. There’s no current timetable for Daniels’ return — he could be out a month or two, or he could be out longer. As team doctor Brian McKeon noted Sunday, the treatment for spinal issues primarily involves, ‘observation and time.’ ‘It’s going to be a process,’ Bartelstein said. ‘We’re going to gather as much medical information as we can.’ While Daniels recuperates, the Celtics are in a bit of a bind. Their depth at the wing was already thin, and now it’s basically down to Von Wafer.”

Kirk Minihane, WEEI – “Last summer, I asked an NBA coach who — among other coaches and players– was the most disliked player in the NBA. ‘Kevin Garnett,’ he said without blinking. Who, I wondered, was second on the list? ‘Everyone else is tied,’ he deadpanned before walking away. … Here’s the thing, though: Garnett — to his eternal credit — has no interest trying to rehabilitate his public image. None. … You know why? Because he doesn’t care what you think, what I think, what players and coaches from other teams think and he sure doesn’t care what Spike Lee — who has directed exactly one passable movie since Garnett entered the NBA in 1996 — thinks. … Is Kevin Garnett a punk? No. He doesn’t try to seriously injure anyone, he doesn’t bitch if the Celtics win but he scored six points, he plays hurt, he cares only about winning, all that stuff. Is Kevin Garnett a dirty player? I think that’s getting closer to the truth. One thing is for sure: He doesn’t care either way. And neither should you.”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “Before the Lakers even think about their rematch with Boston, they have a two-hour surprise awaiting them. They’ll watch edited video of their fruitless loss to the Celtics just a handful of days ago, a painful, yet, they hope, productive investment toward their game Thursday in Boston. There wasn’t much to like about Jan. 30 from their perspective. Kobe Bryant gave them an ‘F’ for team defense. Ron Artest got kneed in the thigh and then was run ragged by Paul Pierce (32 points). The Celtics shot 60.3 percent, their third-best accuracy ever against the Lakers.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “In his attempt to become an NBA point guard, Bradley is starting from scratch. He played only one year at Texas, not exactly a stretch of time that prepares a point guard for NBA conditions. In that respect, the D-League is slightly better for Bradley’s education. ‘I’m definitely, definitely starting from scratch, but the D-League for me is a step above college, and then going to the NBA is the next step,’ he said. ‘That’s how they have it set up and you can see why. In the D-League, I felt like I was in college again, and now the players are better up here (in the NBA). But when my name is called I’m going to come in with that swagger to my game.’ … ‘A lot of (the D-League) was getting playing time, getting the rust off my game, and being put into situations that I can be fit in,’ he said. ‘This point guard situation is important — bringing the ball up the court, being pressured. I have to take chances and try different things out. I could do that, and work on my game. It makes me feel more comfortable now being up here, because I’ve been working on those things.’”

Greg Payne, ESPN Boston – “Kendrick Perkins played a season-high 35 minutes, 25 seconds in the Celtics’ 94-89 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night — little more than 24 hours after logging nearly 33 minutes in an ultra-physical victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon. Don’t expect to hear any complaints out of Perkins though, who’s publicly lobbied for more minutes ever since he made his season debut two weeks ago after rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered in his right knee in Game 6 of last year’s NBA Finals. After playing a then season-high 28 minutes in the Celtics’ 109-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday, Perkins said in a postgame sideline interview: ‘I wanted to go 30 [minutes].’ … The Celtics’ continuous struggles on the second half of back-to-backs will be well chronicled after Monday’s loss, particularly after so many of Boston’s players put forth such sluggish play. Perkins, though — with such little support behind him — played above all of that chatter. On a night when possible fatigue and a lack of focus served as obvious culprits in Boston’s loss, it was Perkins who played as if neither should ever serve as a passable excuse for an uninspiring defeat.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘Everybody’s dealing with injuries on this team and we’re no different from it,’ said Kevin Garnett after the Celtics went with just 10 healthy players in a loss to Charlotte Monday night. ‘Quis is probably a lot more hard on us right now, just because it was so sudden . . . We’re just hoping he’s all right, and everybody has to carry a load . . . and go forward.’ Coach Doc Rivers has used eight starting lineups this season, but he said the injuries haven’t brought him to a boiling point yet. ‘I never think that way, I never have,’ Rivers said. ‘You’ve got to keep rolling. I really try not to live in the past or in the what-ifs. I tell our guys that all the time. We’ve just got to keep playing and finding a way.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “Boston entered Monday night’s loss to Charlotte Bobcats with injuries to swingman Marquis Daniels, centers Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal and Semih Erden and reserve guard Delonte West. With the returns of Jermaine O’Neal and Daniels uncertain, there has been speculation about the Celtics adding another player. [Kevin] McHale said he believes the Celtics have enough depth. ‘I’m a big Marquis Daniels fan, I like him, it was tough injury and scary seeing that whole thing but I think the Celtics what they have going for them is a ton of depth,’ he said. ‘All of a sudden Delonte West is going to come back and I really like West’s game. He plays with other great players so well. With the Celtics as they lose one guy they gain another guy. And I don’t think they have to make a big trade.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Ray Allen sees the problem being much broader than simply placing the blame on the scheduling gods. He sees a Celtics team that, at times, relies more on its name than its game to be successful. ‘In our locker room, we always have to remember that we’re not superior to any team because we’re the Celtics or because we think we’re good or we have All-Stars on our team or whatever the case may be,’ Allen said. ‘What makes us better is because . . . we’ve proven what we have done. Anything going forward, we have to prove that.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “No one was more disappointed by the Celtics’ storm-delayed return from Sacramento, Calif., than guard Delonte West. It forced him to miss a scheduled CT scan that would have provided a better idea of how his broken right wrist is healing. As such, he was not able to take part in yesterday’s full practice. But he’s getting closer. ‘Each day is getting better,’ West said. ‘Today I was comfortable enough to do a little more. I was shooting layups and catching passes today. It feels a little sore, but I’m hoping any day now that I can start practicing. I missed the appointment, but I should be getting a check-up soon to see how much more I can start to do. (The test) was set up for (Wednesday), but hopefully I can get in the next couple of days.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “When Delonte West works out at the Celtics practice facility in Waltham, it looks like he can do what’s needed to play in a basketball game. He shoots layups. He catches passes. It looks like he might be ready to make a return from the broken right wrist he suffered in late November. But the Celtics guard knows that’s not the case. Yet. ‘Looks can be decieving,’ West said. ‘I’m catching passes and dribbling, but I’m not doing anything really with a lot of force. Force definitely gives me discomfort right now.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Ray Allen, who was named to his 10th All-Star Game last night as a reserve, also stands a good chance of competing against defending champion Paul Pierce [stats] in the 3-point contest. Allen won the title in 2001. ‘It’s just finding a rhythm, and I like my chances,’ he said.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “It’s not difficult to imagine what this year’s East coach, Doc Rivers, is now thinking. For the first time since the Pistons placed four players on the 2006 East squad, four Celtics were voted as reserves by Eastern Conference coaches last night. Rivers admittedly looks forward to calling his offense — running his second unit as a true team, plus one addition. ‘The terminology is all the same, but one thing Doc has to be careful of is giving his plays away,’ Allen said. ‘He should come up with plays he used in Orlando, or somebody’s else’s plays. I know last year the coach used all our plays and used our terminology to give everyone a heads up on what we ran.’”

Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “Rivers on the coaches’ vote: “What is unusual is I didn’t get a lot of calls. Usually you get a lot of calls from coaches asking to vote for their guys. I thought that was strange. ‘Voting for four other guys was very difficult. Take our four guys off and try to make an Eastern Conference team, it’s very difficult. I’ve always thought it was more special to be voted in by your peers. The fan vote is nice, but I’ve always thought it was really nice when the coaches recognize you. They’re telling you that you’re an All-Star.’”

Greg Payne, ESPN Boston – “Celtics captain Paul Pierce took to Twitter on Monday to express his desire to square off with teammate Ray Allen in the 3-Point Shootout at All-Star Weekend. After practice on Thursday, Allen said he’s up for the challenge. ‘I like my chances, sure,’ said Allen. ‘I’ve done it before.’ … ‘I think it boils down to how much rest you get that weekend,’ Allen said. ‘I see some guys come in and they don’t make it around to the top of the key because they’ve been out every night, four days in a row, so it’s just kind of finding a rhythm.’”

Peter May, ESPN – “Last year, he struggled and there was no outcry when his name (or phone number) wasn’t called. There were trade rumors, the Celtics had a terrible January and Allen’s first-half numbers were underwhelming. In the first four months of the season, he averaged 16.1 points on 44.5 percent shooting. In the last three months, knowing he wasn’t going anywhere, he relaxed and averaged 17.7 points on 52.3 percent shooting. He also had an excellent postseason. But who saw this in 2010-11? He’s shooting 50.8 percent from the field; his previous best is 48 percent and his career average is 45 percent. He’s shooting 45.8 percent from international waters. His previous best is 43.4 and his career average is 39.8. He’s dipped on his free throws, connecting on “only” 85.7 percent. He’s been better than 90 percent the previous five seasons. And he has done it all at the age of 35 while not missing a game and averaging almost 36 minutes a game. No one on the Celtics has played more minutes this season, though Rondo is averaging more per game. Allen has appeared in three All-Star Games with the Milwaukee Bucks, four with the Seattle Sonics and this will be his third as a Celtic. This time around, however, he’s there because the Eastern Conference coaches, the guys who try to stop him night after night and have yet to figure out a way to do it, finally gave him his due.”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “When Shaq hasn’t been able to go Rivers has turned to rookie Semih Erden in order to keep Glen Davis in his familiar sixth man role off the bench. But now that Kendrick Perkins has five games under his belt, don’t be surprised if he gets the call. ‘We will [make the switch] eventually,’ Rivers said. ‘It’s not a big deal to us. I’m more concerned about who finishes the game.’ The coach has a point. Without Perkins the Celtics have been using Davis at center in the fourth quarter. According to 82games.com, Rivers has used the lineup with the four starters and Davis as much as he has the starting five with Shaq. The Davis-at-center lineup has been productive, and it makes sense due to the minutes limitations on Shaq, as well as his well-documented foul difficulty this season. But Perkins’ return gives the Celtics options and that’s never a bad thing.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “That Perkins made it through the four games in six nights with no physical trouble is a goal secured. ‘This definitely helps my confidence,’ Perkins said. ‘I think it’s all mental. I keep saying that. A lot of people out there are not 100 percent, so I think you’ve just got to keep pushing, keep grinding. I feel good. My body feels good. I feel like I’m getting in good shape. It’s only five games. I’m just going to keep on pushing from there.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Delonte West, coming off a broken wrist, traveled with the team for the first time this season and has a meeting with doctors this week. He hopes to be cleared for practice soon and wants to return this month, giving the Celtics added depth.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The four-game trip felt like it took forever. The Celtics couldn’t get out of Phoenix Friday night because of fog, arriving in Los Angeles a day later than scheduled, then snowstorms made it impossible to get out of Sacramento Tuesday night. The schedule doesn’t get any easier once the Celtics return home. The Dallas Mavericks are scheduled to be at TD Garden tomorrow night, and the Celtics wrap up their season series with Orlando Sunday. Then after going to Charlotte Monday, the Celtics meet the Lakers again next Thursday. ‘It gets tougher, but at least we’re home,’ Rivers said. ‘The two-day break is nice, even though we’re not going to get it now. Dallas, then Orlando, it just gets tough, and that’s fine. We just had to get through this stretch first.’”

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN – “Even as their principal players return to health, the Miami Heat readily acknowledge that they can’t compete with the chemistry established by the Boston Celtics and other formidable rivals. ‘We’re way behind those guys,’ LeBron James said following the Heat’s practice on Wednesday. ‘Just look at the number of games played, the number of playoff series those guys have had. We’re only a few months in together — 40-something-plus games. I’ve seen the statistics. Boston has like 250-plus games played together. We’re way behind those teams.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Getting four All-Stars is a big deal. It’s happened only eight other times in NBA history and only twice since the Sixers pulled it off in 1983. Only the 1998 Lakers and 2006 Pistons have pulled it off in the last 27 years. The Celtics have had three reps a staggering 31 times – and they have done it every season since Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett arrived – but they have had four All-Stars only three other times in franchise history: 1953, 1962 and 1975. The argument against the Celtics getting four this season seems to focus on the rarity of the achievement. The question gets twisted into: Are the Celtics having a good enough season to warrant four selections, while other teams like the Magic and Bulls may be left with one? That’s really a non-existent issue. All-Star selections should be based on individual merit, and while team success shouldn’t be dismissed, this is about which players are having the best seasons. The issue really isn’t if the Celtics deserve four All-Stars, but instead whether there are four Celtics having All-Star seasons.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Imagine being told four months into your first NBA season that you were assigned to the NBA Development League. Suddenly, your career had taken you from the sports mecca of Boston to Portland, Maine. How would you feel? Frustrated? Disappointed? Not Avery Bradley. He embraced the Celtics’ decision. ‘It’s very important for me to make the most of it,’ Bradley told CSNNE.com. ‘Seeing how I didn’t get the chance to play Summer League, this is really my first chance to get a lot of minutes since college. I’m really trying to get my game back, trying to get all the rust off my game, so it’s really good for me. That’s how I’ve got to look at it, and that’s what I’ve been doing. That’s why I’m staying positive, knowing that I have to do this so I can get better for my team, and that is the Celtics. They need me to do this and so that’s what I’m doing here, just trying to get better.’”

Meredith Goldstein, Boston Globe – “Shaquille O’Neal stood in his kitchen on a recent chilly afternoon debating finances with his girlfriend, Nikki ‘Hoopz’ Alexander. They argued about whether certain bills had been paid. Or at least, they tried to argue. They teased each other with wide grins. Within seconds of the debate, they were giggling. It’s difficult for either of them to stay serious when they’re anywhere near each other. ‘I knew he was a goofball,’ Alexander, 28, said of her boyfriend O’Neal, 38, who famously joined the Boston Celtics over the summer. ‘We’re the same. We’re both goofballs.’ … At home, she’s followed around by her two dogs, a teacup Yorkie named Hunny and a white Lab named Koty, which Shaq bought for her after another of her dogs was hit by a car. She and Shaq also share a new pit bull that he named Shamrock — for obvious reasons.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “It’s the potholes along the way that jolt the Celtics’ system. One night, they fall, 88-71, to Phoenix in an admitted ‘stinker’’ by coach Doc Rivers’s standards, and appear to be a fatigued, combustible team that stopped playing defense once their shots stopped falling. Then, with a day’s rest and seven months’ worth of pent-up NBA Finals frustration, they make the defending champion Lakers look like a struggling one-man operation, playing some of their most smothering defense of the season. ‘I think the biggest thing with us is challenging ourselves every day, with every opponent,’ Rondo said. ‘We’re always up for these types of games — the Lakers, the Heat, the teams supposed to be the teams to beat in the league. It’s just the teams that are under .500 that we’re struggling with right now. I think it’s a lack of focus. We’ve got to come mentally prepared better.’ … ‘We know that moving forward we can’t have any hiccups,’ said Ray Allen. ‘We’ve got to take care of business against everybody. We want to beat everybody. I don’t look any differently at anybody. I know that we are more focused in those games, but as the season progresses, we have to beat everybody.’”

Tony Massarotti, Boston Globe – “The truth, unfortunately, is that Sunday’s 109-96 Celtics victory had a great deal to do with the Lakers than it did with the Celtics, a story we should know all too well here. Since starting the season 13-2, the Lakers are a mere 20-13. Los Angeles has lost two straight and 4 of 7. The Lakers are now the team that appears to have a rather sizable hangover, the way the Celtics did last year, when Boston went 27-27 over its final 54 games and seemed entirely disinterested in the regular season. Then the playoffs came and the Celtics turned it up a notch, coming within a whisker of the NBA title during a season in which many of us had written them off. Really, are there people foolish enough to write off these Lakers, who seem so unwilling to play defense that the Celtics shot 60.3 percent from the field Sunday and an even more absurd 67.6 percent in the second half? Team Staal played more defense in the NHL All-Star Game than the Lakers did Sunday. So did the AFC in the Pro Bowl.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘Well, we learned our lesson last year,’ said Paul Pierce. ‘I think, as a group, we looked ahead a lot. I thought that was the reason for our (50-32) record. Then when the playoffs came, we turned it on, but unfortunately we didn’t have Game 7 (of the Finals against the Lakers) in Boston. If we had homecourt last year, who knows what happens in Game 7? So we’re definitely not looking ahead this year, because it can come down to another Game 7, and hopefully we can have it on our home court.’”

Gerry Callahan, Boston Herald – “Maybe they are going too hard in the regular season, expending too energy and spilling too much blood. Maybe they will run out of gas and come up short of a championship, but you get the sense that they won’t apologize. This is what they do. This is how they play. Tonight they take on the Kings, second-worst team in the West. You can tell Garnett to ease up, but good luck with that. You’ve got a better chance of getting the pit bull to give up the pork chop or Kobe to give up the ball.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Boston has 11 losses, five of which have come against teams with a losing record. It isn’t so much that those teams play significantly better against the Celtics. Instead, it has more to do with the C’s simply not playing with the same level of commitment and focus at both ends of the floor that they display when playing the top teams in the NBA. ‘We don’t want to have a letdown,’ said point guard Rajon Rondo. But it’s difficult to avoid, especially when it comes at the end of a long road trip. Tuesday’s game will be Boston’s fourth matchup in seven days. That, combined with Sunday’s 109-96 victory over the two-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, makes the Celtics a ripe candidate for a letdown performance against the Kings.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “The San Antonio Spurs have far and away the best record in basketball, but don’t be deceived. The Boston Celtics are far and away the best team in basketball as the calendar flips to February. After Boston’s 109-96 thumping of the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at the Staples Center, there can be no argument. The Celtics wrapped up the month of January with a glossy 5-1 record against teams with records better than .500, including a 105-103 triumph over those very Spurs (which, if not for some careless final moments, wouldn’t have been as close as the final score suggests). … But, heck, before the Celtics even beat his team three weeks ago in a battle of conference juggernauts, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich admitted his team was a cut below Boston. ‘We’re a significant notch below the big boys, and, of course, Boston being one of the big boys,’ Popovich said. ‘Boston [was] third in defensive field goal percentage. Those are the kind of stats we used to have defensively. Right now, I think we’re a good basketball team. We have to step up defensively. Luckily, it’s early. Maybe I can get these things across.’”

Broderick Turner, LA Times – “Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Monday that he’s not happy with how the team has played, and he has pondered making a trade to shake things up. The two-time defending champions lost Sunday to the hated Boston Celtics and Friday night to the lowly Sacramento Kings, with both losses at home, leaving Kupchak in a state of uneasiness about his team. ‘Yes . . . I may have to look into a trade, but I’m not saying we have’ talked to other teams yet, Kupchak said. ‘We have not been playing up to our level and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s complacency. I’m not sure.’”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “To watch the Celtics play at their best is to wonder how they ever lose. How can a team with this many weapons, that is this unselfish, that plays this kind of defense ever come up short? The obvious reasons include health, focus and the unrelenting NBA schedule. Put the Celtics in a game they really care about, with all their players available and a day off in-between, and it’s almost impossible to pick against them. So far this season they have defeated the Heat (twice), Bulls, Magic, Spurs and now the Lakers, who they beat 109-96 Sunday. They are now 17-5 against teams with winning records. The Magic, Heat and Lakers all have losing records against .500 teams, while the Bulls are a respectable 10-9. Only the Spurs at 18-6 have a comparable mark, but only the Celtics have recorded wins against the other five. The Celtics didn’t just beat the Lakers, they beat them in every phase of the game.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “‘It’s another game, but it’s definitely an emotional game, especially since losing Game 7 here,’ admitted Celtics captain Paul Pierce, the offensive catalyst, who scored 14 of his team-high 32 points in a third quarter that helped Boston create its initial separation. ‘The thing is, when you win a game here now, it’s not for the championship. It’s a regular-season game. When we play against the Lakers, it really gets our juices going, because they are our rivals. It’s a big game just knowing that we can come into this building and get a win.’ … The Celtics wanted it more. They needed it more. They fully expect to see the Lakers again down the road and they needed to start the process of asserting that there won’t be a repeat of last year.”

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN – “Afterward, the Lakers found ways of coping with the loss. They spoke of getting back to work, of the need for patience and perseverance during a long season. They reminded themselves that the playoffs are still three months away, that there’s still time to get this right. ‘It’s not the playoffs yet, is it?’ Jackson asked with a hint of defiance. ‘We’re still playing regular-season games, right? We’ll get there in time.’ But beneath those proclamations of confidence, bubbles of urgency began to rise. ‘It’s definitely a work in progress,’ Walton said. ‘But it’s getting later and later in the season. At some point the work in progress has to become an identity, has to become to where other teams come in and they’re afraid to play us, where they’re not looking forward to it. Right now that’s not happening. We’re losing at home, we’re losing to all the other elite teams in the league and that’s not like us.’”

J.A. Adande, ESPN – “In the 2008 NBA Finals the Celtics showed the Lakers that the tougher team wins championships. The Lakers learned their lesson and were able to stand up to the Celtics in last year’s Finals. And it wasn’t as if the Celtics smacked the Lakers around Sunday. (In fact it was Kevin Garnett who shed the most blood and needed multiple stitches after catching a Pau Gasol elbow to the head.) The new standard the Celtics have established that the Lakers haven’t reached is in the decidedly less physical but more aesthetically pleasing category of teamwork. ‘When we play together as a team,’ said Paul Pierce, who led the Celtics with 32 points, ‘we’re tough to beat.’ There was none of that from the Lakers, with Kobe Bryant taking as many shots as the Lakers’ entire starting frontcourt. Even though Bryant was more efficient than usual — he made 11 of his first 18 shots and 16 of 29 on his way to 41 points — the Lakers still couldn’t hang with Boston. Bryant’s offensive outburst caused his teammates to check out and stop participating in their sets.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Bryant was piecing together his latest scoring binge, shot by difficult shot, dueling — in his mind, at least — with Paul Pierce, who was working on one of his own. Midway through the fourth quarter, Bryant drove into Pierce, stopping to release a floater that made it 89-82 Celtics, as Pierce tumbled backward to the Staples Center floor. Bryant shot a quick stare as Pierce picked himself up. It was almost a challenge to go one-on-one. But Pierce had long withdrawn from the individual battle. Ray Allen became Pierce’s reinforcement on defense, doing his best to blanket Bryant down the stretch. Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo played a two-man game, and no matter how many times Bryant shot the ball, he found himself trying to beat the best team in the Eastern Conference as an army of one.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘I think everybody knew it was going to be a physical game,’ Garnett said. ‘It’s always interesting when you play Kobe and the Lakers, so that was no surprise, how tough it is to play in the Staples Center. We knew that. When you look at the wins, whoever’s won out of this series, it’s been the one that’s controlled the boards,’ Garnett added. ‘Doc , for about two days now, has been talking about rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. Having Shaq [O’Neal] back helps, having Perk back helps, having Paul and Ray in there on the boards helping the bigs out helps a lot.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “[Rajon Rondo] looked that way at times yesterday, making silly mistakes, taking some inexplicably poor shots, and refusing to attempt layups. In other stretches, he ran the offense with daring and not precision, taking far too many chances and wasting scoring opportunities against a team that possesses the most explosive scorer of this generation. The Rondo who orchestrated a masterful second half and enabled the Celtics to pull away in the fourth quarter is the one Rivers adores and trusts. The Rondo who recorded 11 assists and 13 turnovers in his previous two games is the Rondo Rivers has to closely watch. The one who appears to play mind games with himself, sometimes creating on-court quandaries; making the spectacular play and not the simple one, like a shortstop with too much trust in his cannon arm. Rondo has too much trust in his instincts and ability to thread passes into minuscule creases. Rondo is the NBA’s best at making the pinpoint pass at the precise moment, but he relies too much on that skill. In the second half yesterday, Rondo made matters simpler for himself and his teammates. Very rarely does Rondo play an entire half, but yesterday he played all 24 minutes and the Celtics shot a mind-boggling 69.4 percent from the floor.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “After the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers made it a point to tell the team that it was one of Rondo’s best games of the year. ‘I thought he called an absolutely perfect game,’ Rivers said. ‘He’s our pitcher. I thought he called a sensational game. Coming out of timeouts, he made sure guys were in their spots … I thought Rondo tonight played with a great speed. When he plays with speed, he has power and I thought he did that tonight.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I don’t want to get into a gunfight with Kobe,’ said sheriff Doc Rivers after the 109-96 victory over the Lakers. ‘I don’t care who it is. I just would prefer not to. But at that point we needed Paul, and we told the guys that. It wasn’t because Kobe had it going; we just needed Paul in that stretch.’ Pierce had 16 points in the first half to keep the sinking Celts afloat and 14 in the third quarter when they were making their move. Each possession seemed almost a one-act play. Pierce would slink around a pick and squeeze in a shot. Kobe would hit a floater in the lane and pointedly look down at Pierce, who had fallen. ‘It was like being a little kid at the playground watching a great one-on-one game,’ said Nate Robinson. ‘Both guys got it going. Paul’s one of the best players in the league, and Kobe, as well. Just watching two greats go at it like that, it’s clash of the titans. But today we had more firepower to help out with our team. We had a complete team, and it just looked real good out there.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘When he was going on his run, he was going both ways into the paint,’ said Allen. ‘When you look at the dynamics of their team, he was taking tough shots and making tough shots, but we were keeping everyone else out of the game. When we made him miss, we were able to run.’ But don’t call him a Kobe stopper. There probably isn’t a player in the league who carries those credentials. ‘No. The same thing that makes you laugh makes you cry,” said Allen. “It’s always more than a one-man effort. In this league you’re definitely not guarded by one-on-one. I got in foul trouble early, and then they had to put Paul on him with a bigger body. Make him shoot over the top. Paul and I play defense differently, so make him try to guess.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “Robinson said he was unaware of any sort of short leash Rivers had with him, but responded by scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with a trio of trifectas over 13:47. Over his previous eight games, Robinson had connected on a mere 16-of-54 shots (29.6 percent) and the start of Boston’s four-game road trip hadn’t been very friendly to him. Robinson was a combined 2-of-11 shooting, including 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. ‘Honestly, I was going back and forth on whether to play [Robinson] at all,’ said Rivers. ‘But he was huge for us.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Two days after that ugly loss in Phoenix, the C’s returned to the efficiency that’s made them the best-shooting team in the league. They’re the only squad in the NBA shooting over 50 percent (50.1). ‘That’s phenomenal,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We lead the league in field goal percentage, and we didn’t act like that in the last two games. Tonight, our execution was great coming out of timeouts. We had a focus tonight, and it’s amazing that we played with that. We don’t do that every night, unfortunately. As a coach I would like that.’”

Mark Heisler, LA Times – “Whether it’s good news or not in Lakerdom, this was a special effort by your team. Of course, if the Lakers played this hard all the time, they would be two or three games behind San Antonio instead of 7½ and Sunday would have felt more like a loss in January than the latest sign the end is near. Before Sunday’s game, the question was whether the Lakers could play at the Celtics’ level. I guess they settled that.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Bryant’s 41 points came on 16-for-29 shooting from the field. The rest of the Lakers shot a combined 20-for-52 from the floor. ‘I didn’t think anybody else wanted the ball,’ said Lakers coach Phil Jackson. ‘We did run a couple other plays to get guys into position, but I thought those times he had the best opportunities when other people were moving to the ball. But, a lot of times it didn’t look like we were running anything out there offensively.’”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “Jackson chose his words carefully when asked about it, cognizant that Artest yelled at him during a practice this month because Jackson continually criticized him to reporters and in front of teammates. ‘Ron took a couple shots that I thought were, like, perhaps not in the context of what we were trying to do,’ Jackson said. ‘I thought maybe we’d go another direction.’ Artest said he was slowed after getting kneed in the right thigh on a first-quarter drive by Shaquille O’Neal. ‘I wasn’t able to continue to take [Pierce] and be aggressive,’ Artest said. Artest, however, wasn’t disappointed that Bryant gave the team an ‘F’ grade for its defense against Boston. He took the optimistic approach. ‘I got ‘F’s in elementary school,’ Artest said, ‘and I still went to college.’” Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.