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.

The Rottweiler Celtics are back.

Ramona Shelbourne, ESPN Los Angeles – “But as far as the Celtics are concerned, this series will come down to the same dynamic as the last time they played: ‘They play one way and we play a different way,’ Allen said. ‘That’s what’s beautiful about the Finals because you get a contrast of the two styles. It’s about who can take away that team’s strengths and force that team to play the way you want them to play.’ So yes, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins have grown and matured as players. Ron Artest has given the Lakers a more formidable perimeter defender than the last time they played, Andrew Bynum is healthier, and Pau Gasol has added 15 pounds of muscle. But the Celtics aren’t planning on changing their style of play or their playbook for beating the Lakers much from what worked two years ago. ‘No, we have our game plan,’ Allen said. ‘As players, we’ve got some tough guys on this team and you just play how you play.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “And yet all we hear from Laker Land is how they are going to avenge the ’08 loss to the C’s with more physical play, more toughness, more … of everything they are not. Don’t get it twisted. The Lakers are by no means a soft team. Far from it. But are they this gritty, grimy, beat-you-up-in-a-back-alley type of squad that’s going to overwhelm the Celtics with their increased Pau-wer? Uh, no. Ron Artest’s presence makes you a better team at bullying opponents. And when healthy, and that’s a big if, Lakers center Andrew Bynum can be the type of in-the-paint physical enforcer the Lakers want. But here’s the thing. Physical teams aren’t physical because they have a couple of tough guys. Physical teams smack you around from top to bottom, from superstar to seldom-used backup. And the Lakers, for all the talent they have, are not that kind of team.”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald – “As much as the Lakers tried to brush aside questions about their fortitude, there is little doubt that the Celtics are the more physical team in this matchup. Jackson compared the C’s to ‘roughhouse’ teams of the past, like the Detroit Pistons of the 1980s and the New York Knicks of the ’90s. ‘You’re not going to be able to counterpunch as much as use your speed and quickness and basketball skills. And you can do that,’ Jackson said. ‘Otherwise you’re going to have a guy riding you all the time and you feel like you’re playing with an extra 150 pounds.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “‘We’re going to be us,’ [Doc Rivers] said. ‘That’s physical and that’s what were going to do.’ Subtlety has a way of going over the cliff once we reach this point — and that was about as subtle as a Kendrick Perkins forearm. But why hide it? There’s a method to all that, mainly to alert the refs about what they’re going to see, but it also has a way of simplifying for his team what can become a shifting set of adjustments and concerns. This is where Rivers has truly excelled, by making big-picture tactical decisions and sticking with them. Against the Cavs, he locked in on Kevin Garnett and practically demanded that Garnett run the game from the low post. Against the Magic, it was Pierce and Ray Allen. Defensively, he and Tom Thibodeau have put his players on an island against the best in the game and not allowed the complimentary players to beat them. There’s a whole bunch of other things that go into that, but the rough outline of the gameplan doesn’t need a three-ring binder. The capital-A “Adjustments” have all come from the other side. Whether it was Mike Brown grasping at rotation straws or Stan Van Gundy preemptively flopping Matt Barnes and Vince Carter, Rivers has stayed constant and consistent which is exactly what his team needs.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “He sees the Celtics as an improved team this year and even from ’08. ‘We’re better because of Kevin (Garnett),’ Rivers said. ‘Last year we didn’t have Kevin playing and (Leon) Powe, so we didn’t get here. The Lakers did and they won the title. And from two years ago, we’re better because Rondo’s better. (Kendrick Perkins [stats]) is better. Rasheed Wallace is a great addition to our basketball team. Glen Davis is better. We didn’t make changes a lot. We just got better with the young guys. That’s what we decided to do as an organization is develop our own guys.’”

Baxter Holmes, LA Times – “Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday he won’t tell Perkins to tone it down, and he more or less expects the center to get suspended in the NBA Finals against the Lakers. ‘Unfortunately, I hope it doesn’t, but you know it’s going to happen,’ Rivers said. ‘Perk is physical, the Lakers are saying they want to be physical now, so the refs are going to react to that, and what’s going to happen is it’ll be a double-technical [foul] that Perk doesn’t deserve and we’re going to have to deal with it. It’s unfair, but that’s the way it is.’”

Broderick Turner, LA Times – “Artest, an 11-year veteran, is playing in his first NBA Finals. ‘I’ve been excited since I was like 8 years old,’ he said. ‘It’s not more I need.’ It was partly because of small forwards such as Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, Cleveland’s LeBron James and Pierce, that the Lakers signed Artest. Maybe Artest will get excited to play against Pierce, who tore the Lakers apart in the 2008 NBA Finals on his way to being named most valuable player? ‘He’s [Pierce] in the championship,’ Artest said. ‘Those other small forwards are not. He’s been there a couple of years already. He’s been in big games and he’s hit a lot of big shots.’”

Shira Springer, Boston Globe – “The well-documented risks that come with Artest date to his days with the Pacers. There was the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the rumored flirtation with retirement, the foray into music promotion, and the trade request. Artest called his behavior with Indiana his biggest regret. ‘We had a chance to go to the championship when I was with Indiana,’ he said. ‘But I wasn’t able to think the game. I was more egotistical, thinking about myself. When we lost Game 6 [of the Eastern finals] and I get a flagrant foul with like two minutes left in the game, what are you thinking about? What are you thinking about when you have a chance to go to the championship and Game 7 is back in Indiana? What could be more important than the game? That hurts a lot, to do that to Reggie Miller. What are you thinking when you’ve got a chance to win one, two, three rings? How do you do that to a team? I never thought I deserved to be in a situation like this. But I knew if I was ever in this situation, I wouldn’t take it for granted.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I’m feeling better,’ said Daniels, who suffered a concussion in Game 5 vs. Orlando. ‘Hopefully I can play in Game 1. I was a little dizzy, and the noise was bothering me a little bit, but I’m getting better.’ Earlier, coach Doc Rivers had said of Daniels’ condition, ‘It’s just not good yet. It’s a tough one. It’s funny. I talked to him before Game 2 or 3 in the Orlando series and we were assuming it would be the Lakers, and we said, ‘You’re going to be big defensively in that series. We need you to get ready.’ And it was just a freak accident.’ The Celts had Bryant in mind partially when they went after Daniels as a free agent last summer.”

Lisa Dillman, LA Times – “Or, moving on to basketball, the next five people could be wearing Rajon Rondo jerseys. Those odds, on the eve of the NBA Finals, aren’t bad in Boston. ‘Rondo just fired up everything,’ said Collins Leugna, a concierge at a luxury condominium in the Back Bay. ‘He’s the story in town. He’s the guy in the town now. You can see the jerseys, just flying off the shelf. For the last 10 games, he’s been the MVP. He’s unbelievable.’ Leugna, a native of Cameroon, has been here for 14 years, and he thinks the appeal of this year’s Celtics team is the sheer nature of the unexpected, the arrival in the Finals after an injury-marred second half of the season and a fourth-place finish in the East. ‘That’s why the city is fired up,’ Leugna said. ‘Suddenly, the Celtics showed up. And Rondo. Boom!’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “When Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson talked about the C’s ‘smackdown’ style and mentioned Kevin Garnett’s chop on the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard in the Eastern Conference finals clincher, Rivers believes he was simply trying to give the officials a road map to how this series should be called. Rivers smiled at the suggestion that his team is pushing the physical envelope. ‘Well, we just thank Phil for the compliment,” Rivers said. “That’s very nice of him to say. Whatever got us here. We’re not hiding from who we are and we’re going to be that. So that’s never going to change. We’ve said it from Day 1. We are who we are. If you like us, cheer for us. If you don’t, complain. But we’re not going to change.’ As for Jackson targeting Garnett, who will have a big matchup with the softer Pau Gasol, Rivers smiled at that one, too. ‘Well, I think it should be a compliment,’ Rivers said. ‘I think he picks the best player on the other teams or who he thinks is key, so I think Kevin should put that one right up there with his MVP trophy and everything else. I think Kevin should be excited about that. I think Paul (Pierce) and Ray (Allen) and (Rajon) Rondo, they’re going to be (upset) about it. They were hoping it would be them.’”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “If Bryant’s knee hadn’t been drained, the Lakers might be talking about rejection instead of redemption. They were struggling badly a week into the playoffs, unable to ride the back of their leader because he was supported by one healthy leg. His right knee swelled to the point of extreme discomfort and his on-court ability shrunk accordingly. He then had 1 1/4 ounces of fluid drained from his knee, and the procedure worked wonders for his game. Bryant’s recovery has mirrored that of the Lakers, who are on the doorstep of the franchise’s 16th championship. They begin the NBA Finals on Thursday against the Boston Celtics, who humiliated them two years ago in the championship round. Retribution is now possible mainly because Bryant no longer looks like he’s on his last legs. ‘He’s like Superman,’ forward Lamar Odom said. ‘You can’t hold him down.’”

Andy Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles – “Jackson talked about the matchups with Boston and predictably, Rajon Rondo’s name popped up quite a bit. Kobe, Fisher, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown were mentioned as candidates to check the rapidly improving point guard. (I personally wouldn’t be shocked if LO or Artest got the occasional crack.) But as the Kentucky product remained a topic of discussion, PJ downplayed the idea of any player as the “one” in need of stopping. ‘We look at them as a team. We don’t look at them as individuals. We gotta stop Rondo. We gotta stop [Kevin] Garnett or whatever. We look at the individuals and the strengths they have in how they’re used and say we have to limit whatever their strengths are in any way we can. If we turn the ball over or he gets rebounds, he’s gonna score in transition. It’s what he does. He’s great at that. If we make a lot of mistakes, he’s gonna score more. If he gets a lot of rebounds, you know… That’s kind of the things that happen in a ball game. It’s not about an individual that we’re gonna try to stop.’”

Ron Borges, Boston Herald – “The best player in the world with the money on the table and the clock ticking down is Bryant. He’s the best player when that is not the situation too, which is part of the reason he’s the best. It’s not important to him whether you’re playing for a dollar or a dowry. Either way the only thing that matters to him is winning. The Celtics accept this, just as they accepted the existence of James’ gifts and Howard’s intimidating style. It is important in life not to live in denial. The Celtics do not (except when playing defense against whoever the world claims is the best basketball player in the NBA). They simply say, ‘So what?’ The Lakers are the third straight team that has been told their destiny is to win the NBA title this year. So were the Cavs and so were the Magic. The Celtics were not, and said, ‘So what?’”

Brian Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles – “Yesterday after practice, Phil Jackson was asked if he thought Kobe Bryant takes things — say a Finals loss capped by a humiliating Game 6 in ’08 — more personally than other players: ‘You know, he devotes so much of his life to this game. It really does take an inordinate amount of time in his daily life. It’s not a pastime to him. This is a devotion, not just an avocation. And when you do that, when you throw yourself into it as deeply as he does, all those things count a little bit more.’ So is it important for him to be recognized as the game’s best player? ‘I can’t answer that for him,’ Jackson said. ‘Personally, I think it is. From his own standpoint, I think he wants to be recognized as the best player in the game. I think he wants to show it. He knows it’s ephemeral, that [it doesn't] last.’”

Mark Kriegel, Fox Sports – “‘What we do is personal,’ said Derek Fisher, the closest thing Bryant has to a confidante among his teammates. ‘It’s our job. The time and the commitment it takes to win and play at this level … It’s very personal.’ Sure. But for Bryant, it’s more so. In Bryant’s case, victory seems an existential quest. No one has played this many minutes, this many games, this young. What’s more, he’s played these last few seasons with contemptuous disregard for his orthopedic condition, the state of his fingers, knees and ankle. ‘He works so hard,’ says Lamar Odom. ‘Whether it’s his game, or studying film. I’ve known him for a long time. I remember when I first met him about 15 years ago, at a top 100 camp in Princeton. You could just tell then how he carried himself, how focused he was, how decisive he was — even though he was only 16 years old.’ ‘How was he different than the rest of you?’ ‘His mindset,’ said Odom. ‘His willingness to compete to be the best.’ ‘You mean, him wanting to be seen as the best there is?’ ‘I think that’s a fair enough assessment.’ Later, Phil Jackson spoke of the upcoming series as a ‘a chance to avenge really an uncomfortable feeling that some of these team members went through in Boston.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “According to the record books, the Los Angeles Lakers are the defending NBA champions and the Boston Celtics are two years removed from being champs. You would think it was the other way around by the much of the attention heading into Game 1 has been on what the Lakers have to do against the Celtics, and not vice versa. ‘Everyone has to understand, L.A. is the champs,’ Garnett said. ‘We’re coming in here, and they’re the defending champs. That’s the motivation. It is the Finals. We’re back here playing the champs. It is what it is.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “There’s the part of Rasheed Wallace that’s unapologetically transparent. The frosty postgame beers sitting in his locker. The Flyers cap in the Bruins city. The unstrapped, unorthodox Air Force 1 sneakers he has worn for 11 straight years, unless you count those six minutes in the first half of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals when he went without them. (Why? “No story,’’ Wallace said. “I just left them at home.’’) He is who he is. ‘There’s no hidden meaning or underlying philosophies with him,’ Celtics teammate Ray Allen said. ‘He’s just straightforward. Always.’ [...] ‘He’s a better person and he’s a great teammate, and I don’t think a lot of guys see that in him,’ Rivers said. ‘But everywhere you go, everywhere he’s played, that’s what they tell you. I don’t think you can get that sense until you coach him.’”

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

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.

Pierce has earned everything thats come his way. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “His path to success, however, couldn’t be more different from James’s. Since he made the leap to the NBA from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in 2003, James has been on the fast track, and living up to the hype. Pierce’s road has been winding. The hype and stardom evaded him to the point where he persistently calls himself the Rodney Dangerfield of the NBA. Forgoing star status, self-confidence — and sarcasm — are Pierce’s coping mechanisms. He tells the world he’s one of the best shooters in NBA history, then wins a 3-point contest to validate it. He says he’s the classic case of a great player on a bad team, then outduels Kobe Bryant — the league’s gold standard for individual greatness — in the NBA Finals. Why does success come faster for some than others? Why do some people immediately command respect while others have to earn it over time? Why is it that when some players say they’re chosen, they’re taken at their word but others have to spend years proving it? ‘I know at the end of the day, when my career’s said and done, everything I achieved, I worked for,’ Pierce said. ‘Nothing was ever given to me. That’s one thing I can honestly say. I think when you come along the ranks, whether it’s from high school or college to the pros when you’re automatically given stuff, you know . . . ’’ He left the thought unfinished. ‘But at the end of the day, everything I’ve gotten in my career, and I continue to get, I worked for it and I earned it.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘Just going against the best, regardless of whether it’s LeBron, brings it out in me,’ said Pierce. ‘Just going against the best teams. Over the years whenever I’ve played against a top team, I want to make sure I show up for that game. I want to play my best, and on the big stage playing against the MVP, the best player in the league, it brings the best out of you. I’m comfortable doing anything,’ he said. ‘I don’t limit myself to just being a shooter or driving. I’m a natural-born scorer, and if the shot is there I’m going to take it all over the court. I feel good, my shot feels good and my body feels good, and that’s the most important thing. Just being healthy helps me to do the things I know I can do on the court.’”

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “Because of it, the rivalry between the two teams is now complex. It dates back to Pierce spitting at the Cavs bench and nearly getting into a fight with James in a preseason game in 2004. It was fueled recently when Boston reserve Glen Davis was seen perhaps trying to purposely slap at Shaquille O’Neal’s injured thumb. Then, in the last meeting on Easter Sunday, James got into a heated exchange with Garnett after James missed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer. But there is no missing the respect level the Cavs have for their now underdog opponent. It shows on the roster, where they responded to the Celtics’ moves by making three cash-absorbing trades to land All-Stars to play with James and then signing pieces to support the core. Even the close-knit relationship the Cavs have in the locker room and the interaction and antics on the bench are, in a way, nods to the Celtics. It was the team-building exercises the Celtics had to start the 2007-08 season that helped them forge chemistry. It was the Celtics’ active bench — it often bent the rules by basically becoming an extra defender at the end of close games with players straying from their seats — that was the basis for how the Cavs behave now. Deep down, beyond all the on-court talk, there is a respect. And the Cavs see beating the Celtics, which is what they intend to do, as a rite of passage into what they hope will be the same finish Boston had two seasons ago when they last met.”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “And what Jordan brought to the game in flare, athleticism, and dominance, James equals with strength, all-around skill, and speed. There is only one Jordan, but James is making a loud enough impression on today’s NBA to create his own mystique for a new generation of children to emulate. ‘If you turn around, he has 35 [points], 8 boards, and 9 assists and that means he’s all-around, not to mention the steals and the blocks,’ Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said. ‘He affects the game is so many different dimensions. Dominance is dominance,’ Garnett said when comparing James and Jordan. ‘New era. New rules. Different tales of the tape. Apples and oranges. Both of them sweet. You love both of them. They are both good for you.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “It’s not just that James can score, which is a big enough worry. It’s not even that he can, and does, pass. It’s that when he passes it’s to a bevy of 3-point shooters. Or it’s to a collection of jump shooting big men. Or it’s to a rolling big flying down the lane toward the rim. The Celtics have already dealt with one superstar in the playoffs, but unlike Dwyane Wade, LeBron won’t be dishing off to the likes of Quentin Richardson and an aging Jermaine O’Neal. The Cavs may not have superstars around James, at least not superstars in their prime, but they do have a vast assortment of capable role players that compliment his skills. ‘The 10 [rebounds] and 10 [assists] we can’t have,’ Doc Rivers said after a two hour practice Thursday. ‘The 30 and the 40 [points] we don’t want, and if he has it we want him to have it our way, not his way. That upset with us with Wade in a couple of games.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – Forget LeBron vs. Pierce. Don’t even worry about KG vs. Jamison. Look past Rondo vs. Mo. This series will be decided by “Big Baby” vs. “Wild Thing.” The two players are more similar than immediately meets the eye. Both are capable of providing a spark off the bench, both can be overly dramatic and flamboyant, and, most importantly, both do all the little things that hardly show up in the box score, such as keeping rebounds alive, chasing loose balls, and taking charges. ‘He’s the biggest threat on the floor,’ Davis said of Varejao. ‘At the end of the day, that’s what’s going to win the series is the energy guys. He’s everywhere. He’s a pest. He’s showing off screens, he’s getting his hand on balls. He’s getting rebounds. He’s getting easy putbacks, getting free-throw rebounds. His energy is a big key for that team. What he brings is hard to find. He’s the type of player that can determine a game.’”

Jodie Valade, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “Anderson Varejao pointed to a darkened patch of skin on the inside of his right knee after Friday’s practice. ‘You can still see it,’ he said. It’s the spot where Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose’s knee knocked into the Cavaliers forward’s knee during Game 2 of the first-round series. The injury seemed to knock Varejao off his game for the remainder of series. Varejao swears the bruise didn’t hamper him. He said the foul trouble he found in each of the next four games had a bigger impact. He managed just 25.2 minutes per game, and hit only 37.5 percent of his field-goal attempts in the series. He was unable to find a rhythm against the Bulls, and as a high-energy player who feeds off emotion, he needs rhythm more than anything else. ‘It’s special for me,’ Varejao said. ‘I need rhythm to play really active.’”

Kirk Minihane, WEEI – “I think the Celtics and Cavaliers each own one huge edge when you break down the two teams as we head into what I think will be a seven-game playoff series. The advantage for Cleveland? Sebastian Telfair and his inside knowledge on how to stop Rajon Rondo. Well, that and the very best basketball player in the world at the absolute peak of his powers. Would anyone be shocked if LeBron James averaged a triple-double in this series? As great as Dwyane Wade was in the last two games of the first-round series, LeBron will be better. Bank on it. And how about the Celtics? When I looked over the matchups and handed out the check marks, I was surprised at how easy it was to give Doc Rivers the nod.”

Benjamin Hochman, Denver Post – “But with 6:00 left in the fourth, and Utah up 98-95, Kenyon Martin pushed Deron Williams as he drove toward the basket, and Martin earned a technical foul. From then on, the unraveling began. Chauncey Billups earned a technical a minute later, and Utah went on a 14-9 run to close out the game. And with 51.1 seconds left, the fans began chanting, ‘Beat L.A.!’ ‘These kind of things, I’m sure it will take awhile to sink in. It’s been awhile since I’ve had this feeling this early (in the playoffs),’ said Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, who has been to the conference finals in each of the past seven seasons. ‘You just got to give credit to the Jazz. They stole homecourt advantage from us, and they won all their home games.’ ‘Anything short of a championship is disappointing, especially for the team we have in place,’ Martin said. ‘But last year is last year — a lot of teams were gunning for us. They want to be where we were. That’s the way teams are playing. We just didn’t get it done, bottom line.’ With the loss comes questions. Has the window closed on the Chauncey-Melo Nuggets, or do they have one more season in them to win a title? Will the Nuggets endure another season with mercurial head case J.R. Smith (a good bargain who can get hot), or will they try to deal him? Will Rex Chapman and Mark Warkentien, front-office execs with expiring contracts, both be back? Are Martin’s knees sturdy enough to give it another go, or will he miss chunks of time next season too? And, of course, will coach George Karl be able to return from throat and neck cancer and lead his troops once again?”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “Better make room for another historic tenth of a second. Six years after Derek Fisher’s unforgettable “0.4″ shot came Pau Gasol’s “0.5″ clincher, another last-second theme on a different Lakers team that pushed itself past the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gasol’s follow of Kobe Bryant’s miss provided the final points Friday at Ford Center, an apparent loss turned into a 95-94 victory with the flick of two hands and half a second showing on the scoreboard. The Lakers will have barely 36 hours, if that, to celebrate another memorable playoff moment for a franchise filled with them. They eliminated the Thunder, four games to two, and begin the Western Conference semifinals at home Sunday against Utah at 12:30 p.m.”

Bill Plaschke, LA Times – “‘Tough,’ Ron Artest said, confirming it with his tired voice and his wrecked body, sitting in front of his locker with two ice packs on his knee and one on his shoulder. ‘Tough.’ Man alive. Enough already. The Lakers didn’t win this series, they escaped it. They didn’t beat an eighth-seeded opponent, they beat a heavyweight contender. They spent more than a week mostly stumbling around against the league’s youngest and fastest team, allowing themselves to be pushed to a Game 6, then show their championship mettle and grab a seven-point lead with five minutes left, and what happens? Tough got tougher. The noise grew louder, rattling your courtside keyboard, making it impossible to hear anything but Thunder. The giant white balloons — Thundersticks, of course — incessantly flapped, pounding the head, again and again. And the Lakers began to fold. Gasol charged. Kobe Bryant bricked. Gasol fumbled. The Thunder drained and dunked and finger rolled and, suddenly, the Lakers were trailing by a point in the final seconds. It is over yet? Fittingly, it was over only after one star rescued another, Gasol charging the lane as Bryant’s jump shot bounced off, Gasol grabbing the ball with two hands and putting it back in the basket with 0.5 seconds remaining.”

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

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.

He doesn't look so bad, does he?

Chris Gasper, Boston Globe – “Essentially, what the Celtics have been presented is a do-over of the 2009 playoffs, but with Garnett a go and Cleveland standing in for Orlando. The team is virtually identical because the additions of Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, and Nate Robinson have had no impact. Last year, the Celtics were ousted in the second round by Orlando in seven games. If that happens at the hands of Cleveland this year, then their run has run its course, and they’re the 1991 Detroit Pistons, who coincidentally went 50-32, to LeBron’s Michael Jordan. We were hard on the Celtics because we expected so much of them, but now they’re in a position to finally fulfill those expectations. Bring on LeBron.”

Bill Livingston, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “Hopes will have to wait that the Big Shillelagh will immediately break out the whuppin’ stick on the Boston Celtics, who begin their second-round series with the Cavs Saturday night at The Q. It was Celtic reserve Glen “Big Baby” Davis whose perfectly legal play on the ball led to Shaq’s torn thumb ligament — and whose tugging on the thumb afterward was both repulsive and typical of the Celtics. After the Bulls had been sent to their rooms, O’Neal fielded questions about Davis’ play with blandness. The two do share a background of playing for LSU, but old college ties mean nothing now. ‘Nothing bothers me,’ said the Big Serenity. ‘I don’t think [that the play was dirty]. I’m just glad I got my thumbs back. You need your thumbs. Your thumbs are very, very important.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Jamison averaged 19.3 points in Cleveland’s five-game first-round series against the Bulls, and he took nearly a third of his shots from 3-point range (7 of 23). He was spelled by Varejao, the sixth-year power forward who plays as if he’s never heard of inertia, making a living off hustle plays and feasting on the Celtics during the regular season by being quicker to get to open spots on the floor. It’s a matchup problem for the Celtics’ big men, who will have to flip the switch from guarding the post to jumping out to the perimeter, chasing Cleveland’s pseudo-bigs. Glen Davis put it this way: ‘Imagine if you had to bump Shaq [coming off a pick-and-roll] and then close out on Antawn Jamison when he just hit two in a row. Or with Rashard Lewis, you’ve got to bump Dwight [Howard] and get out to Rashard and force him left instead of right. You’re closing out to him and he can make you do anything he wants to, really. You’ve just got to have a feel for the game and just got to have a will to do a lot of things out there on guys like that.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “There is the Davis who made all of the hustle plays Tuesday night, from drawing two huge second-half charges on Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem to grabbing most of the big rebounds down the stretch. And then there’s the young player who is still a little too intoxicated by the memory of his game-winning 20-footer in last May’s Game 4 in Orlando. That’s the player who doesn’t always make the extra pass. But he seems to be coming around. ‘He’s just got to stay there,’ coach Doc Rivers said. ‘We tell all of our players this: ‘You don’t need a parade out there every game. You’ve just got to continue to play. And then your body will work when it’s all said and done. Then you can have the festivities.’ And that’s Baby in a nutshell. He is so talented, and his IQ is ridiculous. It really is. But he lets up at times. He starts thinking about what he’s done well, instead of just keep playing. And he’s a young kid still. That’s the maturity part that is growing. And I think it’s getting better and better. He has proven over the long haul, though, that in big games he tends to play well. He did it in college and he’s done it here.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I’ve maintained that I like this team,’ Rivers said. ‘You know, when we were struggling, no one wanted to hear that. I got that. I understood that, but I knew what I had, and I knew that my goal was to get them healthy. And if that meant . . . you know, I didn’t want to lose games, but you had to take that risk during the regular season. We had to choose health over anything, and I understood that. The first thing Erik (Spoelstra, the Miami coach) said was, ‘Boy, you had a hell of a fight trying to keep these guys healthy.’ And I said, ‘It was brutal.’ But it was the right move. It was. I mean, you had to. That’s our only chance. So now we’re healthy, we’re rested and we’re ready.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “”You definitely had your doubts at times because of the inconsistent play, injuries just seem to be mounting and mounting,” said Pierce, who was sidelined for 11 games this season. But he’s not griping. In fact, he embraces those times as moments that showcased this team’s character and resiliency. ‘The losing teams tend to point the finger, go to the media, says this guy need to do this better or do that better,’ Pierce said. ‘And we never held grudges with one another.’ Kevin Garnett also addressed some of the struggles Boston has endured this season, and it’s impact on the team moving forward. ‘If you want something to happen, you have to gather everybody and it’s a group effort,’ Garnett said. ‘But if you want something to work, you have to actually grab everybody, get everybody on the same page and work towards that goal.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA and the best player in the world on their roster. Of course this was the exact same scenario for the Cavs last season, and they ultimately lost to Orlando conference finals. General manager Danny Ferry bolstered his team with additions big (Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison) and small (Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon) and found improvement from within in young forward J.J. Hickson. Noted Celtic killer Anderson Varejao had the best season of his career, Mo Williams continued to shoot over 40 percent from 3-point range, effectively ending the necessity for Daniel Gibson to get playing time, and Delonte West re-emerged as a key third guard. Then, there is LeBron James, who has shattered the best player in the league argument and seems poised to truly rule the world if he can deliver a championship to his hometown team before engaging in the most frenzied free-agent courtship the league has ever known. Ah, but the Celtics have other ideas.”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “‘My role since I’ve been here really hasn’t changed. I can just be a little bit more vocal now that I’ve been here for a while,’ Finley explained. ‘I just didn’t want to come here right away and be the loud mouth of the locker room. But now the guys feel a little more comfortable with me. I’m able to pull guys to the side, tell them different situations, especially in these playoff series that are important, not only to them, but to our team. And they’re listening and they’re being receptive, and that’s been good.’ The 37-year-old is happy to share the veteran wisdom he has accumulated over the last 15 years, and the C’s are just as happy to receive it. ‘Mike is big,’ said Ray Allen. ‘Most people don’t realize the things that he’s saying, just his advice, just some of the things that he says coming out of timeouts, coming to the bench. You can always tell he wants to win. Even though he came here later on in the season, he’s invested now in what we’re doing. So he’s always making sure, ‘Look for this, this is what’s going to go down,’ or, ‘Ray, you need to do this,’ or ‘Paul you need to make sure …’ So that’s great coming from the bench and you know that he’s fielding us more information so when we go out there, we’re prepared.’”

Charles F. Gardner, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – “Keep counting ‘em out, all you National Basketball Association experts. These Milwaukee Bucks will just keep fighting to the end. The Atlanta Hawks found that out the hard way on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the teams’ Eastern Conference series, as the Bucks got off the mat to grab a stunning 91-87 victory at Philips Arena. The Bucks have won three straight games against the third-seeded Hawks while taking a 3-2 lead in the first-round series, and Milwaukee can eliminate Atlanta in Game 6, scheduled for Friday night at the Bradley Center. Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova showed his trademark hustle while grabbing offensive rebounds, and Milwaukee went on a dazzling 14-0 run in the final 4 minutes to erase an 82-73 deficit and end the Hawks’ 14-game home winning streak. ‘This is by far the biggest win of the season,’ said Bucks guard John Salmons. ‘We’ve still got business to take care of, so we’ve got to stay with it.’”

Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution – “This was the Falcons blowing the lead against Danny White and Dallas in January 1981. This was Mark Wohlers hanging the slider to Jim Leyritz in October 1996. Only it wasn’t. It was worse. Those opponents were top-class. The Hawks just blew a 13-point lead and probably a playoff series to Milwaukee, which is a No. 6 seed missing its All-Star center. They trail 3-2 in a series they led 2-0. They face elimination on the road, a place they’ve won once in 11 tries over the past three postseasons. Yeah, theoretically they could still pull this out, but how can you win in the Bradley Center when you can’t hold a nine-point lead inside the final four minutes with the series lead on the line? How can you put this colossal choke — I hate that word, but it applies here — behind you? Up nine, and here’s what happened: Josh Smith missed a dunk by hitting the ball on the underside of the backboard; Jamal Crawford short-armed a layup, the first of his five misses down the stretch; the Hawks watched as Ersan Ilyasova grabbed every loose ball and Joe Johnson fouled out on a charge. Nine points up with 3:55 left, the Hawks saw the lead disappear in 116 seconds. I say again: One hundred sixteen seconds. There are no excuses for this game, this series. The team with the better players is the one with one foot out the exit door. The Bucks have two chances to win once. The Hawks are down to their final shot.”

Benjamin Hochman, Denver Post – “Help? Melo got it. Selfish? Not the Nuggets, at least not this night. Game 6? A reality. For one night, all was right with the Nuggets, who played poised and possessed Wednesday during a 116-102 victory over Utah at the Pepsi Center. Overcoming the loss of Nene because of a knee injury, Denver forced Game 6 to be played Friday in Salt Lake City, with the Jazz leading the first-round playoff series 3-2. A source familiar with the situation said the Nuggets are fearful Nene tore the ACL in his left knee. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Thursday.”

J.A. Adande, ESPN – “Not only did Anthony receive the assistance from his teammates he all but Bat-signaled for from the dais last Sunday, he delivered 25 points and 11 rebounds. He managed to involve his teammates without too much dropoff of his own from his 39-point, 11-rebound Game 4. Sure the point total declined, but the number of turnovers also went from nine to one. A team official told Anthony he was as proud of him as he’d ever been after this game. If the Nuggets are going to exit the playoffs, apparently their disappearance won’t be traced back to Anthony. He already double his double-double total from all of last playoffs (anyone else craving In-N-Out Burger after that sentence?). And he’s put up a better resistance to elimination. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers last season, in what turned out to be the finale of his breakthrough playoffs, Anthony scored 25 points but shot only 35 percent and grabbed two rebounds.”

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

Deron: "I'm not on the list, but YOU are. Must be that these damn Mormons don't buy jerseys." Nate: "...Or that I'm better than you." Deron: "No!!!! It's the Mormons!!!!" Nate: "Whatever, dude. At least I don't get sweaty during games."

The NBA came out with the list of the fifteen most popular jerseys, and four Celtics made the cut.  One of them was Nate Robinson.  Here’s the list: (via WEEI)

Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys

1. Kobe Bryant, Lakers
2. LeBron James, Cavaliers
3. Kevin Garnett, Celtics
4. Derrick Rose, Bulls
5. Dwight Howard, Magic
6. Dwyane Wade, Heat
7. Chris Paul, Hornets
8. Paul Pierce, Celtics
9. Kevin Durant, Thunder
10. Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
11. Nate Robinson, Celtics
12. David Lee, Knicks
13. Brandon Roy, Blazers
14. Pau Gasol, Lakers
15. Rajon Rondo, Celtics

So Nate Robinson, a player who hardly ever breaks a sweat, sold the 11th-most jerseys in the NBA but Steve Nash, Deron Williams and Dirk Nowitzki are nowhere in the top fifteen?  That makes a lot of sense.

Look, I have nothing against Nate Robinson.  I even kind of like the guy, despite his uneven play for the Celtics.  But the fact this his jersey sells more often than Rajon Rondo’s makes me sad. Actually, it’s only jersey sales, I could care less.  But still.

I have a theory for why Nate’s jersey sold so often, one that doesn’t have to do with him winning three dunk contests:  Children, especially small children, find his jersey to be the best fit.

Another theory?  One of his family members has 50,000 jerseys hanging in his closet.

Be creative, Doc. Please.

A J.R. Smith three-pointer went through the hoop at the third quarter buzzer, and a 20-6 run was complete.  Just like that, the Denver Nuggets had cut a 21-point lead to seven.

They’d done it with the help of Dick Bavetta and his crew, an increased intensity, and — above all — the presence of a small lineup featuring Carmelo Anthony at the four.  That lineup was inserted into the game when the C’s had a 19-point lead, with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.  A big run later, the aforementioned J.R. Swish three gave the Nuggets a little hope.

But they shouldn’t have been so hopeful.  Doc Rivers had already countered the small lineup with a miniature lineup of his own.  Old Man Finley at power forward, and both Nate Robinson and Rajon Rondo in the backcourt.  With that change, Rivers effectively won his team the game.

When Glen Davis or Rasheed Wallace is defending Carmelo Anthony, the result is inevitably an endless parade to the free throw line and a 14-point quarter for Melo.  But when Tony Allen defended Melo, with a host of quick and aggressive defenders surrounding him, the energy and speed advantages were shifted to Boston, and the game was essentially over.

I loved Doc’s decision to go small, but wondered why he hasn’t done it at all this season.  He seems entirely against it.  Even after the small lineup let the Celtics run away with last night’s game, he said: “You know, they made a run and we were really stubborn, we didn’t want to go small.  We really didn’t. But we really had no choice. And, fortunately, our last practice, we actually worked on our small offense, so that allowed us to run it.”  And some more: “I wanted to stay big. Honest to God, I did not want to go small, more because I wanted the bigs to play [Denver's] quickness. But we just couldn’t, we had to match up.”

When the Celtics won the 2008 title, one of their most effective lineups had James Posey — a 6’8″ small forward — at power forward.  Doc didn’t use that lineup too often, but when he did it created mismatches and spread the floor.  Fast forward to this season, and Doc hasn’t used a small lineup — or, really, any makeshift lineups — at all.  He’s been content playing the bench mostly as a unit rather than as interchangeable parts to cause mismatches and throw counter-punches.  It wasn’t until Doc’s hand was forced by Adrian Dantley’s small lineup that Doc finally decided to throw the midgets out there and speed the game up himself.

I understand why Doc doesn’t go small very often.  Before Finley arrived, the Celtics had nobody to go small with.  There was no Posey to be able to defend power forwards.  You could probably put Pierce at the four, but it would risk putting him in foul trouble.  You don’t want your best scorer, a small forward, down in the trenches with the trees for extended periods of time.

But Doc, this isn’t hockey.  You don’t have to make line changes all the time.  The second unit has played pretty well as its own lineup, but the subs disappear sometimes.  There are times they can’t throw a tennis ball in a whirlpool.  So switch it up.  Put Nate Robinson in with four starters sometimes.  Put Finley at power forward, like you did last night.

In his defense, Doc said Finley and Robinson are struggling to adjust to the C’s playbook, and don’t necessarily know all the sets the starters run.  But they’ve been with the team long enough, and they’re smart enough players.  Finley’s 190 years old; you don’t think he can learn a couple sets?  At least enough to run with the starters for a couple minutes at a time?  Just throw them in there, Doc.  Switch things up a little, create havoc and mismatches in your team’s favor.

Sometimes, you might even want to do it of your own accord, rather than reacting to another coach’s solid personnel switch.  Your team might reap the benefits of your creativity.

Smith, nor anyone else, could guard Pierce tonight. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Paul Pierce set a back screen.  Kendrick Perkins floated a lob up near the rim.  Kevin Garnett rose up, snatched the pill out of midair, and slammed it home with authority.

With that, the Boston Celtics’ first possession of the game, the tone was set.  That one play symbolized what the Celtics proved for the rest of their 113-99 victory: They aren’t too old, and they aren’t ready to pass the torch to the next wave of contenders.  What they ARE ready to do — finally ready to do — is to establish themselves somewhere in the vicinity of the NBA’s mountaintop as the regular season draws to a close.

Every game Boston has played recently has been another opportunity to prepare for the playoffs.  With the postseason only a few weeks away, the Celtics are wiping off the rust, sharpening the edges, and regaining lost magic.

Pierce, especially, has returned to being a constant scoring threat capable of imposing his signature on a game.  By the time the Garden crowd sat down, it seemed, Pierce had already scored in double figures.  He finished with 14 first-quarter points, scoring in every conceivable way besides the long ball (Pierce ended the game 0-3 from deep).  For the game, he had 27 points, in only 32 minutes.

My favorite Pierce moment?  It was probably his most selfish play of the night: He drove to the hoop from the right wing, and two defenders collapsed on him as he took it hard to the cup.  As KG’s defender keyed in on Pierce, KG opened up just outside the free-throw line for a jumper.  What did Pierce do?  He put it into another gear, drawing contact and bulling his way to the bucket.  He didn’t finish the play for an and-one, but his aggressiveness drew the foul and got him an easy look.  He could have tossed the ball out to Garnett for a jumper, but instead took it in his own hands to keep pressure on the defense.  No need to settle.

The Celtics didn’t settle at all, all night long.  They pounded the glass.  They got to the rim with ease.  They did exactly what they were supposed to do against a Denver Nuggets team missing its toughest player: Go into beast mode.  It’s rare to see a team win a basketball game in which it shoots just 4-18 from behind the three-point arc, but that’s exactly what the Celtics did.  They were able to come away victors, despite laying a hotel full of bricks from outside, by constantly being the aggressors.  How many times this season have you seen the Celtics a step slow and a day late going after loose balls?  A lot.  But tonight was different.  Far different.  The Nuggets were the ones who looked stuck in cement all night.

I’ve written almost 500 words so far, and haven’t mentioned Rajon Rondo once.  All he did was chalk up a triple-double.  All he did was pounce on every loose ball.  All he did was dominate a game in which he took only nine shots.  11 points, 15 assists, 11 rebounds. Oh yeah, and four steals too.  And he held Chauncey Billups to just 12 points.  Advantage, Rajon.

Another player who played superbly?  Those of you who didn’t watch the game aren’t even going to believe me, but Tony Allen.  In his first significant action since the Celtics signed Michael Finley, Allen subbed in for a foul-plagued Marquis Daniels early in the second quarter.  By halftime, he’d scored 10 points, flushed down a tomahawk slam off a beautiful Rondo left-handed around-the-back pass, and completely changed the complexion of the game.  Daniels didn’t return to the game after halftime, and it wasn’t because of foul trouble.  It was simply a case of being outplayed by a minutes-starved T.A.

All the great individual performances were great, but it was the team play that clinched the C’s best — and most impressive — home win of the season.  A late run by a small-ball Nuggets lineup to end the third quarter was the only time the game seemed at all in doubt.  A couple minutes later, after implementing a small lineup of their own, the rout was back on.  The Celtics put on a clinic in team basketball, with  30 assists on 44 field goals;  great ball movement throughout;  punctual defensive rotations at every opportunity;  box outs, even;  and a team-wide commitment to the offensive glass, too.

And they did it all against a good team.  One of the best in the league, if you want to get into a little more detail.

If you’re a Celtics fan, times are good.

*****

• Carmelo Anthony is very good at basketball, and even better at scoring.  He ended with 30, despite being silenced down the stretch.
• Garnett had a double-double, with 20 points and 10 rebounds.  He could have had even more points, missing a lot of chippies.
• J.R. Smith scores buckets.  21 points, in 30 minutes.