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

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “They have known each other since the eighth grade, have played together with the Knicks. But after four months with the Celtics, going to the Finals and playing a major role in the team reaching Game 7 against the Lakers, Robinson wasn’t the same player Crawford knew. ‘He’s grown up an awful lot,’ said Crawford. ‘I think that he actually won a couple of games in the playoffs for them with just his energy and his impact on the game. He’s never going to back down. If you’re going to war, that’s somebody you want to be in a foxhole with.’ Some things were the same. For one, Robinson’s decibel level never changes. ‘At 6 in the morning, he’s the same as at 6 at night,’ Crawford said. ‘Seriously, he’s going around, bouncing off the walls. That’s just Nate.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Back in October it may have seemed like a fool’s errand, or a death wish, to ask the Celtics to keep pace with the Heat and Magic, but now the East seems wide open and with that comes the real possibility of gaining homecourt advantage in multiple rounds. We bring all this up because the Celtics are beginning a three-game stretch of games against the Nets, Raptors and Cavaliers. There’s no reason the Celtics should lose any of these games, but then again two of their four losses have come against Toronto and Cleveland. If they are going to win 60 games and compete for homecourt, these are the games they have to win and it wouldn’t hurt to do it convincingly. They probably don’t even need to be angry. Mildly annoyed should work just fine.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “When Kevin Garnett has the ball, it’s more of the same. As the Boston Celtics continue to get props for an impressive start, there are a number of players who deserve some of the credit. You can include O’Neal and Garnett, a dynamic big-man duo whose collective efforts are too great to ignore. Statistically speaking, neither is having the kind of off-the-charts season that fans have grown accustomed to. However, both are delivering just what the C’s need at both ends of the floor.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Both aging big men are clearly feeding off each other this season. Both have talked about the remarkable decrease in double teams when they get to play in tandem. ‘Perfect,’ said [Shaq] O’Neal. ‘I think it’s a relationship of respect, after our battles over the years. We’ve seen what we can do over the years. We’re basically the same thing to each other, and we can say anything to each other. He can say anything to me and I’ll respect his word, and he’ll respect my word. I knew that it was going to be a good relationship coming in. I’ve played on a lot of other teams where the other team didn’t have to respect the 4 (power forward),’ he said. ‘So being that they have to respect him means that there’s a lot more room for me. It also means there’s a lot more room for him, so we’re going to use each other. I think it’s a good fit.’”

Colin Stephenson, New Jersey Star Ledger – “Troy Murphy will sit out his fourth straight game tonight when the Nets host the Atlanta Hawks at the Prudential Center and Nets coach Avery Johnson said the 6-11 power forward will not make the trip with the team to Boston for Wednesday’s game at the TD Banknorth Garden. ‘We talked this morning, and he feels he’s getting stronger,’ Johnson said of Murphy. ‘He’s not going to go with us to Boston – he’s going to stay back and get some more extra work done in our strength and conditioning program. And in about a week or so, we’ll see where we are with him.’”

Colin Stephenson, New Jersey Star Ledger – “Terrence Williams has been placed on the inactive list for tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks for disciplinary reasons, coach Avery Johnson told reporters in his pregame briefing. ‘Terrence is inactive for repeatedly violating team policy,’ Johnson said. ‘So that’s why he’s inactive tonight and he will not travel with the team to Boston.’ Williams will join Troy Murphy and the injured Quinton Ross (calf) on the list of players not going to Boston for Wednesday’s game against the Celtics.”

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

Doc: "You mean he made no subs? No subs?" Thibs: "But, but, but... it was all about matchups." Doc: "Okay, Shooter. Run the picket fence next time, dude."

Does Jackie MacMullan ever write anything that isn’t completely unbelievable in every sense of the word? She’s like the ‘roided-up Barry Bonds of writers — I expect her to hit a home run every time, and most of the time she does.

Today she killed her piece on Tom Thibodeau, absolutely murdered it in cold blood. And get this, Thibs says he didn’t freeze up when he forgot to make a substitution the last 18 minutes of that Hawks game way back when — he simply knew the matchups too well for his own good. (Boston Globe)

So what happened in that Jan. 11 game? Contrary to those who suspected Thibodeau was “unprepared,’’ it was his intimate knowledge of the fourth-quarter matchups that stopped him from making a move. The Hawks had sent point guard Mike Bibby to the bench and left Jamal Crawford to cover the point. Usually Bibby returns for the stretch run.

“The one guy I wanted to get back in the game was Eddie [House],’’ Thibodeau explained. “I was waiting for Bibby to check back in, but it didn’t happen.

“I knew I was taking a chance. We were shorthanded that night. Kevin [Garnett] and Rasheed [Wallace] were both out.

“I had studied the fourth-quarter matchups and I knew Jamal Crawford would be trouble for us. If you create a bad matchup, it can cost you 8-10 points.

“When we lost, I knew it would open me up to criticism. Things didn’t work out — but they could have.

“I just don’t worry about that stuff.’’

According to Thibodeau, the Atlanta loss has not come up in any of his head coaching interviews. Van Gundy said he was stunned by how many people jumped to conclusions following that one game.

“In retrospect,’’ Van Gundy said, “Tibs probably should have played the regular rotation but on a shorter lease — not because what he chose to do was wrong, but because it was so scrutinized and took on a life of its own. All of a sudden people were portraying him to be some robotic coaching drone, which is not who he is.

“Look, anyone who thinks there’s no learning curve when you slide over to [the head coach’s] seat is crazy.

“I can only guarantee you one thing: Any mistakes Tibs will make won’t be because of lack of preparation or because of a ‘deer in the headlights’ situation. Nobody cares more about getting it right.’’

I don’t know about for you guys, but it almost makes that coaching decision worse for me that Thibodeau knew exactly what he was doing. I think Thibs is a fantastic coach, but it would have been way better if he’d just been like Shooter from Hoosiers, drunk stiff on the bench and freezing up at the wrong time (R.I.P. Dennis Hopper). I mean, I don’t care what the matchups are, you’ve simply got to get your players some rest. I don’t care if Jamal Crawford was Michael Jordan, you still have to put some damn subs in. If the same five guys play 18 minutes in a row there’s something wrong with the coaching decision, even if Scal is the sixth man.

Another interesting quote from the piece? “Those closest to Thibodeau know he likes cars, music, and women.”

No offense to Thibs or anything, he’s a hell of a coach and all, but it’s a little tough to imagine him as much of a ladies man.

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.

I woke up in the morning with a grin on my face and a pep in my step; gone were the nightmares of Jamal Crawford.

I was prepared for a super day of basketball.  First, I was going to see my best friend, T.J., try to score his 1,000th point for Brandeis University.  Then, it was time for Celtics-Lakers.  Does a day get any better than that? Read more »

The starters did their jobs; each had a positive plus/minus. Read more »

Before the game, Kendrick Perkins admitted the Boston Celtics had “put a hit out” on Jamal Crawford.

Talk about one of your all-time greatest backfires. Read more »