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.

Sweet knee pads,Chief.

Gerry Callahan, Boston Herald – “But you know what Bird never did? This. What we’re watching the Celtics do right now, before our eyes, in this surreal spring of 2010. He never took you on the kind of magical mystery ride that Doc Rivers’ team is enjoying as we speak. [...] These Celtics already have eliminated the top two teams in the regular season. The Cavs won 61 games, and now their coach, Mike Brown, is on the street. The Magic won 59, and now they’re feeling as good about themselves as British Petroleum. This Green team is blowing holes in entire franchises. If LeBron James leaves Cleveland as expected, he always will remember what happened in his final game in front of the hometown fans. The Celtics beat him, and the fans booed him. Unlike Brown, Stan Van Gundy will survive in Orlando, but there is a casualty list just the same: On it are the reputations of erstwhile stars Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. The Celtics didn’t beat them. They ruined them. The Keyser Soze Celts have destroyed many things in this postseason, including the old axiom that the best player usually wins in the NBA. Not this year. The team with the best player just keeps going home while the team with the toughest players moves on.”

Dave McMenamin, ESPN Los Angeles – “Bynum suffered a slight tear of the meniscus of his right knee in Game 6 against the Thunder and has been limited in the playoffs, averaging 9.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 24.2 minutes per game while recovering from a late-season strain to his left Achilles and navigating the pain and swelling that accompanied the right knee injury. ‘It was just getting worse,’ Bynum said after the Lakers film session in preparation for the Celtics on Monday. ‘The swelling wasn’t leaving so we had to do it … I was doing the treatment, but [the swelling] wasn’t going anywhere like in the previous three rounds so I just had to drain it.’ Bynum said he could not feel any immediate benefit from the drain because there was still medicine in the knee numbing the pain, but said he would find out if the procedure had a positive impact Wednesday, when he plans to return to practice. ‘It supposedly will make you feel more healthy, so that I’ll find out come practice day,” Bynum said. “I think that practice is going to be what kind of determines that for me, especially because I’ll be running on it and cutting and it will be a full, hard day.’ The procedure did wonders for Bryant, who described the draining as having “the nasty stuff sucked out of my knee.” Bryant averaged 24 points on 38.4 percent shooting in the first four games against the Thunder before having his knee drained and has been on a tear ever since, averaging 31.3 points on 51.5 percent shooting in his last 12 games.”

Rob Bradford, WEEI – “Speaking on the Planet Mikey Show Monday night, KTLA’s Ted Green said that he should ‘probably apologize for’ the line he wrote referencing Paul Pierce’s stabbing in his column for the LA Times. Green wrote of Pierce that the Celtics star’s ‘idea of a fun night is going clubbing and getting stabbed. Good times!’ ‘That one was something I probably should apologize for. That one was not only too close to the line, but maybe over,’ Green said. ‘The truth is I think Paul Pierce is a very, very good player. A Hall of Fame caliber player. I probably shouldn’t have gone to the stabbing card.’”

Mike Petraglia, WEEI – “Rivers was told by more than one member of the recently-excused Phoenix Suns that if you plan on carrying through with the directive of Celtics fans everywhere, you better bring your hard hats and be prepared to rebound against the defending NBA champs. That, of course, means being physical and not backing down. That also means that Kendrick Perkins needs to play with perfectly-controlled fury or risk his seventh technical foul, bringing with it an automatic one-game suspension. ‘Our talks [with Perkins] haven’t worked yet, so maybe I should have another one,’ Rivers said. ‘I’m concerned by it, honestly. What I’m concerned by with this is that it’s going to be a physical series. There’s going be guys that get tangled up under the basket, and there are going to be officials who are going to want to clean the game up. Perk may be in that. And the double technical — that’s why I’ve been on the double technical thing for a month now. This double technical thing should not be part of the seven techs, it really shouldn’t be. But it is and it’s a factor. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a factor in this series.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Rivers, four wins away from his second NBA title in three years, is more in the conversation than ever on the subject of the league’s great coaches. Paul Pierce certainly has his coach ranked high on the list. ‘I put him right up there,’ the Celtics captain said. ‘This is the only coach I ever want to play for again. He’s taken my career to the next level. He’s got to be up there with the top five coaches. You have to say Phil (Jackson), Gregg Popovich, he’s right there with them.’ Asked about Rivers’ deliberations about leaving the Celtics following the season, Pierce, who has an option on his own contract, joked, ‘I haven’t really thought about that. Are they concerned I might leave? That’s stuff for after the season.’”

Lisa Dillman, LA Times – “One of the lines of questioning with Pierce had to do with Rivers’ stabilizing force as coach, the ability to stay unruffled when things were at their darkest for the Celtics in an injury-riddled second half of the season. ‘You can see, at times, you play for coaches when things aren’t going right,’ Pierce said. ‘Practices get harder and yelling becomes louder. Doc is a cool customer. He didn’t panic. He didn’t get louder. He just stuck with the game plan. A lot of times when you go through a stretch we went through — we lost five games out of six, seven out of 10, you kind of tell through a coach’s body language that things are going [poorly] … you never really saw that with Doc.’”

Dan Ventura, Boston Herald – “Dwyane Wade and the Heat wilted in five games. LeBron James was so demoralized by the Celtics, he didn’t even reach the Cavs’ locker room before ripping off his jersey following the decisive Game 6. Magic center Dwight Howard and his renowned elbows were shipped back to Orlando after falling 4-2 in the Eastern Conference finals. As impressive as those conquests have been, there is a bigger obstacle standing between the Celtics and their quest for Banner 18 – Kobe Bryant. The Lakers guard enters the NBA Finals on a high note, having poured in 37 points in a 111-103 victory against the Phoenix Suns in the decisive Game 6 on Saturday night. Every time the Suns threatened to come back in the fourth quarter, there was Bryant responding with one contested bucket after another. ‘Watching that ending in Phoenix, I don’t know how those shots go in,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘But because it’s him, you didn’t even think it was a bad shot. It’s just what he does.’”

Shira Springer, Boston Globe – “‘We’re a different team,’ said Bryant, when pressed for comparisons between the group that lost to the Celtics and the one looking to defend its title. ‘[The 2008 Finals] really taught us what it takes to win in terms of rebounding, the energy, the intensity you have to play with.’ Added Odom: ‘Sometimes it’s crazy how the stars align and bring you to moments in your life. We have a chance to make history.’ Although Bryant kept his answers brief, Jackson acknowledged the Lakers star may have taken the 2008 Finals loss more personally. ‘He devotes so much of his life to this game,’ said Jackson. ‘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. When you throw yourself into it as deeply as he does, all those things count a little bit more.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Paul Pierce was walking his dog in a crosswalk, and they saw each other. The Lakers coach, not completely satisfied with the 2009 NBA title his team won at the expense of the Orlando Magic – a matchup Pierce likened in a memorable tweet to a poodle fighting a German shepherd – still wanted another shot at the 2008 champs. So Jackson told Pierce to get his team back together for the 2010 rematch. Pierce laughed yesterday at the news Jackson now is sharing this story with people. ‘Anytime you lose in a championship game, that’s something you can’t forget,’ the Celtics captain said. ‘You’re talking about the biggest stage. I played in a lot of championship games in AAU when we lost those games. It hurt more. You probably would rather lose earlier than in a championship game when you come so close. I know it’s something that sticks in their mind. They only play for championships, and they only hang championship banners. It hurts not only the Lakers, but the Boston Celtics.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “From the outside looking in, Artest is the perfect fit. ‘He makes a difference,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘I think that’s the one thing that’s been overlooked all year for them. I’ve heard all year how Artest doesn’t fit, hasn’t fit, and I’m thinking, he’s been perfect, because it’s allowed Kobe not to have to guard the best player every night. I think it’s clear, you can see it in Kobe’s offensive numbers, He’s as fresh as I’ve ever seen him in the playoffs and I think it’s due to Ron Artest. So that’s where he’s been perfect for them.’ Pierce’s playoff battles with Artest go back to 2003 when the Celtics bounced the Pacers in the first round. Pierce averaged 25.8 points in the six-game series, but his respect for Artest went without saying. ‘He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever played against, and he takes pride in that,’ Pierce said. ‘Just being able to lock down opponents night in, night out. We’ve had some battles and it’ll be a tough challenge.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Lakers would have loved another clash with the Celtics a year ago. Some believe the Celtics would have made it happen had it not been for Kevin Garnett’s season-ending knee injury. ‘It’s driven all of us,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘We didn’t have that opportunity last year. The Lakers won, but we didn’t have that opportunity. Honestly, we weren’t playing that great anyway when we were not injured. But now we’re a little different than that team. The starting five is the same, but we have a different bench, we have different guys and so do they.’ For Pierce, who grew up watching the Lakers, the matchup is only right. ‘I want to go there and try to win a championship in my hometown again,’ Pierce said. ‘Just the rivalry period. Just the motivation of being in the championship. So many things motivate you for being in the Finals. I can just pretty much put all the things in a hat and pick one.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics have won nine of 11 NBA Finals against the Lakers, making this not so much a rivalry as a domination. In the golden era of fantasy sports, when all-time teams can be pitted against each other via video screens, the Globe decided to match the 15 top Celtics and Lakers from those 11 Finals to see who would win a seven-game series. That’s Bob Cousy vs. Magic Johnson. Bill Russell vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Paul Pierce vs. Elgin Baylor. And before we begin, this is just players who faced the Lakers or Celtics in a Finals, so that leaves out Dave Cowens for the Celtics and Shaquille O’Neal for the Lakers.”

Andy Kamenetzky, ESPN Los Angeles – “When Ron joined the Lakers last July, it was with the unabashed goal of winning a ring. Dude mentioned this every possible chance. He’s now four wins away from getting fitted for jewelry, but ironically less willing to even fathom the moment. “I’m not looking that far ahead,” maintained Artest. I asked if the championship possibility is almost too real now, sitting right in front of him as opposed to a goal off in the distance. He offered an interesting analogy: ‘You set the goal. I guess it’s like when you’re cooking food, you buy the ingredients. You know what you want to make. I guess we’re cooking right now. It’s still cooking.’”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “When Ortiz met Davis at Josh Beckett’s charity bowling event during Davis’ rookie year, he was surprised to learn the “humongous dude” was actually one of the newest members of the Celtics. The two shared a brief conversation, one that has stood out in Ortiz’s mind for years. ‘He said, ‘I’m trying to work hard because I want to be one of them. I want people to remember me in this city as a great player, and I’m working hard to get to it,’” Ortiz recalled. ‘So I said, ‘Keep on doing what you’re doing and you’re going to be just fine.” Davis’ ambition reminded Ortiz of his own. As Ortiz listened to the young athlete, he was taken back to the time when he was an eager ballplayer who had just been traded from the Minnesota Twins to the Red Sox. He remembered how anxious he was to put his stamp on Boston, the same sense of excitement Davis exuded. ‘That’s the reason exactly why he caught my attention a lot,’ Ortiz said. ‘I remember when I first got here with the Red Sox coming from Minnesota and there’s nothing but history and great players around. I remember my agent telling me, ‘If you go to this city and play well and help the team to win a World Series, they’re going to remember you forever.’ And I busted my tail off just to do that because it was my goal. Now watching him doing the same thing, it brings me highlights and memories back.’”

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.

The Celtics say the Pizza Man would help Orlando more than Vince.

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “The sudden disappearance of Rashard Lewis is not the only thing missing from the Magic team that defeated the Celtics in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. This time around they are playing without Hedo Turkoglu, who left Orlando last summer and signed a mulit-year deal with the Raptors. Even though the Magic acquired Vince Carter in his place — a role Carter’s teammates say he has filled well — the Celtics have noticed a difference in matchups without Turkoglu on the court. It is one they have benefited from in the conference finals. ‘Definitely with Turkoglu, he adds a size matchup being at 6’10 he can play the two, the three, the one. Obviously a walking matchup problem,’ Paul Pierce said following practice on Sunday. ‘I just think the things that he does playing with the ball and off the ball in the post, he’s one of the more versatile small forwards in the NBA and one of the toughest that I’ve seen to guard. Them not having him, I think it really works in our favor.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Being optimistic, coach Doc Rivers figured the defense would be better in the postseason. Being realistic, he knew if the Celtics wanted to win, they had no choice. ‘It had to be [better],’ Rivers said yesterday. ‘During the regular season, teams were hitting 110. We clearly are a different team.’ Indeed, the Celtics have had the Magic boxed in for the majority of the Eastern Conference finals, taking a three-games-to-none-lead with a 94-71 win Saturday night. The Celtics, who can close out the series tonight at the Garden, have given up 100 points just three times in these playoffs — their only three losses. In their 11 playoff wins, the Celtics have held opponents to 84.9 points a game. The defense that struggled to keep teams from hanging 100 at the end of the regular season is now playing as well as it has all season. ‘We’re playing well,’ said Rivers. ‘We’re playing as a group. There’s a lot of individual defenders on our team. [Rajon] Rondo can be terrific. So can Kevin [Garnett] and Perk [Kendrick Perkins]. But the reason we’re playing well is because as a group, we’re doing it together. We’re doing it in system.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘I still don’t think [Kevin Garnett is] 100 percent – maybe about 85 percent,’ Perkins said. ‘He’s showing flashes of his old self, though, like how he shows in the pick-and-roll. He’s defending the pick-and-roll and getting back on the isolation. I don’t know how much better he can get at it. All I know is that he’s doing that great now.’ And as far as defending Orlando is concerned, the Celtics are getting all they need from their defensive heart. ‘It’s obvious, how much better he is now,’ Pierce said. ‘You’re seeing it in the way he rebounds the ball and sprints down the court. Let’s face it: Without Kevin we can’t win a championship. I’m replaceable, Ray’s replaceable, Rondo. But you can’t replace Kevin.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “‘We have a lot of different leaders on the team,’ Rondo said. ‘It starts with me, but Kevin is our vocal leader. Paul is our captain. And Ray is our leader as well. It’s no particular person that’s the exact leader.’ In an interview with CSNNE.com, Allen had similar comments about the C’s leadership this season. ‘Each guy on this team is an individual leader,’ Allen said. ‘Having a voice and leading. And sometimes not having a voice, and just leading by example. There’s a lot of different scenarios.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “On a club with this much talent, the sight of the Magic failing to play for each other is a clear sign that no magnetic force in sneakers has yet emerged. Watching them get humiliated Saturday night, the mind wandered back to the 2007 Red Sox falling behind Cleveland in baseball’s playoffs. David Ortiz called a players-only meeting, grabbed his jersey and said that wearing the Sox suit made one ‘a bad (very long expletive).’ Who among the Magic, we wondered, would step up and make that speech? (Insert audio of crickets here.) The players said they’d had an upbeat practice, but afterward they looked more like they were at a wake. Their own. Perhaps the corpse of the previous night’s debacle hadn’t yet cooled. ‘I’ll be honest,’ said Van Gundy. ‘I’m somebody who says I’m never shocked, but I was shocked (Saturday) night that we didn’t handle the situation better and play with more intensity and determination. I was shocked by our lack of effort throughout the game (Saturday) night. That shocked me. Look, they thumped us pretty good. Everything’s got to change, from our defensive disposition to our effort to our offensive energy and decision making.’”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “The Celtics are one game away from eliminating the Magic and advancing to the NBA Finals, and they believe credit should be given where credit is due. ‘I believe we deserve all the credit,’ Ray Allen said following practice on Sunday. ‘It’s only two teams playing. We’re putting them in the situation that they’re in, and we’re adjusting and trying to find the ways that we can confuse them as much as we can, and make it tough defensively on them and offensively. They’re not going out there and doing it to themselves.’”

ESPNBoston.com – “Rajon Rondo is enjoying a playoff run for the ages. He is averaging over 17 points, 10 assists and five rebounds per game. He is just the fourth different player to have those numbers in playoff history. The others are Magic Johnson (nine times), Isiah Thomas (1985) and Bob Cousy (1959).”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Magic are being counted out, and their effort in Game 3 gave neither their fan base nor anyone else reason to believe the series will extend beyond tonight. ‘We can still play great basketball and we will [tonight],’ said Nelson, the lone Magic player who has consistently played with desire in the series. ‘It’s just been mental breakdowns. Before practice, I was frustrated a lot. But it’s over with. There are numerous things we could have done a lot better. Our effort wasn’t there and film doesn’t lie. We can complain and say things during the course of the game, but when you sit there and watch film and you see things, that’s the mental toughness we’ve been lacking for the first three games. This is not the team you’ve seen win 59 [in the regular season], and the first two series. But we’ve got to prepare ourselves for this game and put those three behind us.’ So the goal, at least for now, has been reduced from winning the NBA Finals to winning one game.”

Michael Vega, Boston Globe – “Did the Bruins’ playoff demise serve as a cautionary tale for the Celtics after their 94-71 victory in Game 3 Saturday night gave them a three-games-to-none lead over the Magic? ‘Well, it should be,’ said coach Doc Rivers yesterday during practice in preparation for tonight’s Game 4 at the Garden. ‘I know you guys will make it [a cautionary tale], so I don’t even have to worry about that. The greatest part — and probably the toughest part — about playing sports or coaching sports in Boston is the history. Everyone’s going to remind you of the good history, and everyone’s going to remind you of the bad history. So, in some ways, it could be a benefit for us.’ Though Kevin Garnett acknowledged ‘closeout games are the hardest, the most difficult’ games to win, he was quick to point out, ‘This is not hockey,’ when asked if he had any concerns about the Celtics suffering the same fate as the Bruins. ‘I’m not even looking at that,’ he said. ‘The Bruins are not the Celtics and the Celtics are not the Bruins. It’s apples and oranges.’”

ESPNBoston.com – “[Stuart] Scott: ‘How does Orlando try to win Game 4?’ [Magic] Johnson: ‘Honestly, they can’t. I’m going to just be honest. When you think about the Boston Celtics defense, they’ve taken away everybody, especially the role players. … They’ve broken Orlando’s will to win. I don’t see the spirit, I don’t see the will of this team coming out to beat the Boston Celtics.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “Celtics coach Doc Rivers suggested Sunday that reserve guard Tony Allen has been playing through ankle pain that left the team wondering if he’d even be available for Game 3. ‘Tony’s ankle has been bothering him a lot, but he’s playing through it,’ said Rivers. Allen missed the first 20 games of the 2009-10 season with a sore right ankle after rushing himself back from offseason ankle surgery and aggravating the injury during the only preseason game he appeared in.”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “In 2010, it’s about greed. It’s about wanting more, but knowing, deep down, that if it doesn’t work out, there’s still that one; that no one will go home completely empty-handed. That’s not to say that the motivation isn’t there. This team has a whole new set of doubters to prove wrong. A second title would take them to borderline dynastic. But there’s still nothing like the first, and no way to re-create that urgency. That doesn’t mean the Celtics are doomed. It’s just another reason why, as the captain said, this year’s completely different.”

Steve Buckley, Boston Herald – “This past regular season, with too many people hurt, too many questions, too many observers whispering they’d be one-and-done in the playoffs, the Celtics were just 24-17 at home. By comparison, the Toronto Raptors, who at 40-42 had only the 19th best record in the NBA, were 25-16 at home. Yet there was Kevin Garnett Saturday night, taking in Gino Time as only he can. For not only are the Celtics ‘back,’ they have conquered whatever problems they brought out to the parquet during the regular season. When they take the court tonight for Game 4 against the deflated, sad Magic, the Garden will be primed and ready to be the launching pad to the team’s second trip to the NBA Finals in three years. It wasn’t long ago – just weeks, really – that people were asking which of Boston’s four pro sports franchises was the closest to winning a championship. Few had the Celtics on the list, even after they dismissed the Miami Heat in just five games in the first round. The Celtics made believers of everyone when they humiliated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round, but there was one home clunker in the mix: a 124-95 loss to the Cavs. But think big picture: The Celtics are 6-1 at home in the postseason.”

Mark Heisler, L.A. Times – “Just what the Lakers needed, a real series. Now a virtual certainty that they will play rough, tough Boston — should they advance, of course — the Lakers found themselves needing a quick knockout in the Western Conference finals, but they didn’t get it Sunday. Instead, the Phoenix Suns climbed off the canvas and smote them, 118-109, meaning that the Lakers either put the Suns back on the ropes Tuesday or the series will go from ‘real’ to ‘tied.’”

Paula Boivin, Arizona Republic – “If you can judge a man by his shoes, then you can judge a basketball player by his locker. Amar’e Stoudemire has a diagram of John Wooden’s pyramid of success taped inside his space. On a shelf is a book called ‘Becoming Vegan.’ The man has spoken a lot about becoming a more complete player. On Sunday in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers, he finally delivered. Forty-two points. Eleven rebounds. And a big-time nasty attitude. This is what the Suns have wanted from Stoudemire, what they needed if they hoped to avoid a Lakers sweep. It is the type of game that tips the scale toward staying as the front office contemplates how hard to court him. ‘He got his way (Sunday night),’ Lakers forward Pau Gasol said after the Suns 118-109 victory. ‘We’ll get our way next time.’ Will they? Those are words Stoudemire should embrace. He did it Sunday night. The Suns need him to bring it again.”

AP – “The Cleveland Cavaliers have fired coach Mike Brown after five seasons for failing to win an NBA title with LeBron James. ‘After a long and deep analysis of all of the factors that led to the disappointing early ends to our playoff runs over the past two seasons, we concluded that it was time for the Cavaliers to move in a different direction,’ Gilbert said Monday in a statement released by the team. ‘The expectations of this organization are very high and, although change always carries an element of risk, there are times when that risk must be taken in an attempt to break through to new, higher levels of accomplishment. This is one of those times.’”

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

Games 1-5, explained in one photo.

Some notes about Game Six:

For Boston

• Do what you’re doing – It sounds simple, but it isn’t.  The Celtics need to keep moving the ball, being aggressive off the bounce, and giving Lebron tranquilizers before each game.  Stay committed to the glass, defensive rotations and making the extra pass.  Feed KG in the post, run with Rondo in transition.  If the Celtics keep playing the way they are, they’ll be tough to beat.

For Cleveland

• Lebron might play point guard – Mike Brown says the Cavs are pondering lineup changes, and Lebron at point guard could be the answer.  I’m not sure how the Celtics should feel about that.  If Lebron’s in a backcourt with Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, who the hell is Rondo going to defend?  I guess it would be Parker, but that’s a big disadvantage for Rondo.  Then again, if the Cavs start to run their offense through Parker in the post that’s probably not a bad thing for Boston.  So my “expert’s” verdict?  I have no fucking idea how that switch would work out.
• Jamison at small forward? – The other switch Brown might make is to play Antawn Jamison at small forward. The Celtics should be fine with this: if Brown puts Hickson in at power forward, KG still has a mismatch.  If Brown goes with Varejao, the Cavs put their weakest offensive lineup on the floor. 
• What I would do if I were Brown – Put Lebron at power forward.  Go small. If Lebron’s at power forward, who the hell is Garnett going to defend?  The Cavs are the best team in the NBA — the Celtics should have to adjust to them, not the other way around. 

Prediction: Lebron destroys the C’s from the start, but Boston weathers the storm.  Cleveland’s supporting task just doesn’t seem to be enough to handle Boston, suddenly clicking on all cylinders.

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 best player in this series being defended by whoever kidnapped Lebron's body last night. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Duane Rankin, Boston Globe – “The best player in the series, Rondo had a stretch in which he scored 8 of Boston’s 11 points in the third quarter to signal the beginning of its 120-88 blowout win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. ‘Just tried to take what the defense gave me,’ Rondo said. ‘Didn’t try to force anything. In the second half, I had those looks. Had those gaps. I took advantage of them.’ Rondo finished with 16 points, all in the second half, and seven assists as the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 is tomorrow night at TD Garden. ‘That’s what you call a floor general,’ Glen Davis said. ‘A guy that can dictate the game by just calling plays and putting guys in the right spots at the right time. That’s the makeup of a legend.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “‘He is so young and I couldn’t turn the TV on or read a paper without it being Rondo this and Rondo that,’ Rivers said. ‘I was like ‘Please, just be quiet people, stop it.’ Because it’s tough. When you’re young, that’s a lot of attention, but I thought he handled it perfect. We kept telling him, ‘Your job is to run this team.’ Don’t worry about matchups. Just run the team, and he’s doing a great job. The plays he’s calling on the floor without a coach’s call, you have no idea how good he’s been, and it’s great for me.’”

Rich Levine, CSNNE – “And, to the surprise of everyone but themselves, in Game Five, the Celtics became most dangerous with Rajon Rondo on the bench. It began at the 9:44 mark in the second quarter. At the time, the Celtics looked sluggish, were trailing 29-21, and much of that stemmed from Rondo’s inability to find his rhythm. The point guard had just finished the first quarter without scoring a basket or tallying an assist, and seemed to be feeling the effects of his recently acquired superstar status. ‘Rondo was tired,’ said Doc Rivers. ‘You could see it. He needed [the rest] for whatever reason. He got tired early.’ With Rondo out of the game, Rivers went to a lineup of the Big Three, Tony Allen and Kendrick (although Glen Davis would soon replace him) — a five-man unit void of a point guard, an offensive facilitator, or a guy capable of getting the team out in transition. But despite all that, the Celtics took the floor, at a potentially game-turning juncture, without the “key to their success” . . . and, quite simply, it just didn’t matter. The Celts went on a 16-0 run with Rondo on the bench. Over that time, Pierce and Garnett each scored six, and Tony Allen had four. Meanwhile, Ray Allen stretched the D, and Perkins and Davis crashed the boards. ‘It was big,’ said Rondo of his teammates taking over. ‘Tony started it off with his defensive intensity, and did a great job. I wasn’t playing well, so he came in and gave us a lift. That group did a great job of closing the court out, giving us that stretch, and the lead, and a little bit of a cushion going into the second half.’”

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe – “Doc Rivers was happy, for sure, but he was also pragmatic. ‘One thing we told our guys was that we’ve done nothing,’ he said. ‘All we’ve done is win three. You’ve got to win four.’ This is, in fact, a very similar situation to the one the Celtics were in at a comparable stage last year. They were up, three games to two against the Orlando Magic then, and they had the luxury of knowing a potential Game 7 would be at home. If the Celtics don’t get the job done at TD Garden tomorrow night, we’ll all be back here Sunday. By the way, the Celtics lost that Game 7 at home last year. There have now been three road victories in this series. No one should be struck dumb if there is a fourth.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “They didn’t need any heroes. They just needed to execute. As the pace slowed, the Celtics’ defense began turn LeBron James from MVP to mortal. The offense had weapons at every angle, from Garnett in the post, to Allen on the perimeter, to Paul Pierce, who was free to assert himself as a scorer. That execution led to a 120-88 win that gave the Celtics a three-games-to-two lead with a chance to close out the series at TD Garden tomorrow night. After being picked apart by one player, the Cavaliers had a hard time finding an answer for a Celtics team that seemed to have a scoring threat everywhere on the court. ‘That’s the beauty of our team,’ said Pierce. ‘It makes us so dangerous. When you look at Cleveland, you know you’ve got to stop LeBron. With us, we’ve got four or five guys who can lead us in scoring. You never know where it’s going to come from and that’s what makes us so dangerous — different guys stepping up different nights.”

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “With a stiff resolve, James declined to blame the elbow or anything else for the below-standard performances. ‘I put a lot of pressure on myself to go out be great and the best player on the court,’ James said. ‘When I’m not, I feel bad for myself because I’m not going out there and doing the things I know I can do. But I don’t hang my head low and make excuses, because that is not the type of player or the type of person I am.’ But the was no missing the malaise and broken-looking spirit that hung on James’ face and body language during the game. He could offer no insight other that he was battling expectation as much as the Celtics. ‘I spoil a lot of people with my play,’ James said. ‘When you have three bad games in a seven-year career, it is easy to point that out.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “‘I wanted to be more aggressive,’ Pierce said. ‘I knew they were really keying on (Rajon) Rondo because of the way he’s been playing, with his penetration, so I knew that would kind of open things up for me. So I took advantage and was aggressive from the start. Coach kept telling me to be more aggressive, especially off the pick and rolls and transition, rebound the ball better. I was able to do that, and at the same time do it within the flow of the offense. But at the end of the day, I don’t really put pressure on myself to go out there and try to score. We have so many players who can step up. Today they needed it, and I brought it.’”

Bob Ryan, Boston Globe – “Seven months later, Glen Davis said he is still paying the price for his impetuous actions. ‘I still don’t feel I’ve gotten my game back,’ he maintained. He’s talking offense. Defensively, he’s fine. ‘I feel good about it,’ he said. ‘It’s one of my strong points, as far as help defense is concerned. I’ll be there for the next guy.’ He’s been that way almost since Day One. Professional defense is often mystifying for young players. It’s not quite as simple as guarding your man. Take Leon Powe, for example. Who among us didn’t love Leon Powe when he had the basketball in his hands? But when they went the other way the coaches took very deep breaths, and were often afraid to look. Leon wasn’t exactly hip to the rotations. But Davis caught on immediately. In that vein, he remains reliable. The offense is another matter. Even if he had not cost himself the first 28 games of the regular season after requiring surgery to repair a broken right thumb sustained in a bizarre altercation with a friend (inside an SUV, no less), Davis would have had a major adjustment to make this season. Said adjustment, he said, has not yet been made.”

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

Lebron: "See this dude to my left? He's never going to get calls. Not against me." Ray: "What he said."

I’m still swamped with Goddamn finals, so I won’t be able to post too much again today.  Sorry, folks, but finals are finally done in a few hours and I’ll be able to spend more time on the blog.  I’m so happy I could kiss Dick Bavetta on the lips.

Gross.  Anyway, here are some talking points about the series and my opinions.

On Lebron defending Rondo:

Yes, the Cavaliers should do it.  Yes, the Celtics should be a little worried about Lebron moving to Rondo.  It’s simple: Rondo is the C’s best player, and Lebron is Cleveland’s best defender.  Lebron also happens to be the only player on Cleveland’s roster with the speed to even be a nuisance to Rondo.  It’s a no-brainer for Cleveland, especially after the way Rondo obliterated them last game.  While the move could free up Paul Pierce, Pierce has shown very few signs of life in this series.  Even if Pierce does get going because of the defensive switch (and he might — seeing Anthony Parker after four games of Lebron will be like being released from jail), it’s just him getting going.  When Rondo gets going, he’s dishing the rock and making sure everyone on the team gets into the action.

At the same time, I’m not sure even Lebron can stop Rondo right now.  As long as the Celtics get stops Rondo should be able to have his way in transition… whether it’s the King guarding him or Shelden Williams’ brother-in-law.  Cleveland’s best defense is probably its offense; hit a few shots, limit transition and keep Rondo out of the open court.  Rocket science, it ain’t.  Once Rondo gets in the open court, there’s only one way to stop him: Throw a whole bunch of gumballs on the court and hope he slips on one of them.

After gumballs, Lebron on Rondo is the Cavs’ best attempt to slow him down.  You know the saying: cut the head off the snake and the body will die too.  It’s just going to be tough to cut off the head, when he’s playing so damn well.

On Paul Pierce:

Pierce says he isn’t sick or injured, but he’s either that or halfway washed up.  Pierce hasn’t been able to do anything — anything at all — in this series.  Doc Rivers has commended his defense, but defending Lebron is more about help defense than the initial defender.  No offense to Pierce (who’s tried valiantly to keep Lebron in front of him), or anyone else, but if Lebron James wants to go by his first defender he’s going to do just that.  The man’s got a turbo button that other players just don’t have.  Pierce isn’t limiting Lebron alone, I can tell you that.  Something that I think is telling about the way Pierce has played: at times the Celtics have defended Lebron with Ray Allen… even when Pierce was on the court.  I can’t ever remember them doing that.  Ever.  Pierce has always been the one who’s handled Lebron.  With his size and strength, Pierce is simply a better matchup for Lebron than Ray.  But Doc has still stuck Ray on him for portions of the game.

Maybe that doesn’t mean anything, and maybe neither does Pierce’s 11.8 ppg or 32% shooting this series.  Maybe Pierce is just too tired from dogging Lebron to have an impact defensively.  Maybe Lebron is just THAT GOOD defensively.  Or maybe Pierce is washed up.  It’s sad, but it’s looking more and more like Paul Pierce is a shell of the player he used to be.  Say it ain’t so, Paul.

Pierce’s deficiencies haven’t really hurt Boston so far this series, but there will be a close game when Boston needs someone to score down the stretch.  When that time comes, they’re going to need the Truth.  Whether or not he’ll be there is another question.

On Lebron James’ throne:

I have called Lebron James the NBA’s best player for the last three years or so.  He’s the league’s best individual talent, and it isn’t even close. At some point, though, he’s going to have to win a title.

Without a ring, it’ll be tough for me to keep referring to James as the game’s best.  As much as you can say about Lebron elevating his teammates, it’s only during the regular season.  Last year Cleveland had the NBA’s best record… and was cracked by Orlando in the Conference Finals.  This year Cleveland not only has the NBA’s best record, but Lebron also has a much-improved supporting cast.  If he AGAIN fails to lead the league’s best team to a championship, we might have to reevaluate the best player in the world.  Yeah, Lebron also moved Cleveland to the Finals in 2007 and almost singlehandedly took down Boston in 2008, but the King has to come through when it matters most to continue to hold the throne as the NBA’s best player.  Maybe this is the year he finally prevails, but then again maybe it isn’t.  Cleveland has looked very vulnerable in three of its four games against Boston.

On Mike Brown:

If Cleveland doesn’t win a title this season, it’s time for Brown to go.  I know he’s a great defensive coach, his teams always stop people, yada yada yada.  But have you seen Cleveland’s offense?  It’s clear that Brown has no idea what he’s doing.  When it comes to offense, Brown’s riding the short bus.  The Cavs have a mismatch with Antawn Jamison on the perimeter… and have hardly gone to it.  They DON’T have a mismatch down low with Shaq… but pound the ball down there frequently.  The Cavs have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a guy who would spread the floor and bring Kendrick Perkins away from the hoop… and Big Z hasn’t played at all.  The Cavs have the ability to go small, run Boston out of the gym and abuse Kevin Garnett with whoever he’s defending…. and I can’t remember one time when they’ve used Lebron as a power forward. As I said a few sentences ago, as long as Cleveland falls short of a title Brown should get canned.

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.

No fraternizing with the enemy, Paul. Especially not in a blowout loss. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

Steve Aschburner, NBA.com – “Then there was the scene that played out moments before the second half began, as Pierce and Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal positioned themselves for the initial possession. There was small talk. Smiles. Pleasantries at a thoroughly unpleasant time — Boston was down 65-43 — for the home team and its fans. That got a lot of green boxers in a bunch, too, the sight of the Celtics’ captain chit-chatting with a hated foe when the task at hand was so grim. Frankly, it’s hard to blame them. Fans want players to die a little with each loss, same as them. Fans pay big money to see their teams at their best or at least laboring hard and grimacing as they fall short. Fans might like it, knowing that their favorites are grounded and stable and centered as human beings away from the court, but that really is not a priority for them in the 2-3 hours it takes to watch a game or the two weeks that a playoff series runs. Michael Jordan’s obsession with winning, every time, every place? Kevin Garnett’s woofing and chest-thumping, even at All-Star Games? Kobe Bryant’s facial contortions and megalomania? That might make them lousy neighbors — imagine putting your fence three inches beyond your property line — but it is fire, it is fuel, it is focus. Bottom line, the Celtics and their fans want Pierce to play better. Failing that, they want to see the struggle, the sweat, the strain, the anger, the frustration that somehow they just know they would be feeling in his shoes.”

Jessica Camerato, WEEI – “‘I think right now, he’s the best player on our team,’ Perkins told WEEI.com following practice on Saturday. ‘Without Rondo, nothing goes. Pretty much we’ve got to play him the whole game because he just runs the whole team. Without him, we’d be dead.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “After Friday’s loss, Pierce suggested it doesn’t matter what he does offensively, given his defensive responsibilities with James. Rivers said he’s half right as Boston needs Pierce to be a factor at both ends of the court, just like James has been. ‘Obviously, we want him to be more efficient,’ said Rivers. ‘He’s right. We were fine in Game 2, but I think we lost Game 1. We do want to get him involved more, get his rhythm better. He has a big job; guarding LeBron is very difficult. It takes a lot out of him. LeBron gets the ball 101 times per game. He handles the ball, pushes the ball up the floor and posts. Absolutely, that’s going to take something out of [Pierce]. You still gotta do it on both ends.’ Echoed Kevin Garnett: ‘We need Paul to be aggressive at both ends.’ But Pierce’s teammates seem confident the offense will come before it’s too late. ‘I’m not worried about P’s,’ Perkins said. ‘I’ve been around with P’s a long time. I’ve seen P’s have a few bad nights and I’ve seen him come back and have a 35-point night. You just never know with P’s. I know he’s capable of having big games. He always steps up in big games. We gotta do a great job of getting Paul open and getting him good shots. And we need to help him on defense.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “After averaging nearly 20 points a night in the opening-round series against Miami, Pierce has been a ghost against the Cavs. His scoring average has dived to 12.7, he’s shooting 31 percent from the floor, and in the Game 3 loss Friday, he missed his first six shots, going 4 for 15 on the night. ‘We do want to get him involved more,’ said coach Doc Rivers yesterday. ‘He has to get his rhythm better. But he has a big job. Guarding LeBron is difficult and it takes a lot out of you. LeBron gets the ball 101 times a game. He handles the ball. He pushes the ball up the floor. He posts. So it will absolutely take something out of you. But you still have to do it on both ends.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “‘Last night you could pretty much point at anything as the problem,’ said Kevin Garnett. ‘So today was more of a fix-it day.’ But where to start. The Cavs shot nearly 60 percent, holding the Celtics to 42.7 percent. LeBron James showed off with Jay-Z and Beyonce sitting courtside. And it added up to the Celtics’ worst home loss in playoff history. The easiest way to deal with it is to completely erase it from the memory banks. ‘You kind of let that game go away,’ Kendrick Perkins said. ‘You kind of move on. You can’t live in the past. The good thing about it is we’ve got a chance to tie it up 2-2 going back to Cleveland. So I fee like it’s a must win for us tomorrow.’”

Jodie Valade, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “The Celtics have been unhappy with the amount of fouls assessed this series, as Boston has had 78 fouls, compared to 57 on the Cavaliers. ‘[Friday], I felt like we were playing on the road, to be honest,’ Kevin Garnett said. ‘And that’s a rare feeling. You tend to think that the team that’s aggressive, the team that’s at home is the team that gets calls. But that’s not always the case and it’s out of your hands. So you’ve got to continue to be aggressive and put yourself into positions and situations to get fouls called.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Halfway into the second quarter, Rondo was the only Celtic with multiple field goals, and at that point Cleveland was up, 46-27, its lead still growing. He took nine shots in the first quarter, but Cleveland almost welcomed the idea of Rondo as a score-first player rather than pass-first point guard. For a player who holds the keys to the series, it’s a delicate tightrope walk. ‘He does it at times where he becomes a scorer instead of a playmaker,’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said yesterday. ‘You want him to be both all the time, but playmaking is key. I thought early on he really went at [Anthony] Parker and got everything he wanted, but no one else was involved. So you’ve got to be careful. That’s a fine line for a point guard.’ [...] ‘He had a matchup where he was attacking,’ said Ray Allen. ‘We’ve got to make sure that we keep moving the ball around. We can’t allow them to lull us into that idea that we have a great matchup because Kevin [Garnett] had a great matchup, I had a great matchup, Paul [Pierce] had a great matchup and we’ve got to move it around. We find the matchups that we like, get the ball moving around and become unpredictable. That’s when we get easy looks.’”

Dan Duggan, Boston Herald - “‘He has a cape, there’s no doubt about that,’ Rivers said of LeBron James. ‘A lot of guys play through his cape. That’s with every great player. You can’t name a great player, especially the Kobes (Bryant) and the LeBrons of the world – when they get it going, they make you feel pretty much like Hercules as well.’ James’ supporting cast flexed its muscles Friday with five players reaching double figures, thanks largely to the MVP’s 21-point first quarter. ‘Their whole team feeds off LeBron,’ Kendrick Perkins said. ‘He came out and he had 21 in the first quarter. He was setting the tone, he was knocking his jumper down, his confidence was high, his swagger was high and all the rest of those guys feed off of him. If LeBron doesn’t do that then the game pretty much could go either way. He came in and he set the tone early.’”

Brian Windhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “Ten months later, [Anthony] Parker is sacrificing some dignity to help the Cavs stay ahead of the Celtics. It has not and will not be obvious or beautiful, but Parker’s willingness to be a cog has been vital to the efforts so far. He’s drawn the task of defending Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and it hasn’t been fun. Rondo’s had an amazing three games, averaging 19.3 points and 13 assists. But despite being at a disadvantage, Parker’s battled Rondo to enough to help the Cavs in both their wins in the series. ‘I’d never claim to be as quick as him and I think everybody knows that,’ said the 6-7 Parker, who has six inches on Rondo but much less foot speed. ‘If I can make him work a little harder then I’ve done my job.’”

Terry Pluto, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “It’s tempting to dwell on the Xs and Os, the nuances of forcing Rondo to take jump shots rather than drive to the basket — along with playing smothering chest-to-chest defense on shooters Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Or we can talk about how the Cavs have more athletes and can run Boston ragged. Or how James needs Mo Williams (yet to make a 3-pointer in the series), Delonte West and Anthony Parker to be reliable outside shooters. We can dissect the matchup of Kevin Garnett vs. Antawn Jamison. But it comes down to this comment from Jamison: ‘We can ill afford to let the things we did in the first two games happen again as far as not coming out being aggressive on both ends of the floor.’ It doesn’t have to be like that, the momentum shifting from game to game, team to team. After 82 regular-season games and eight more in the playoffs, the Cavs are the superior team. They are more talented, deeper, healthier and nearly as experienced as the Celtics. This game is opportunity to also prove they are hungrier.”

Bud Shaw, Cleveland Plain Dealer – “Rivers may think it’s a single nagging injury. But you know better. Through forces unrecognized outside of “Hot Tub Time Machine,” James’ elbow bone is somehow connected to Jim Chones’ ankle bone and every near miss since. The fact that it seemed to crop up as unexpectedly as, say, a late-game fumble or a last-gasp jumper by the other team might seem like a coincidence in Boston. But what do those people know about not winning championships? They got the gout when it comes to titles from living too well. The fuss over The Elbow speaks to the delicate balance of hope and masochism still at work in the Cleveland sports scene even in the face of the uncapped promise of the James Era. Maybe expressly because of the uncapped promise.”

Ross Siler, Salt Lake Tribune – “As amazing a finish as Saturday night’s game offered, the ending couldn’t have proven more agonizing for the Jazz, now facing a historically insurmountable 3-0 deficit to the Lakers after three losses decided by all of 14 points in this Western Conference semifinal series. The Jazz’s season was left on life support after a 111-110 loss at EnergySolutions Arena, with Deron Williams missing a potential winning jumper over Ron Artest with 1.8 seconds left and Wesley Matthews’ Cinderella tip-in at the buzzer bouncing away. As much of a stand as they’ve tried to make against the defending champions — falling 104-99 in Game 1 and 111-103 in Game 2 — the Jazz are left with a 3-0 deficit from which no team in NBA history has. ‘It’s a tough loss, period,’ Williams said. ‘We again were in the game, we had a chance to win the game. Just things keep going the other way.’ ‘I thought we played well enough to win the game,’ Carlos Boozer added. ‘A couple of bounces here, a couple of bounces there and we do. We just didn’t get the bounce we needed tonight.’ The Jazz will host Game 4 on Monday night with their season in danger of coming to an end with the first four-game playoff sweep in franchise history. The Jazz were swept 3-0 by Golden State in the 1989 first round.”

Mike Bresnahan, LA Times – “The Lakers, who have won five games in a row, were stuck in a fight with a Utah team that had beaten them here in Game 3s the last two playoff seasons, and the game ended in a flurry, Deron Williams missing a long two-point attempt from the top, Wesley Matthews missing a tip-in at the buzzer. Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak congratulated each Lakers player as they went to the locker room. This was a big one, in many ways, a revelation that the defending champions didn’t want to be pulled back into another tight series (think Oklahoma City, first round). The Lakers now seem to be on a collision course with the Phoenix Suns, who have a 3-0 lead in their West semifinal against San Antonio.”

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal Constitution – “Let’s start with the obvious: The Orlando Magic are better. They have a center. They have a point guard. They have a roster of players with complete sets of working organs, and isn’t that a novelty? But sometimes things happen in sports that make you declare, ‘Push the button and blow the whole damn thing up.’ This was one of them. In a home playoff game, in an obvious desperation game, in a game where the Hawks had an opportunity to show us what substance they were made of, they collectively screamed, ‘Goo.’ They didn’t score. They didn’t defend. They didn’t rebound. They didn’t compete. We saw better performances when bodies were being jettisoned and the roster was all about 10-day contracts and cap space. Down 2-0 in their second-round playoff series against Orlando, the Hawks tossed on a little seasoning, propelled themselves onto a rotisserie and told the Magic, ‘Flip the switch.’ They trailed by 10 points after one quarter, 19 after two and 24 after three. A small gathering of fans at Philips Arena stuck it out until the end of Saturday’s 105-75 loss, perhaps hoping it would earn them some sort of refund. Sorry. Payback will have to come in the afterlife. If you need to know what that’s like, just ask the Hawks. They’ve flat-lined. They’re down 3-0. Their backs aren’t against the wall. They’re on the floor. Wait. It gets worse. Al Horford, the best hope this franchise has for a leader, openly questioned his teammates’ heart.”

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