Doc Rivers spends a lot of time talking about the mystical “Celtic way.” Nate Robinson was benched last year because he didn’t yet know the Celtic way. Kevin Garnett epitomizes the Celtic way. Patrick O’Bryant is the exact opposite of the Celtics way. Okay, Doc Rivers never said that last thought. I still imagine he’s thought it at least once or twice.

Yesterday, Rivers finally described what the “Celtic way” entails. (Boston Globe)

“I don’t know the Celtic Way, I mean I know it when I see it. It’s our speed, it’s unselfish. Being a Celtic is every decision you make is about the team, every touch you make is about the team, every pass you make is about the team and you take yourself out of it — then you’re probably a pretty good Celtic. If you don’t want to win and you don’t want to play team basketball, if it’s more about you, then you’re probably not a pretty good Celtic. And definitely not in this era, I can say that.’’

The Celtic way is setting hard screens, passing up an open shot to pass to an even more open teammate, and rotating to help a beaten teammate.

It’s throwing away the stat sheet after games, offering help to lesser teammates after practice, and diving on the floor after loose balls, even during preseason games.

It’s knowing your role and filling it, outworking your opponent every night, and never counting yourself out, even when you’re down 24 points in an NBA Finals game.

It’s Eddie House chasing down a loose ball, James Posey hugging his teammates before games, and Kevin Garnett pounding his chest.

It’s Kendrick Perkins’s scowl, Paul Pierce’s stepback jumper, and Ray Allen’s understated fist pump.

It’s Rajon Rondo’s ascendance to stardom, and his teammates’ willingness to accept that.

It’s Glen Davis coming off the bench drooling, Nate Robinson finally “getting it,” and Delonte West being loved and supported.

It’s about the pure elation of winning a championship for your brothers who aren’t blood related, and it’s about being eliminated from the playoffs, looking around the locker room and not seeing a single dry eye.

The Celtic way is how I one day want my son to play basketball.

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

Delonte Turko-doo-doo?

Delonte West, ESPN Boston – “In this diary I want to talk about what’s going on this season here in Boston. But if questions about my past do come up, that’s alright with me. People make mistakes but that’s what life is. You’ve got to learn from them and keep going. … You want to know who is Delonte West? I’m not going with what Nate Robinson would like me to say. He says I’m the Joker from the Batman movie. I’m not going to allow Nate to label me. I’m also not going to start out saying I’m a basketball player. Actually, I’m a son. I’m a brother. I’m a cousin. I’m an uncle. I’m a next door neighbor. I’m just like you are. Most people, they run into me at the Walmarts and the Coscos and the Home Depot and the most surprising thing they find out about me is that I’m a lot more normal than people think I am as far as having my feet on the ground and being a human being. After those things, you’ve got to throw in God-fearing. After all those things, then I play basketball.”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – Remember the story yesterday about how Kevin Garnett has stopped talking to players who won’t listen to him? What he did to Patrick O’Bryant was even worse. ”To Rivers’ earlier point about past teammates who didn’t listen, a post-practice session between Garnett and former C’s center Patrick O’Bryant from two years ago still comes to mind. Garnett spent the entire time dunking over the blank-faced O’Bryant and shouting, ‘Do you feel me?’ O’Bryant, who played very little and is now out of the NBA, obviously didn’t feel Garnett.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “Bargnani not only got beat off the dribble, but Lasme’s powerful, one-handed jam seemed to ignite both the Celtic faithful as well as his teammates to victory. For Pierce, it was similar to those pick-up games in the summer when Lasme proved he could more than hold his own against NBA players. ‘Honestly, I thought he was just a guy we had in the gym for an extra body for pickup,’ Pierce said. ‘But now that he’s come to camp, he’s shown me a little bit more about what he can do. You guys haven’t really seen some of the things he can do. I’ve had a chance to watch him in the 3-on-3s after practice and see a little bit more of his skill level. He’s putting pressure on guys to make this team; just the way he’s playing and the way he’s responded in these games. He’s very productive. That’s hard to overlook right now. We have to keep our eye on him, what’s best for the team and go from there. I don’t know if he’ll make the team, but what he’s doing in this camp so far should warrant him a look in the NBA.’”

Peter May, ESPN Boston – “So, really, what can we glean from the Celtics’ summary disposal of the Sixers in Manchester, N.H.? Or from their squeaker over the Raptors on Sunday night? Nothing. ‘The one thing you cannot do in the exhibition season is use it as a guide as to how good you’re going to be,’ Rivers said Monday after practice, before the team headed to Philadelphia for a rematch with the Sixers. ‘All the teams are using different combinations and trying different things.’ … ‘I never put too much stock into who we played,’ Celtics GM Danny Ainge said of his exhibition-game memories. ‘It’s more about establishing a rhythm, teamwise and individualwise, and for the coaches to figure out who plays well together and who fits.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “The goal last summer, he said, was to take 1,000 3-pointers each day. Marquis Daniels looked around at a group of cynical faces and shrugged in his understated, bemused way. … ’I tried to make at least 1,000 3’s a day,’ he repeated. ‘I wasn’t used to doing that. I usually work on my post-ups and try to get my conditioning there, but there was a lot of shooting this summer. I was going twice a day, like in the morning at 9, and then at night late again, just shooting. Just trying to get them up,” said Daniels. “I had my old AAU coach helping me, and I was making my brother do some work, too. This summer I wanted to key on showing them that I was working on that,” he said. “With all of the people on this team who can penetrate and get to the basket, I just have to hit the open shot.’ … ’He’s made a couple of 3’s, but I’m not going to call that an expansion,’ said Rivers. ‘Where he’s better is he’s more sure of himself offensively. I still want to get him in the post more. That’s part of his game. On the elbows more, and we’re trying to do that.’ In other words, Daniels has miles to go before he once again has Rivers’ faith. ‘It’s up to him,’ said Daniels. ‘I’m just trying to take advantage of whatever situation he puts me in. He just wants me to be aggressive and take whatever the defense gives me. Just go out there and make plays, post up, and if I’m open, take the shot. I’d like to think this is something I could have been doing if I had stayed healthy, but that’s all in the past. I’m looking forward to the future.’”

Jessica Camerato, CSNNE – “Daniels has turned heads as he enters his eighth year in the league. Rather than wonder what could have been last season, he is focused on the season at hand. ‘I’d like to say this is something I could’ve been doing if I had stayed healthy, but that’s in the past,’ he said. ‘So now I’m looking forward to the future and just continuing to get better every day.’ Thousands of three-pointers later, he’s on his way.”

Frank Dell’Apa, Boston Globe – “Nate Robinson joined the Celtics in late February but was not truly part of the team until the playoffs, according to Rivers. ‘It did take him some time,’ Rivers said. ‘Every team has their own culture. We believe ours is good for us. And Nate, it took him some time to buy into it and do it. But I think he’s completely into it now. Things we were asking Nate to do he wasn’t doing earlier. You could see it in practice, all of a sudden, he started getting up into the pick and rolls, he started moving the ball.’ Rivers said he told his skeptical assistant coaches: ‘I think he’s ready — I used the term — he’s ready to be a Celtic. He was and he has been ever since then. Nate and a lot of players haven’t gone that deep in the playoffs and going that deep and seeing in front of you how important every possession is, that might be the best learning tool for him.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “That said, the debate has been freshly opened on whether[Nate Robinson] is the highest jumping little man in the history of the league. Doc Rivers, who played in Atlanta with Spud Webb, is biased. ‘Hell no, Spud Webb was much higher,’ said the Celtics coach. ‘It would be those two I guess, as far as size. But it is amazing. He’s a great athlete – strong, too. That’s what separates him from most of those small guards. Muggsy (Bogues) had the body but couldn’t jump. Spud could jump but didn’t have the body. Nate has the combination.’ Robinson also has energy that is unique even for a little man. ‘I think energy is a skill,’ said Rivers. ‘Either you have energy or you don’t. I’m not a believer that low energy guys can all of a sudden be high energy guys. There’s great shooters and great skill guys, and then energy guys. (Joakim) Noah in Chicago – his great skill is energy. That’s a great talent to have, and Nate has that. We want it more. I told him last night that I didn’t think he played with the ball pressure he has, and that’s a gift that he has. If he has it he’d better use it.’”

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

Every once in a while, I link to a few articles from other writers around the internet. You know, I throw some dimes.

1. It’s KA-zaam, Von. Damn it. Also, I get the feeling Semih Erden’s translator’s going to provide some serious unintentional comedy.
2. It’s China’s lucky day! Patrick O’Bryant signed to play with Fujian SBS of the Chinese Basketball Association.
3. Avery Bradley will likely miss the entire training camp. No big deal, though: camp only runs through Saturday. Come back quickly, Avery. It’s tough enough (impossible enough?) for rookies to crack Doc’s rotation as it is.
4. You could win a visit from Paul Pierce. You know, if you want to write an essay about a coach in your community.
5. Wyc Grousbeck, speaking about The Game That Must Not Be Named: “”We lost it, but I’m not putting up with that any more if I can help it.”
6. Celtics talk about their first dunks. Delonte West, you are still a clown.
7. Delonte tries to define the term beast. The man’s a Golden Panther.
8. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel calls Kevin Garnett “a bulky bruiser.” Only if I, a man with a dreadful case of white man’s disease, can call myself an athletic freak.
9. A Nate Robinson tweet: “We all can’t be stars, but we all can shine bright.” Preach on, brotha.
10. Glen Davis is confused. “I love my new role on the team!!” he tweeted. ”I feel like I’m going to be a big help this year.”
11. The C’s sing happy birthday to Red Claws coach, and Danny’s son, Austin Ainge.

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

Draft Express’s Jonathan Givony was invited to Impact Basketball in Las Vegas, where a number of NBA players work out. While there, he watched a pickup game that included Jermaine O’Neal, Tayshaun Prince, Baron Davis, Tyronn Lue and our dear friend Patrick O’Bryant, among others.

Givony was impressed with Jermaine O’Neal’s conditioning.

Since the C’s signed Shaq, Jermaine O’Neal has been the forgotten man. He shouldn’t be: the man was a hell of an addition.

By the way, there’s no way Sheed played pickup once last summer. No way.

It looks like Green is trying to blow out a candle on the rim. But nobody can do that...

Reading Jessica Camerato’s piece about Gerald Green, it seems like Gerald — who is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA Summer League – is a changed man. He seems to accept the error of his past actions, sounding like a man determined to change his ways in order to finally succeed in a sport that, physically, he was built for. (WEEI) Read more »

I think the guy on the right would have no trouble posting up Nate Robinson.

Just a brief preview of tonight’s game. It IS St. Paddy’s Day, after all. Actually, it’s not really a preview at all.

Instead, I’ll give you a couple links that I find St. Paddy-ish.

1. First is a list of one man’s top ten favorite Celtics of the past 25 years. I’m pretty skeptical the author is actually a Celtics fan: While leaving Paul Pierce off the list, he includes Dino Radja, Gerald Green, Joe Johnson, and Chauncey Billups, Andrew DeClerq and Vitaly Potapenko. I guess he really has a spot in his heart for guys who never panned out as Celtics. I was surprised he didn’t include Mikki Moore. (Dime Mag)

2. No matter what you think of Rasheed Wallace, these are some pretty sick kicks. (Ball Don’t Lie) There are more Celtics kicks, too.

3. Rajon Rondo still doesn’t think the Celtics can be beat.  (Celtics Hub) Funny, I remember the C’s saying the same thing last year, even when KG was down.

4. Happy St. Patrick’s Day from The Basketball Jones.  You might remember the first guy on the list.  In fact, you probably despise him.

5. This has nothing to do with basketball, but everything to do with crackheads, amateur sketches, and leprechauns.

On another note, there actually will be a game tonight. But it’s against the Knicks, and I’m thinking that not even all the luck of the Irish in the world could help the Knicks tumble the Celtics. Well, I hope.