Your Morning Dump... The Return of the Truth

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

"I feel great," said Pierce, who wore tape over his right thumb and wrist at Monday's practice. "I had a chance to get out here and it really felt good getting up and down the court. I wanted to make I could catch, dribble, and shoot without pain. It felt great."

Pierce acknowledged that, had he played last week, the thumb injury could have easily been aggravated. He's confident after Monday's practice that he's ready to go without limitations.

"If I played a couple games ago and it got hit, it would have hurt really bad," he said. "But I'm at the point now where, if I get hit, it's not going to bother me. I've been getting extra treatment, resting, it's been good."

ESPN Boston - Pierce expected to play

Great news. Aside from a better shooting percentage, I'm also hoping we see more explosiveness from Paul. Whether it's a result of the knee and foot injuries or age, Pierce has lost a step and it's affecting his ability to get past defenders and get to the hoop. 

Kendrick Perkins and his flu-like symptoms remained in Boston while the team flew to Detroit. Doc Rivers said there's a chance Perk will fly to Detroit today, but only if he's feeling a lot better. They don't want him to infect the rest of the team.

On Page 2, why the Celtics' wives might be to blame.

“I don’t know why. Blame the wives.” Rivers joked before offering perspective. “It is troubling. Of all the things to me, even with the rebounding and everything, is how we have performed at home. If you ask me, the one thing that has bothered me more than anything is that because I don’t care what your injuries are, whatever, you should win at home. On the road, it becomes difficult. At home, you should win those games. And we haven’t.”

WEEI.com

The disappearance of home court advantage is another mysterious aspect of the 2010 Celtics.

Congrats to Chris B., Justin G. and John R., the three winners of our T-Mobile ticket giveaway on Facebook last night. They each won a pair of balcony seats to Wed. night's game vs Charlotte. We'll be giving away our final pair at some point today. Hint: think Twitter.

Here are the rest of the links (and a few pictures of the very distracting Brandi Garnett):

Globe - Rested Pierce looks ready | Herald - Doc homes in on woes | Not your Garden variety Celtics | Nate Robinson defensive about getting settled | Ill Kendrick Perkins left behind | Sources: Finley on Cs radar | CSNNE - Celtics have fallen, can they get up? | WEEI - Pierce return is perfect timing | ESPN Boston - Perkins on the mark | Celtics Hub - Catching some Cs | Celtics Blog - Available free agents