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.
WEEI: Barnes wants to guard Pierce, calls him a flopper“I’d love to guard Pierce,” Barnes told the Sentinel. “I got the chance to guard him a little bit the last game and felt that I did a pretty good job. But he’s really rolling right now, so we need to slow him down somehow.”
“My third foul in the third quarter, when I tried to beat him over the screen, he fell down like I threw him,” he said. “It was ridiculous. But the refs called it so it was a good play. It was a flop, 100 percent, and that’s how some guys like to play. But if the refs call it, it’s effective.”
Yes Matt... go ahead and take a shot at Paul.
I don't know if this says much at all... but it didn't really take me long to find this shot of Pierce getting a REALLY clean look off of you. I don't know if you were just waving hi... or asking for an autograph... or I don't know what. But I'm just sayin.
Barnes is actually a good defender but I still think Pierce will be able to get his shot off in this series. Pierce has been nailing those step-back shots all series long. Fat Man Gundy did us a favor by putting Vince on Paul and helping Pierce snap out of his funk. And if VC switches to Ray, then Ray will just destroy him and snap out of HIS funk.
Pick your poison, Orlando.
On page 2: Big Baby doesn't give a crap... and that's a good thing
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesBoston rookie Oliver Lafayette played AAU ball with Davis in Louisiana.CSNNE: Big game, Big Baby time
He recalls Davis' demeanor and focus seemed to change for the better when they faced some of the better teams, ones that featured future NBA talent like New Orleans Emeka Okafor.
"He always gets excited for those games," Lafayette said. "He wants to show his best. He wants to prove he's one of the best guys that plays this game at his position."
Following Wednesday's practice, coach Doc Rivers spoke with CSNNE.com about Davis and his knack for stepping up in big games.
"He's crazy enough to be confident," Rivers said. "That's what we say. That's what (former Marquette coach and Hall of Famer) Al McGuire used to say. He used to say, 'Give me 12 unaware players and I'll beat 12 aware players every time.' Glen falls into that category. He just comes out and plays. He doesn't give a crap where he's at. That's confidence."
Those are some pretty funny compliments. Big Baby is crazy and unaware.
Um... thanks, Doc.
Glen has played pretty well. He's been asked to step in and guard Dwight Howard 1-on-1 sometimes, he's getting the ball down low and he's finishing (with some pretty moves, by the way), and he's not forcing things.
Yes, he'll still get blocked... but he's not getting blocked as much. Baby is playing much smarter right now than he was in the regular season.
Makes sense, I guess. It seems to have been a requirement for being on this year's team.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Pierce has always talked the talk | Perk welcomes thankless task of guarding Dwight Howard | This year, Celtics make Rashard Lewis disappear | Doc Rivers tries to keep focus | Celtics Ray of sunshine | DeRosa suspended 1 game | Globe: Time to home in | Doc's prescription is for more humility | Better than the 2008 Celtics | Magic touch missing | ESPN Boston: Pierce's fire has been lit | Pierce happy no suspension for Howard | WEEI: Happily humble Celtics reminded of task | Against Howard, Perk stays grounded