Associated Press photo
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.
Rajon Rondo dished out 17 assists, and a handful of them were lobs to O’Neal, who could finish around the rim with ease, either with a powerful two-hand flush or an agile reverse lay-in.
“I’ve got 28,000 points for a reason,’’ O’Neal said. “The buckets I got tonight, the rest of my career I’ll be able to get buckets like that. I’m not trying to back down, back down, back down. I’m too old for that. So Rondo penetrates, his man comes, lob, boom, bam, basket. If I can get 10 of those every game, I can get you 18 points a game.’’
Globe: In second game back, O'Neal makes his presence felt
I guess Shaq is giving himself one miss in those 10?
Rondo is the perfect point guard for Shaq at this point of his career. I swear that in Rondo's world, everything moves half speed because he can sense when a guy is open and get him the ball in a blink. There's no way a normal person can see it, think it, and do it in the same amount of time as Rondo does.
So when Rondo is in the lane and Shaq's guy slides over to prevent the easy lay up, Rondo just tosses it up Shaq's way and lets him take care of the rest. It's a lot of fun.
On Page 2: This has been a successful road trip
“It’s been difficult, man,’’ Pierce said. “We’ve been tested with some great teams here on the road. Three overtime games. Being on the road all week, and being injured. Not even being healthy. We were just trying to get through the stretch.’’
“It’s been grueling, but mentally it’s been good for us,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re winning these games and down the road it’ll help us somewhere. I don’t know where. The great thing is we have rest after this.’’
Globe: Celtics work overtime vs. Grizzlies
“It’s been a valuable trip for us,” said Garnett, who added he was fine after the hit from Randolph. “We’ve been able to overcome some things. Obviously the Dallas game didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but we learned a lot about ourselves on this trip.
“It felt like we’ve been on the road for about three weeks, but it’s been cool. Good weather; that doesn’t hurt. Some decent games.”
Herald: Celtics learn to stay up late
I had the C's pegged for a 2-2 trip. Last year's team would have lost last night's game. The end of the road trip, an emotional win over Miami, and three days off at home staring them in the face seemed like enough of a reason for the C's to pull the typical NBA "mail-in". But this year, the C's are battling through those mental stumbling blocks.
Maybe after a couple of years being burned by 60-something win predictions... our guesses this year might be a little low. The mail-ins might be a little more infrequent than we thought this year.
The rest of the links:
Herald: Grizzled Tony Allen still fighting for place | Big ups for Big Al Jefferson | Globe: Experience beats out youth again | ESPN Boston: Intimidation Factor | Postgame notes | CSNNE: C's wrap road trip in style | Shaq sets the tone | MWDN: Honeymoon over for Heat