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.

With the addition of a top-rated defender in Smart to a talented summer league roster, the Celtics turned heads on Saturday with their defensive effort. Miami was limited to just 32 percent shooting from the field and committed 25 turnovers, 15 of which came on steals from Boston.

Smart spoke about his commitment to that end of the floor after the game.

“I was born and raised playing defense. Every team I played with was a defensive-minded team first before offense,” Smart said.

Notebook: Smart’s Defense Stands Out-ESPN Boston

If you’re a Celtics fan, that’s like music to your ears. “..born and raised playing defense“. For each of the Celtics’ 17 world championship seasons, you can always think of at least one defensive dynamo on each squad. Guys like 3 time all defensive team member Dave Cowens, Dennis Johnson and his harassment of Magic throughout the 1984 Finals and of course the legendary Bill Russell. Although it would be ridiculous to throw out any comparisons to these hall of famers, (and I’m not) Smart is a guy who you definitely want in Celtic green.

Assistant coach, and C’s Summer League team head coach Jay Larranaga says that defense is what he wants at the forefront of the mind of each Celtic.

Larranaga added: “We talk about how having a defensive DNA. We want every player putting on a Celtics jersey to think defense first, and the offense will take care of itself.”

While watching Smart yesterday, the first thing I noticed was his aggression. He goes 110% on each and every play, on both sides of the ball. He goes at it like a young puppy-jumping all over the place at what seems like supersonic speed. The only thing that concerns me about that is that he could easily hurt himself. Folks used to talk about Rondo in this same respect, but number nine learned how to find a balance as time went on-I’m sure Smart will too. If you missed yesterday’s game, check out these highlights as well as Smart’s post game media session. C’s are back in action on Monday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQItOv_T-m4

Related links:

CSNNE: Smart makes presence felt on D in debut | Herald: Split Decision For Marcus Smart In Game 1 | Globe: Smart Makes Impact In Pro Debut | Basketball Insiders: Smart Makes Summer League Debut

Page 2: Ainge Still After Kevin Love

Just when you thought a KLove to Boston deal was dead, Woj says Ainge still trying to make it work:

Here’s something that remains unchanged: Danny Ainge’s relentless pursuit of creative ways to engage Minnesota on a Kevin Love deal.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 5, 2014

Some say that Minny simply is not interested in what the Celtics have to offer, but apparently Danny is looking to use his picks to acquire some players that Minny would take. If there is anyone who can get it done, it is Trader Dan. We’ll see..

The rest of the links:

Herald: Agent: Avery Bradley Has Emerged A New Man | No Sign Of Jitters In Everett’s Nerlens Noel | Yahoo: Lakers Move Into Serious Contention For Anthony | NBA.com: Heat’s Riley Tries To Recruit Deng | Orlando Summer League: Day 1