Enemy Chatter: "We're not even close..."

I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose of 'enemy chatter' from Chicago.

'We played pretty hard tonight,'' Noah said. ''I don't think we can get too down on ourselves. ... it sucks to lose, but we played against a better opponent.''

''But we're not even close to being as good as they are right now. When you see the way they run their offense, the way they run their defense and the weapons that they have, they're a totally different team from last year.''

Chicago Sun Times - Bulls Not Even Close to Celtics

So the bulls got smeared. They went into a scoring drought and started turning the ball over while Boston just scored on almost every possession for a stretch in the third. The game was never the same afterwards. Considering it was a blow out, I was still reasonably happy with the play tonight, of course when you throw in the "considering it was a blow out" tag, that's not saying a whole heck of a lot.

Chicago Now - Bulls Blown Out

What became even clearer on Saturday was that the Bulls don't have many offensive weapons, period. The absence of Ben Gordon becomes even more pronounced as each game passes. And it's a fact that is easy to see by anyone who watches the team play -- even their opponents.

The Bulls' offense is downright offensive. They managed just 80 points against the Celtics and have scored more than 100 just once this season.

"They scored at a high pace and a high level last year," Celtics guard Rajon Rondo said. "Give ourselves credit, but I think that maybe they're struggling offensively. I'm not a coach, that's just my opinion."

But it's a knowledgeable opinion, and one that is shared throughout the league.

ESPN Chicago - Not Even Close

The apathy is pretty bad on Blog a Bull. There hasn't been a game recap in two nights, and the site has this hilarious sub-header.

Blog a Bull - We've Contracted V.D.N.

Enough said.