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.
Kevin Garnett, who’s become a soft—-or softer—player shooting a lot of fadeaways as well with little lift, much like Paul Pierce, did hit a short jump shot. But unable to counter Rose’s drives and the Bulls greater athleticism, Rivers called a zone defense, which is usually the last resort of poor defensive teams. It was a disaster for the Celtics. Carlos Boozer with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists, was patient, looking for cracks in the zone and found Rose on top for a three and 74-68 lead. “They were giving me the shot,” said Rose. “I probably was out farther than I usually was and they didn’t come and contest.”
Bulls.com – The Bulls are coming! The Celtics are going
The most troubling aspect to last night’s loss was the play of Paul Pierce. I swear he was playing with lead soled sneakers. There was zero lift on drives to the hoop and his effort on defense was atrocious.
We’ve seen the gradual decline of Kevin Garnett, but it appears Pierce woke up one morning an old man. As John stated in this morning’s dump, we can only pray it’s a matter of Pierce getting into shape.
As for the zone, I’ll defer to Doc’s judgement. The guys look gassed. And even when they have energy, the defensive rotations are a disaster.
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