I was really impressed with how difficult it was for the Celtics to drive into the lane during the first half. The Bulls were hustling on defense and rotating well. As time went on their effort sagged, but I was expecting a much more dysfunctional team.

Tommy Heinsohn made the argument that Luol Deng defended Paul Pierce so well last season because The Truth had to do too much and the entire Chicago defense was keyed on stopping him. But now with the new additions Pierce has the luxury of going one-on-one more often. I still think that when healthy and with a team that has its act together, like Chicago did last season, Deng is a dangerous defender.

Rajon Rondo dominated passing lanes last night.

The crazy thing about the Bulls is that they are still young. Yes they have to decide who gets paid. And this season is disappointing because so many people expected them to be good. But it may be even worse if the Bulls are honest about how much development and growth actually occurred.

Heinsohn's story on Kirk Hinrich taking a five week honeymoon before training camp and never entirely getting on track this season was interesting. I'm not sure how much stock I put into it.

Good to see the C's take care of business.

More on the Indiana Pacers later...