Remember when the Bulls looked like an Eastern Conference power?

After the tough loss to the Pistons on Wednesday, some might worry the Celtics would go into a tailspin after not losing much so far this season. That shaky assumption was proven to be completely invalid as the Celts crushed the Bulls, 107-82 last night at the Garden.

Boston (21-3) used defense and balanced scoring-two hallmarks of this team-to put away the woeful Bulls (9-15). Six C's scored at least 11 points led by Paul Pierce (22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) and Ray Allen (18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) while Kevin Garnett (7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals), Kendrick Perkins and Tony Allen (5 rebounds, 3 steals) had 12 points apiece.

James Posey scored all 11 of his points in the first half as the Celtics jumped out to a 56-41 halftime lead and coasted to the comfortable win, giving the big three plenty of rest in the second half.

What is up with Chicago? They have so much young talent (Luol Deng, Kurt Hinrich, Ben Gordon) and this year was supposed to be another step in becoming contenders but thus far they've been pathetic. Their biggest weakness is the lack of an inside scoring option. Ben Wallace and Joe Smith are hopeless and the fact that rookie center Aaron Gray (14 points, 6 rebounds) has been getting quality minutes lately and producing tells you all you need to know about the current Bulls.

Gordon had a team-high 19 points and Chris Duhon was the only other Bull in double figures with 10 points. Chicago shot a meager 35.5% from the floor, 4-11 for three-pointers and 15-26 from the line. Boston shot 44.3% from the field, made 12 of 26 threes and 33-42 from the line.

Besides getting to the line, another great trend for the Celtics is their infectious habit of sharing the ball. They recorded a whopping 25 assists on 31 baskets.

The Magic come to Boston tomorrow night in a rematch of the Celtic's first loss of the season. After starting the season on fire, Orlando has quickly come back to earth as they've been exposed for what they are: a team with one outstanding player (Dwight Howard) and a bunch of role players. The Magic don't have the type of depth to make noise in the playoffs. Giving all that money to Rashard Lewis was a joke and Jameer Nelson while a nice player will never be a star in the NBA.