CHICAGO -- As the losses piled up in recent weeks, coach Doc Rivers insisted the Celtics were close. It seemed every press conference started and ended with some variation of that sentiment. "I know we are close," he'd say. "I can see it in stretches. I can see it in practice Despite all the injuries, all the fundamental problems with defense, all the late-game struggles, Rivers believed that with a few improvements here , a few adjustments there, the Celtics would be on a winning streak. But after last night's 100-82 loss to the Bulls at the United Center, in which the Celtics were anything but close after the first quarter, the coach was thinking otherwise. Asked if this game changed his mind about the Celtics being close, Rivers said, "Yeah, it does. It absolutely does. It would have been a great statement for us to come in and compete. Instead, we made another statement that we're just not ready. "We're not a very good basketball team right now. We're going to keep working and I still believe we will be ready, but until everyone is doing [what they need to do], we're not going to win games. --

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