The Chicago Bulls have just a few weeks left in the regular season and they have their eyes on the postseason. Not a lot of people thought that the Bulls would be playing after the regular season ended, but they have found a way to put themselves in a good position as the end of the regular season nears. The Bulls are currently in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and they have been in that position for awhile now. If the season ended today, they would be in the play-in tournament.
With just 13 games to go in the regular season, the Bulls are 33-35 on the year and they are firmly in the play-in tournament right now. It would take a complete disaster for Chicago to fall out of contention as they are eight games up on the 11th place team in the East. The Bulls will be playing postseason basketball, but they might not be able to make it past the play-in and into the playoffs.
There is still a chance that the Bulls heat up down the stretch and avoid the play-in, but it is extremely unlikely. Chicago is currently 4.5 games back of the sixth place team in the East, so they would have to make up a lot of ground in the final 13 games. It likely isn't going to happen.
So, the Bulls are probably going to be in the play-in tournament, and they will more than likely be the nine seed. Let's assume that they do finish in that spot, and let's a take a look at the worst case scenario matchups for Chicago in the postseason.
Play-in game one: Nine seed Atlanta Hawks
It would certainly be a nightmare as this point if the Bulls fall out of the nine seed spot and have to hit the road for their first game of the play-in tournament. Even if this does happen, Chicago has shown this season that they are better than the Hawks as they have beaten them in both matchups, once at home and once on the road. However, the road environment in the postseason would be a different ball game.
The Bulls absolutely have to take care of business down the stretch and they need to make sure that if they are playing a road game in their first play-in matchup, it's because they moved into eighth place.
Play-in game two: Miami Heat
There is certainly a chance that the Bulls would have to hit the road to take on the Heat in their second play-in game, and that would not be an easy matchup. The Heat are a good team with a good home environment, especially in the playoffs. We have also seen Miami make deep runs in the playoffs in recent years as a low seed, and they could certainly do it again this season. The Heat always seem to find their stride in the postseason, and with their season on the line at home, they would be an extremely tough out.
First round: It's the Boston Celtics no matter what
If the Bulls make it out of the play-in tournament, they will be the eight seed in the playoffs, and there are no potential scenarios to discuss here. They would play the Celtics, and it would certainly be a nightmare for the Bulls. Boston is currently 10 games up on the second place team in the East, and there is no chance that they get caught. It is extremely unlikely that the Bulls would be able to knock off Boston, but getting through the play-in would still be improvement from last season.
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