A lot has changed in the last month for the Chicago Bulls, as they are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now. The Bulls have been scorching hot during the month of March, as they are 9-4 and they have won nine of their last 11 games. For most of the season, it looked like the Bulls were going to likely finish in 10th place and not make any noise in the postseason. Now, the Bulls have climbed up to ninth, and they have their sights set on an even better seed. If Chicago can keep playing at an elite level, they can make the playoffs.
The Bulls are going to be in the play-in tournament, so they will have to win a game or two there in order to make the playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat will more than likely be the other three teams in the play-in tournament.
The next couple of weeks are going to be crucial for the Bulls. Finishing in seventh or eighth place would massively increase the likelihood of a Bulls playoff run, so they need to finish strong. Here is both a dream and nightmare scenario for the Bulls in the play-in tournament:
Dream scenario for the Bulls
If the Bulls can find a way to move into eighth or seventh place, that would be huge. Chicago is currently two games back of both the Magic and the Hawks who are tied in the standings for seventh/eighth place. Being in the 7-8 game is big because then the Bulls need to win just one game to get into the playoffs. With the way that the Bulls are playing right now, there is definitely a chance that they can finish in seventh place. They would need just one win at home to make the playoffs.
Finishing in eighth would be nice, but the dream scenario for the Bulls would be getting the seven seed. In terms of a matchup, the best-case scenario would probably be the Miami Heat getting the eight seed. This is unlikely as the Heat are three games back of the Magic and Hawks currently, but anything can happen. In this scenario, a win in game one against the Heat would send the Bulls into the playoffs. If they lost, they would be at home again to play the winner of the Hawks-Magic game. A win in that game would send the Bulls to the playoffs, and a loss would end their season.
With the way that Chicago is playing right now, it’s hard to imagine two straight home losses with a playoff spot on the line. If the Bulls keep up this level of play, they can not only make the playoffs, but they can get the seven seed in the playoffs.
Nightmare scenario for the Bulls
On the flip side, there is still a lot that could go wrong for the Bulls as they are only one game ahead of the Heat for ninth place. The worst-case scenario would be the Bulls dropping down to 10th place. They would be on the road for the entire play-in tournament, and they would need two wins to make it into the playoffs. That would be tough to pull off.
For the matchup, a road game against the Orlando Magic would probably be the toughest for the Bulls as Orlando has a ton of talented players that are tough to guard. None of these matchups on the road would be easy, but playing the Magic would be tougher than the rest.
