How Bulls can clinch play-in berth for NBA playoffs originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Chicago Bulls are inching toward securing a spot in the play-in tournament.
If the Bulls can win one more game, their place is secure.
The Bulls have remaining games against the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons — in that order
Not the easiest schedule. Why the Pistons have the worst record in the NBA, the Bucks have the best. The Hawks and the Bulls are within a game of one another in the standings and competing for seeding. The Dallas Mavericks are trying to claw their way back into the Western Conference play-in tournament and are in do-or-die mode.
The Raptors also sit a game ahead of the Bulls in the standings, but because the Raptors own the tie breaker over the Bulls they need to finish the season a game above the Raptors in the standings.
Which means the Bulls need to finish with a record two games better than the Raptors over the final four games. If the Raptors win three games, the Bulls can’t leap frog them.
The tie breaker to leapfrog the Hawks is still to be determined. The Bulls won two of the first three games against Atlanta and another win would seal the Bulls’ tiebreaker over the Hawks.
As it stands, here are the Eastern Conference Standings:
| Team | W | L | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks – ^ | 56 | 22 | – |
| 2 | Boston Celtics – * | 54 | 24 | 2 |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers – * | 51 | 27 | 5 |
| 4 | Cleveland Cavaliers – * | 49 | 30 | 7.5 |
| 5 | New York Knicks – * | 46 | 33 | 10.5 |
| 6 | Brooklyn Nets | 43 | 35 | 13 |
| 7 | Miami Heat | 41 | 37 | 15 |
| 8 | Atlanta Hawks – PB | 39 | 39 | 17 |
| 9 | Toronto Raptors | 39 | 39 | 17 |
| 10 | Chicago Bulls | 38 | 40 | 18 |
| 11 | Washington Wizards | 34 | 44 | 22 |
| 12 | Orlando Magic | 34 | 44 | 22 |
| 13 | Indiana Pacers | 34 | 45 | 22.5 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 26 | 53 | 30.5 |
| 15 | Detroit Pistons | 16 | 62 | 40 |
^ – clinched division
* – clinched playoff spot
PB – clinched play-in berth
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