| 25 March 2010
I participated a little in Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago's live-chat this morning. I asked him a question that relates back to my last post about the Bulls holding the 8-seed by weekend's end.
Dave P. (Chicago, IL)
The Bulls play the Heat (at home), the Nets, and the Pistons in their next three games, while the Raptors play the Nuggets and the Heat on the road. The Bulls will win 2 out of those 3 games, if not all 3, while the Raptors should lose their next 2. The Bulls are only 2 games back right now. So don't you think there's a good chance the Bulls could be half a game ahead of Toronto for the 8-seed by the end of the weekend?
Nick Friedell
(1:30 PM)
Absolutely. But what does it really matter where they are this weekend, when you consider that the Bulls still have to play (among others) the Suns, Cavs, Celtics, Bucks, Raptors and Bobcats twice over the next few weeks. Bottom line: The Bulls must win and get some help to get back into the playoffs.
I disagree slightly with Nick. From a mental standpoint, I think regaining control of the 8-seed will be a huge blow the Raptors' confidence, and a huge lift for the Bulls. True, they do have to play all those games he listed, but they also have two more games against the Nets and one against the Wizards that he failed to mention. And his sentiments about the Bulls needing help aren't really correct. True, the Bulls could use the help. But they don't NEED it per se. The Bulls can get into the playoffs without help once they get that .5 game lead by Sunday, since they play the Bobcats twice and the Raptors once. The Bobcats are only 3.5 games up on the Bulls right now. We don't even play them until a week and a half from now. Their lead will likely be only 2 games over the Bulls at that point based on the schedule. With 2 wins against the Bobcats, the Bulls and the Bobcats could flip-flop their current positions. With a win against the Raptors, the Bulls, if they won't already be up on the Raptors, will certainly flip-flop with them at that point based on both teams' schedules. So not only will the Bulls make the playoffs if they take care of business against the Bobcats and Raptors, but there is a very real possiblity that they will own the 7-seed by season's end. Even the 6-seed is in reach.
So the fact that the Bulls will likely be a half game up on Toronto by weekend's end is huge. Since the Bulls will be playing against the opponents directly in front of them in 3 upcoming games, what it means is that they will be in a position to overtake them with a single victory. In Charlotte's case, with 2 victories. The Bulls schedule after Sunday is not any tougher than the Raptors or Bobcats.
More on the comparison of schedules between the Bulls, Raptors, and Bobcats later...
