8 Teams, 3 Spots, 2 Sweeps; The NBA’s Eastern Conference Playoff Picture
The Bulls are now in the driver’s seat for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. The playoff picture is very tight at the bottom, however. There are 8 teams within 6 games of each other ranging from Detroit in 6th place to the Knicks in 13th place. With all those teams having somewhere between 16 and 22 games remaining, it is crucial that the Bulls try to win as many games as possible:
| W | L | PCT | GB | HM | RD | CONF | DIV | PF | PA | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |||
| 6 | Detroit | 31 | 30 | .508 | 17 ½ | 16-15 | 15-15 | 19-17 | 7-5 | 93.4 | 93.9 | -0.5 | Lost 1 | 4-6 | |
| 7 | Philadelphia | 30 | 30 | .500 | 18 | 17-14 | 13-16 | 18-19 | 5-7 | 96.8 | 96.2 | +0.6 | Won 1 | 4-6 | |
| 8 | Chicago | 29 | 34 | .460 | 20 ½ | 19-11 | 10-23 | 14-22 | 6-6 | 100.9 | 102.0 | -1.1 | Won 2 | 6-4 | |
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| Milwaukee | 30 | 36 | .455 | 21 | 19-12 | 11-24 | 18-23 | 4-11 | 99.7 | 100.2 | -0.4 | Won 1 | 3-7 | ||
| Charlotte | 28 | 35 | .444 | 21 ½ | 18-15 | 10-20 | 15-24 | 5-8 | 93.3 | 94.5 | -1.3 | Won 6 | 7-3 | ||
| New Jersey | 27 | 35 | .435 | 22 | 13-19 | 14-16 | 16-22 | 5-6 | 98.4 | 100.7 | -2.3 | Lost 2 | 3-7 | ||
| Indiana | 28 | 37 | .431 | 22 ½ | 19-11 | 9-26 | 16-24 | 4-7 | 104.8 | 106.4 | -1.6 | Won 1 | 6-4 | ||
| New York | 25 | 36 | .410 | 23 ½ | 18-15 | 7-21 | 15-22 | 3-8 | 106.0 | 108.2 | -2.1 | Lost 1 | 4-6 | ||
It’s a close race and it will likely come down to the last week of the season. The problem with this “exciting” playoff race is that no matter who gets the 7 or 8 seed, they will get steamrolled by Boston or Cleveland in the first round. The best chance for the Bulls to make any noise in the playoffs is if they can somehow unseat Detroit as the 6 seed and play against Orlando in the first round. The Bulls would not be favorites by any means against the Magic, but they would have a far better shot against them than against the Celtics or Cavs.
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Comment from The Zoner
Time March 9, 2009 at 9:25 am
I don’t know if they’re in the ‘driver’s seat’, but they are obviously a much different team post-trade. Watch out for those Bobcats though!! Another team that is smokin post-trade!