From March 16 to the 23rd Detroit have to play Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio and Houston, with only Dallas being the home game. There is a good chance they will lose 3 maybe even all of those games and this is where Chicago can get back in to the hunt for top seed by making a late push (we are 4.5 games behind Detroit at the moment). We are playing well and this is the time where we usually pull it all together and make our runs for the playoffs (although we are pretty much guaranteed a spot right now). What do you think?
I think this tough stretch of games will actually help us, we seem to play better against tougher opponents. I think ultimately the Bulls will end up with either the second or third seed in the eastern conference. As it is right now, we would have a tough first round matchup against the Raptors considering we always seem to have trouble with big men who can stretch the court.
the rest of our schedule should be pretty easy. 13 games against teams currently under .500 6 games against teams currently over .500 1 game against a currently .500 team. Denver's only 1 game under and Miami's 1 game over (soon to be .500 after Wed. haha) But its very true that we do play like crap against pretty mediocre teams but its also true that we step it up around this time so I'm assuming we're gonna take care of business when we should. So I would agree with Blur that we can realisticly take the 2nd or 3rd seed and I wouldn't be surprised if we go on a little streak like we have in the past around this time.
I think we've got a great shot at landing the top seed. We've won 3 in a row and we're only 4 games out as it is. Our upcoming schedule isn't what I'd call daunting, despite having 4 of the next 5 on the road. We only play 3 .500 or better teams the rest of the month, the rest of the teams are sub-.500. Beyond that, the biggest games of the month we land at home. Both Cleveland and Detroit are at the UC, and both are going to be huge and potential must wins if we want to land the top seed. I think it's very possible for us to get it, it's just a matter of beating teams we're supposed to beat (i.e. the Celts, Blazers, Grizz, etc.). Like I said, the only thing really not playing in our favor is the fact that most of our games will be played on the road, but, the strength of schedule, despite being road heavy, isn't that bad. So, I really think the top seed is right there for the taking.
I don't think the Bulls will end up first seed in the Playoff push, but they definitely have a solid chance of being the number two. That isn't bad anyway, I'm hoping they succeed in taking that spot and make a run into the Conference finals.
I doubt the Bulls can take top seed, but securing the 3rd or 4th seed and homecourt advantage in the 1st Round is enough for them to make a run deep into the playoffs. The Bulls just need to stay healthy and start peaking once the playoffs come around. Having a tough schedule later on in the year will benefit this team, because it allows them to gauge where they are against the elite teams in the West. Win or lose, the Bulls will have an idea of what they need to improve on to have a successful post season run. Favoring the Bulls right now is their depth and the ability to throw out a lot of mismatches against the opposition. The Bulls have the roster to play big or small, uptempo, or halfcourt. Despite the lack of a post scorer, the Bulls still do damage with points in the paint, and are very good at getting to the free throw line. The best case scenario would be swapping positions with Cleveland. This would present a 1st round matchup with the Pacers and 2nd round matchup with the Wizards.
I'd give the Bulls a shot at taking the top seed. The Bulls are really stepping up, it is really depending on how Detroit does, I'm not worried about Cleveland as they have been streaky lately.
