Sitting 9 games behind the Hawks its safe to say that the number 1 seed might be all tied up in the peach state. If the Bulls want to really ensure themselves a deep playoff push home court advantage in the first 2 rounds could be the difference.
Toronto only being 2 1/2 games in front of Chicago is a reachable goal for the 2 seed. With exactly half their games left and big 7 game home stand coming up this is the time Chicago should put the pedal to the floor. The struggles of January could all be erased with a good winning streak and the Bulls already sit with 4 games under the belt now. They are also coming off the All Star Break and should take this as a chance to make a difference.
Even not catching Toronto for the 2 seed could result in maybe a red hot team like the Cleveland Cavaliers to swipe the 3 seed from them. The Wizards should be getting Bradley Beal back at any time now so they could be in the hunt too. Chicago has a chance to create some separation between themselves and the rest of the East.
However we can't all be optimistic here we have to have a little bit of honesty. If the Bulls regress again we could even see ourselves fall again to the 6th seed. At that point it would be an up hill battle to be a contender like we all anticipated for the Bulls this season.
These 7 games could decide a lot for Chicago. 6 of these 7 teams coming into the United Airway arena are playoff bound teams (Minnesota being the only one out of the playoff hunt). These wins though could not only push Chicago in the standings but proving to themselves they can compete with playoff teams night in and night out could mean something in April.
Chicago has wasted a lot of time this year trying to figure out how to play together. Well with the big win over Cleveland before the All Star break could propel them for the rest of the season. Lets hope it all gets figured out.
The Bulls do have an uphill battle if they want to keep their spot in the East, the thing is though that they are built to make that run. The Bulls have built themselves almost like a western conference team, with big bodies in the paint and long, lanky wing defenders, and with a defensive guru like Thibs, they can grind almost any team into a pulp when they want to. Plus you can never count out the Bulls when they are playing in front of a crowd like they get at the Madhouse on Madison.
ReplyDeleteI'm just in love with Derek Rose.
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