Battle for the 8th Seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs Part 3
The Chicago Bulls played the Boston Celtics at the United Center and needed a win badly to keep their playoff dreams alive. Chicago's Guards, Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich came to play. Rose and Hinrich combined for 69 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds. The Bulls beat the Celtics by 8 points and have created a magic number of 1. The Magic number of 1 means that if the Bulls win, they are in, and if the Raptors lose, the Bulls are also in.
The Raptors Must win and have the Bulls lose, if the Raptors want to make the playoffs. In that situation the Bulls and the Raptors would finish with the same record but the Raptors would make the playoffs by virtue of owning the tiebreak over the Bulls. The Bulls final game of the season comes on the road against the playoff bound and MJ owned Charlotte Bobcats. The Raptors last game of the season comes in Toronto vs. the New York Knicks.
The battle for the final spot in the Playoffs truly comes down to the last night of the season. What more could a basketball fan ask for? Even know Chicago would make the playoffs with a win or a Toronto loss, Chicago has a tough task ahead of them. Don't count on the Bobcats to just roll over and let the Bulls walk into the playoffs. As far as the Raptors are concerned, they can easily beat the Knicks and hope that the Bulls lose. The Bulls and Raptors both play at 8 PM Eastern time so they should learn their destiny about the same time. Will the Bulls make the Playoffs and avoid making the NBA Draft lottery or will the Raptors steal the final spot away from the Bulls and send Chicago home for an early off-season? One thing is for sure, whoever makes the playoffs, will have to face King James and his Cavaliers in the first round.
By Steven Spector - 4-12-10
