How Many Wins Would the Chicago Bulls Get in a Full 82-Game Season?

The Chicago Bulls own the best record in the NBA. At 42-12 (.778), they are poised to finish with the No. 1 overall record in basketball and the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs.  But how many games would the Bulls win in a full 82-game season?

At 42-12, the Bulls' percentage record is .778.  They have been remarkably consistent all season, winning in the absence of stars (Derrick Rose, Rip Hamilton, and Luol Deng have all missed extended time), and at home (21-5) and on the road (21-7).  So the Bulls should continue to excel toward the end of the season.  

Chicago has 12 games left.  If they finished along a similarly successful path, which seems likely, given their consistency and the mid-level difficulty of their schedule, the Bulls would end 9-3 and finish with a 51-15 record. That should be good for a No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and, quite possibly, the No. 1 overall seed in the NBA Playoffs.

So how would that translate to a full 82-game season?  Chicago's consistency, particularly their nearly even home-road splits, makes them easier to project.  Over a full 82-game season, the Bulls would have won a similar percentage of games because their depth would have allowed them to weather additional games.  It's possible more rest would have helped Rose, Hamilton, and Deng stay healthy, but its impossible to put that in a projection.

So, sticking to the simple facts, the Bulls would have likely performed close to their current .778 percentage.  A 60-win season, which is a .730 win percentage, would likely have been the Bulls' floor.  Similarly, a 66-win season, which is a .805 record, would have been very difficult.  So, saying the Bulls would have been a 63-64 win team and the No. 1 seed in the East is a reasonable projection.  Chicago went 62-20 in 2010-2011, so this would have represented marginal progress in their second season since the roster's last major overhaul. Pretty great!