Chicago Bulls Surpass Boston Celtics for First Place in the East: What's Ahead?
A 98-79 win over the Washington Wizards Tuesday night lifted the Chicago Bulls to the top of the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining.
Things are looking bright for Chicago. The remainder of its schedule is filled with some of the NBA’s worst teams, including Minnesota, Toronto, Cleveland and New Jersey twice.
What does this mean? It means a couple of things, but most importantly, the Bulls have a legitimate shot at holding on to the No. 1 seed in the East. Besides the fact that the Bulls are playing blazing-hot basketball as of late, while Boston has lost three out of its last four to not-so-great teams, Boston’s road ahead is not so easy.
The Celtics still have to take trips out to San Antonio and Miami—two teams the Bulls are finished with. They also have two games against New York while the Bulls only have one. Of the remaining 17 games for the Celtics, only seven are against teams with losing records. But of course, the most anticipated game for both teams is when they meet in Chicago on April 7.
First place in the East is very important this year. The playoffs will be tough to predict because of all the new faces among the Eastern Conference contenders. Few disagree that Chicago, Boston, and Miami are the biggest threats to reach the NBA Finals.
Securing the top seed in the East would mean that the Bulls would not have to see Boston or Miami until the Eastern Conference Finals—after they have beaten up on each other.
The other team that the Bulls would want to avoid is the New York Knicks.
After acquiring Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks are loaded with talent. True, they have not been fantastic since the Anthony deal, but if they start to mesh, Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire could be a dangerous duo.
The bottom line is that the Knicks have potential to seriously contend. It looks like the Knicks will most likely be the No. 6 seed in the East, unless Atlanta falters and blows its 3.5 game lead over New York for fifth.
That being said, New York will most likely be on the bottom half of the Eastern Conference bracket along with the second and third seeds. If the Bulls can secure the top seed, they will only have to face one out of these three teams.
Another reason to win the top seed in the East is because the Bulls have been dynamite at the United Center, and not so hot on the road. Home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs is more important to the Bulls than it is to other teams.
Other than the race for first, there are some things to look forward to as the Bulls finish off the regular season.
The Bulls have a chance to become the first team in NBA history to run the table in its division. They currently boast a 12-0 divisional record, and only one road game against each of the four Central Division opponents remains.
The Bulls also have a chance to win 60 games for the first time in team history without a player named Michael Jordan on the roster. To accomplish this, they need to finish 12-4 in the final 16 games. This task is doable, but by no means easy.
The Bulls are closing out their best season since their glory days. It’s a good time to be a Bulls fan.
