Bulls Blog: Do the Bulls have a Plan to Make the Playoffs?

If the Bulls want to have a chance to make the playoffs, it looks like they’ll have to lose the next three games.

Stay with me here as that seems to make sense.

No one is suggesting the Bulls are going to lose on purpose. But if there’s a week to rest up for a last stand this would be it.

[...]

Even healthy, the Bulls would be big underdogs on the road against winning Memphis and Dallas teams and at home against the Cavs, the league’s hottest team.

So with Derrick Rose with a sprained wrist from Thursday’s collision with Dwight Howard, Luol Deng with a calf injury and Joakim Noah with plantar fasciitis and out anyway, it makes sense to sit all three until Saturday in Philadelphia and then make one last run for the playoffs.

[...]

Maybe bring both back rested for the 76ers, who are the next sub-.500 team the Bulls will see after a run of nine straight games against winning teams. The Bulls should be working on a 10-game losing streak by then, and, yes, still with a chance to make the playoffs. No, that’s not saying much for the Eastern Conference. Or, at least, the Raptors.

Toronto is in the same playoff death spiral as the Bulls with nine losses in their last 10 games and falling below .500 at 32-33 and one game ahead of the Bulls, though with the playoff tiebreaker. Which means the Bulls must finish one game ahead of the Raptors to make the playoffs.