Who will get the last NBA playoff spot in the East?
- Wednesday, April 7, 2010 10:51 AM
- Written By: AccuScore
By Matt Simo
The Chicago Bulls (37-40) might look back on Tuesday’s home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks as the day they blew their shot at the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Earlier in the night, the Toronto Raptors (38-39) saw All-Star Chris Bosh suffer a fractured face in the opening minutes of a 113-101 loss at Cleveland. Ironically, both the Bulls and Raptors are fighting for a chance to play the top-seeded Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
Nobody could have written a better opening script or worse ending for Chicago, as the team jumped out to a 27-14 lead at the end of the first quarter only to struggle immensely on offense the rest of the way in a 79-74 loss. A win would have pulled the Bulls even with Toronto in the standings, but now they have a lot of work to do in the last five games, including a crucial trip to the Air Canada Centre on Sunday. The only other non-playoff team Chicago plays over the final week of the regular season is the New Jersey Nets on the road this Friday. Home games against Cleveland and Boston along with a battle at Charlotte in the season finale make for a tough road.
Meanwhile, Toronto does not know if and when Bosh will be back heading into the most critical stretch of the year. Bosh is averaging career-best numbers of 24.3 points and 11 rebounds per game and also happens to be one of Chicago’s top free-agent targets this offseason. The Raptors have dropped three straight games but seem to have an easier path to the postseason assuming they can beat the Bulls in their last meeting. They have already won the season series (and potential tie-breaker) with Chicago thanks to a pair of wins during the first month by a combined 42 points. Toronto went 3-4 (1-6 against the spread) without Bosh earlier this season when he missed seven games in late February and early March with an ankle injury.
According to AccuScore, the Raptors have a 81% chance of earning the #8 seed in the East while the Bulls are sitting at 19%. The Charlotte Bobcats also clinched their first-ever playoff berth on Tuesday with a 109-100 win over Atlanta and are fairly cemented in the seventh spot.
