Shepkowski: Bulls The Favorite For 1 Seed
By Nick Shepkowski--
As crazy as it may have sounded back in October, with now just a month remaining until the NBA Playoffs begin the Bulls should finish the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference. With the Celtics falling last night Chicago moved back into a first place tie for the conference's #1 spot, matching Boston's 47-18 overall record while Miami remains 2 games off the pace.
Not only have the Bulls outplayed both Boston and Miami of late, but what remains this regular season is a schedule that should land Chicago the #1 seed in the eastern conference for the first time since 1998.
Of the Bulls 17 remaining games only 7 are against teams with .500 or better records. On top of that, a slight majority of 4 of those come at the United Center where the Bulls are a conference best 29-4 this season.
By comparison the Celtics play 10 of their remaining 17 games against .500 or better teams with 7 of those taking place on the road where Boston has a 19-12 record this season. Factor in the Celtics losing three of their last four games with defeats coming against less than stellar competition in New Jersey (22-43), Philadelphia (34-33), and the Los Angeles Clippers (26-42) and their path to the #1 seed looks that much more difficult.
The Heat have a remaining schedule similar to that of the Bulls, having an equal 7 remaining games against .500 or better teams. The difference is that the Bulls sit three games ahead of Miami in the loss column and hold the season tie-breaker with Miami after sweeping the season series. Despite recent successes, it should also be noted that the Heat still remain under .500 (18-19) against teams with a winning record this year, easily bettered by the Bulls (23-12) and Celtics (23-11).
The Bulls only remaining game against either of the two comes at the United Center on April 7 against Boston, while the Celtics also have to travel to Miami on April 10.
Considering what has happened this year it's anything but a guarantee that the Bulls end up as the #1 seed in the east, but with what remains ahead the Bulls have to be considered the favorite.
