The Chicago Bulls are fighting for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament, a battle for the last two playoff seeds in each conference. Here’s an explainer about the history of the event and how it works — and where the Bulls stand.
When did the play-in begin?
The NBA introduced the idea after the restart of the pandemic-delayed 2019-20 season, with a team needing to be within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in for the last playoff spot in the conference.
The Memphis Grizzlies finished a half-game behind the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, and the Blazers won the first game of a play-in, thus earning the final playoff spot. In the East, the ninth-place Washington Wizards finished 7½ games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning a play-in was unnecessary.
How has the tournament evolved?
The next year, the NBA expanded its play-in rules, with only the top six seeds in each conference guaranteed of a playoff spot and the Nos. 7-10 seeds battling for the final two berths.
No. 7 would play host to No. 8, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed. Then the winner of host No. 9 versus No. 10 would face the loser of the 7-8 matchup, with that winner earning the No. 8 seed. The NBA has kept this format since then.
For the record, none of the play-in teams has won a first-round playoff series.
Where do the Bulls stand?
After rallying for a 128-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, the Bulls (38-40) are on the verge of clinching a spot. They lead the Orlando Magic (34-44) and Washington Wizards (34-44) by four games for the No. 10 seed with four games remaining. The Bulls are one game behind the Atlanta Hawks (39-39) and Toronto Raptors (39-39).
The Bulls currently own the tiebreaker against the Wizards and Hawks, but the Magic and Raptors have the edge on the Bulls.
Bulls remaining schedule
- Tuesday: vs. Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m., NBCSCH+
- Wednesday: at Milwaukee Bucks, 6:30 p.m., NBCSCH, ESPN
- Friday: at Dallas Mavericks, 7:30 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: vs. Detroit Pistons, noon, NBCSCH
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