It was mostly a formality anyway, but now it's official: The Chicago Bulls will the the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the second year in a row. Chicago was able to secure the top seed last night after the Miami Heat— who sat LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh— lost to the Boston Celtics, who themselves were sitting Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
Chicago's opponent, though, is still up in the air. The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks are tied for the East's bottom two spots with a 34-30 record, but the Knicks hold the tiebreaker and at the moment are slotted for the seventh seed. Both teams have two games remaining, and the results of those will decide who the Bulls see in the first round. The Sixers end the season by visiting the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons, while the Knicks finish up by hosting the Los Angeles Clippers and visiting the Charlotte Bobcats.
Philadelphia would have to win out and hope for a Knicks loss to grab the No. 7 seed, though it's debatable if they even want it. Despite the Bulls having the best record in the NBA, the Sixers defeated Chicago once this year and played them close in three other match ups. The Heat, meanwhile, took the Sixers out in five games in last year's playoffs and swept the four-game season series this year.
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