Seeds Set, Bulls Seventh

The Bulls just didn’t have that playoff fire last night in their 109-98 loss to the Toronto Raptors at the United Center.  Chicago was unable to lock up the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs after the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in a thriller.  All the Bulls needed was a win against the Raps or a loss from the Sixers, neither of which occurred.  Cleveland sat LeBron James, but the Sixers still needed an overtime period to take down the Cavaliers.  That just shows how hot the Cavs are right now.

Last night’s series of events might have been a blessing in disguise.  As the seventh seed, the Bulls will face the Boston Celtics instead of the Orlando Magic.  Normally, this probably wouldn’t be a good thing, but the Celtics recently announced that forward Kevin Garnett could miss the entire playoffs.  It’s obvious that, even if he plays, Garnett will be nowhere near 100 percent for the first round.  This makes the Celtics much more vulnerable to a first-round upset.  The Bulls are going to have to play well at home and try to steal one in Boston to win this series and the team needs to come out with more intensity than they did last night.

Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.