NBA Playoffs: Spots Filling Up

Well, the Western Conference is all wrapped up.  As if there was any real competition.  The Suns will miss the playoffs for the first time in a while.  The Mavericks are the 8th seed.  Meanwhile in the East, the Bulls win over the 76ers earlier tonight lowers the Bulls' magic number to 1 for a playoff spot.  A win on Saturday for the Bulls means the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years.  They could also clinch if the Bobcats lose to the Thunder on Friday night.  My hat is off to John Paxson who went dealing for John Salmons, Brad Miller, and Tim Thomas.  These guys have shaped the postseason berth in a way that Gooden and Nocioni couldn't have, although it was really hard for me to watch Drew Gooden go.  He was an excellent shooter in my opinion and played very well.  With this new lineup, everyone is contributing and the Bulls have been nearly unbeatable at home.  They have been able to beat every team in the Eastern Conference including the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Magic (a good sign for the postseason) as well as the Rockets, Hornets, and Nuggets at the United Center.  There's just another reason to come on down to a Bulls game in the city, along with good food, great seats, music, halftime and timeout entertainment, and more.  

-Loul Deng (Forward) is out for the season for the Bulls.  Rookie guard DeMarcus Nelson was signed for the stretch run.  There is a slight hope Deng could return for the playoffs, but it's unlikely and the way the Bulls have been playing, do we want him back?

-Believe it or not, the Indiana Pacers have hung in there one more night.  They have stayed alive although they are now only eligible for the 8th spot in the East.  The Pistons, sitting at 38-40, are 4 games ahead of Indiana with 4 to go.

-The Bulls have the Eastern Conference's 5th best home record at 27-12.  However, their 12-28 road record ranks 12th.  It all adds up to 39-40.

-Many NBA teams are making active efforts to go green.  The Mavericks held a drive where you could recycle old TV's, PDAs, computers, keyboards, and mice.  The Minnesota T'Wolves are giving an upper level ticket away for free if you ride public transit on April 5th.  The Hornets are giving free parking to the first 100 cars to show up to the game with 4 or more people in the car.  Find more of these examples at nba.com and click on NBA Green Week.

-Michael Jordan was among five elected in the Hall of Fame, although he wasn't too happy about it.  Like his style, he admitted that he always wanted to keep it where he could come back one day.  Now in the Hall, he can't.  "I don't like being up here for the hall of fame because at that time your basketball career is completely over.  I was hoping this day would be 20 more years, or actually go in when I'm dead and gone." -Jordan, courtesy of the Washington Post.