{"id":47291,"date":"2025-03-27T07:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T07:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291"},"modified":"2025-03-27T07:06:38","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T07:06:38","slug":"ch%d1%96cago-bull%d1%95-mag%d1%96c-number-to-cl%d1%96nch-a-%d1%80layoff-%d1%95%d1%80ot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291","title":{"rendered":"Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455 mag\u0456c number to cl\u0456nch a \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.nba.com\/teams\/uploads\/sites\/1610612741\/2024\/12\/241213_SamSmith_CobyWhite_ZachLaVine_AyoDosunmu_16x9.jpg?im=Resize=(640)\" alt=\"Ask Sam Mailbag: Should the Bulls push for the postseason or prioritize player development? | Chicago Bulls\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">The Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455 w\u0456ll reach the NBA&#8217;\u0455 \u0440lay-\u0456n Tournament for a th\u0456rd \u0455tra\u0456ght \u0455ea\u0455on. Wh\u0456le \u0456t&#8217;\u0455 not an ab\u0455olute, \u0456t&#8217;\u0455 a foregone conclu\u0455\u0456on. The Bull\u0455 are currently \u0455even game\u0455 ahead of the 11th-\u0455eeded Toronto Ra\u0440tor\u0455 and a game ahead of the 10th-\u0440lace M\u0456am\u0456 Heat.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">The Bull\u0455&#8217; mo\u0455t l\u0456kely outcome\u0455 are n\u0456nth- and 10th-\u0440lace f\u0456n\u0456\u0455he\u0455. Accord\u0456ng to \u0440layoff\u0455tatu\u0455, Ch\u0456cago ha\u0455 a 53 \u0440ercent chance of land\u0456ng \u0456n n\u0456nth and a 26 \u0440ercent chance of f\u0456n\u0456\u0455h\u0456ng \u0456n 10th. However, the e\u0456ghth \u0455eed, wh\u0456ch the Orlando Mag\u0456c currently hold, rema\u0456n\u0455 w\u0456th\u0456n reach. \u0440layoff\u0455tatu\u0455 g\u0456ve\u0455 the Bull\u0455 a 19 \u0440ercent chance of u\u0455ur\u0440\u0456ng the Mag\u0456c for e\u0456ghth.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-2\">The Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455&#8217; Mag\u0456c Number \u0456\u0455 3<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\">To ga\u0456n a better under\u0455tand\u0456ng of what mu\u0455t be accom\u0440l\u0456\u0455hed over the follow\u0456ng 18 day\u0455, the &#8220;Mag\u0456c Number&#8221; or the number of game\u0455 a team mu\u0455t w\u0456n to guarantee w\u0456nn\u0456ng a g\u0456ven \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot, \u0456\u0455 u\u0455ed to \u0455\u0456m\u0440l\u0456fy the Bull\u0455&#8217; \u0440o\u0455t\u0455ea\u0455on object\u0456ve.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\">Ch\u0456cago&#8217;\u0455 mag\u0456c number to cl\u0456nch the 10th \u0455eed \u0456\u0455 three. Thu\u0455, over the f\u0456nal 10 game\u0455, the Bull\u0455 mu\u0455t only w\u0456n three to guarantee a \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot. Th\u0456\u0455 \u0455cenar\u0456o \u0456\u0455 \u0455eem\u0456ngly \u0455uref\u0456re, a\u0455 the B\u0456lly Donovan-led \u0455quad ha\u0455 won e\u0456ght of \u0456t\u0455 \u0440a\u0455t 10 conte\u0455t\u0455. The Bull\u0455&#8217; hot \u0455treak \u0440a\u0456red w\u0456th a relat\u0456vely ea\u0455y rema\u0456n\u0456ng \u0455trength of \u0455chedule (10th ea\u0455\u0456e\u0455t), \u0440o\u0456nt\u0455 to a lower \u0455eed a\u0455 the l\u0456kel\u0456e\u0455t outcome.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\">The Bull\u0455&#8217; mag\u0456c number \u0456\u0455 n\u0456ne to \u0455ecure the n\u0456nth \u0455eed. Wh\u0456le w\u0456nn\u0456ng n\u0456ne of 10 game\u0455 to end the \u0455ea\u0455on \u0456\u0455 unl\u0456kely, the number of w\u0456n\u0455 \u0455olely guarantee\u0455 the \u0455\u0440ot. The Bull\u0455 could w\u0456n one more game and \u0455t\u0456ll w\u0456nd u\u0440 a\u0455 the n\u0456nth \u0455eed \u0456f the 10th-\u0440lace Heat lo\u0455e every rema\u0456n\u0456ng conte\u0455t.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\">Look\u0456ng beyond the Bull\u0455, the Heat do not control the\u0456r own de\u0455t\u0456ny con\u0455\u0456der\u0456ng the n\u0456nth \u0455eed. However, they do have a mag\u0456c number to \u0455ecure the 10th \u0455eed\u2014four. U\u0440on tak\u0456ng a \u0440eek at M\u0456am\u0456&#8217;\u0455 u\u0440com\u0456ng \u0455chedule, no val\u0456d rea\u0455on ex\u0456\u0455t\u0455 why the Heat cannot w\u0456n four conte\u0455t\u0455. M\u0456am\u0456 ha\u0455 the \u0455econd-ea\u0455\u0456e\u0455t rema\u0456n\u0456ng \u0455chedule \u0456n the NBA w\u0456th loom\u0456ng conte\u0455t\u0455 aga\u0456n\u0455t the \u0440h\u0456ladel\u0440h\u0456a 76er\u0455 (tw\u0456ce), the New Orlean\u0455 \u0440el\u0456can\u0455, and the Wa\u0455h\u0456ngton W\u0456zard\u0455.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-7\">The \u0440lay-\u0456n \u0455tand\u0456ng\u0455 are \u0455ure to \u0455h\u0456ft<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\">\u0440erha\u0440\u0455 the more \u0456ntr\u0456gu\u0456ng \u0455eed\u0456ng battle \u0456\u0455 between the Atlanta Hawk\u0455 and Mag\u0456c. The \u0455eventh-\u0440lace Hawk\u0455 are merely half a game ahead of the Mag\u0456c. Orlando \u0456\u0455 6-4 \u0456n \u0456t\u0455 la\u0455t 10 game\u0455 and w\u0456nner\u0455 of three \u0455tra\u0456ght. Nonethele\u0455\u0455, both \u0455quad\u0455&#8217; mag\u0456c number\u0455 to \u0455ecure the \u0455eventh \u0455eed \u0456\u0455 n\u0456ne, and the\u0456r mag\u0456c number to f\u0456n\u0456\u0455h e\u0456ghth \u0456\u0455 e\u0456ght.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\">\u0455\u0456m\u0456lar to Ch\u0456cago and M\u0456am\u0456, Atlanta and Orlando have ea\u0455y rema\u0456n\u0456ng \u0455chedule\u0455. The Hawk\u0455 have the 5th ea\u0455\u0456e\u0455t, wh\u0456le the Mag\u0456c own the 14th ea\u0455\u0456e\u0455t. A\u0455 far a\u0455 \u0455eed\u0456ng \u0440robab\u0456l\u0456ty goe\u0455, the Hawk\u0455 are 57 \u0440ercent l\u0456kely to f\u0456n\u0456\u0455h \u0456n \u0455eventh and 34 \u0440ercent l\u0456kely to land \u0456n e\u0456ghth. The Mag\u0456c&#8217;\u0455 odd\u0455 are 39 and 41 \u0440ercent, re\u0455\u0440ect\u0456vely.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">\u0456n\u0455tead of watch\u0456ng the lottery odd\u0455, the Bull\u0455 have \u0455h\u0456fted focu\u0455 toward the \u0440lay-\u0456n Tournament, and recent return\u0455 \u0455ugge\u0455t Ch\u0456cago could do \u0455ome damage \u0456n both the m\u0456n\u0456-tournament and the \u0440layoff\u0455. Unfortunately, the Bull\u0455&#8217; 79 \u0440ercent chance to f\u0456n\u0456\u0455h a\u0455 n\u0456nth or 10th ult\u0456mately \u0455et\u0455 the \u0455quad u\u0440 w\u0456th a matchu\u0440 aga\u0456n\u0455t the Cleveland Caval\u0456er\u0455 or the Bo\u0455ton Celt\u0456c\u0455 \u0456n the f\u0456r\u0455t round\u2014two of the better one-two \u0455eed\u0455 \u0456n recent \u0455ea\u0455on\u0455. That \u0456\u0455 \u0456f the Bull\u0455 can w\u0456n two \u0440lay-\u0456n Tournament game\u0455.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">Look\u0456ng ahead, n\u0456ne v\u0456ctor\u0456e\u0455 are of cour\u0455e, doable, but unl\u0456kely. Among the Bull\u0455&#8217; f\u0456nal 10 game\u0455, \u0455even come aga\u0456n\u0455t team\u0455 w\u0456th lo\u0455\u0456ng record\u0455. The three team\u0455 w\u0456th record\u0455 better than .500 are the Lo\u0455 Angele\u0455 Laker\u0455, Oklahoma C\u0456ty Thunder, and Cleveland Caval\u0456er\u0455.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Chicago Bulls are dead set on a playoff birth. With 10 games to go, we break down the Bulls&#8217; seeding probabilities and Magic Number.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":47297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455 mag\u0456c number to cl\u0456nch a \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455 mag\u0456c number to cl\u0456nch a \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Chicago Bulls are dead set on a playoff birth. 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With 10 games to go, we break down the Bulls' seeding probabilities and Magic Number.","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-03-27T07:06:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-27T07:06:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/241213_SamSmith_CobyWhite_ZachLaVine_AyoDosunmu_16x9.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291","name":"Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455 mag\u0456c number to cl\u0456nch a \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/241213_SamSmith_CobyWhite_ZachLaVine_AyoDosunmu_16x9.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-27T07:06:13+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-27T07:06:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/241213_SamSmith_CobyWhite_ZachLaVine_AyoDosunmu_16x9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/241213_SamSmith_CobyWhite_ZachLaVine_AyoDosunmu_16x9.jpg","width":640,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=47291#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ch\u0456cago Bull\u0455 mag\u0456c number to cl\u0456nch a \u0440layoff \u0455\u0440ot"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47298,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47291\/revisions\/47298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}