Bulls' Playoff Hopes Are On Life Support

(CBS) A listless 108-92 road loss to the Grizzlies on Tuesday evening has put the Bulls' playoff chances on life support.

Jostling with the Pacers and Pistons for the final two playoff spots in the East, the Bulls currently sit in ninth place and in big trouble. With four games left on its own schedule Chicago is 2.5 games behind seventh-place Indiana and two games behind eighth-place Detroit.

The key here is that the Bulls don't own the tiebreaker against the Pistons, who took the season series 3-1. Because of that, Chicago must, for practical purposes, make up three games with just four to go.

The Bulls do hold the tiebreaker over the Pacers by virtue of winning the season series 3-1 but trail by three games in the loss column. With a week to go in the regular season, the Bulls' elimination number is three. Currently, any number of wins by Indiana coupled with and losses by Chicago contribute to that ticking toward zero and an early vacation.

The Bulls' odds of making the playoffs are 9.7 percent, according to basketball-reference.com.

Standings

7. Indiana 41-36
8. Detroit 41-37
9. Chicago 39-39

Remaining schedules

Pacers
vs. Cavaliers (56-22)
at Raptors (52-25)
vs. Nets (21-56)
vs. Knicks (31-47)
at Bucks (32-46)

Pistons
at Magic (33-44)
vs. Wizards (37-40)
vs. Heat (45-32)
at Cavaliers (56-22)

Bulls
at Heat (45-32)
vs. Cavaliers (56-22)
at Pelicans (29-48)
vs. 76ers (10-68)