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This is the time of the year when we pretend that the Bulls are fighting for a playoff berth. We’ve been doing this for three straight seasons now, and the more subdued among us have become accustomed to the counterfeit suspense, the faux excitement and the negligible heart-rate increase. Accustomed to, but certainly not a fan of.
The NBA Play-In Tournament is the artificial ingredient of the league’s postseason. If the tournament started today, the Bulls would be a 10th seed, which means they would have to win two play-in games to earn the grand prize of being an eighth seed in the adult-table playoffs.