The Chicago Bulls clinched the No. 1 seed in the East bracket of the 2011 NBA Playoffs with a Friday win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. At 59-20, the Bulls maintain a four-game lead on the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat for the top spot in the East, an insurmountable margin.
The top seed means that the Bulls not only draw the sub-.500 Indiana Pacers in the first round, but that Chicago will avoid Boston and Miami in the second round as well. Should each of those teams win their first-round matchups against the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, they'd face off in the second round while the Bulls take on the Orlando Magic or Atlanta Hawks, teams a bit less frightening than Miami and Boston.
The Bulls would then have home court advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals, should they make it that far. If Chicago advances to the NBA Finals, it is currently in position to have home court advantage against every potential opponent but the San Antonio Spurs, who are one game ahead. If the Bulls and Spurs finish tied in the standings, due to other even tiebreakers, a coin flip would determine home court advantage in a prospective Finals pairing.
For more on the Bulls' honor, check out Blog-a-Bull and SB Nation Chicago.
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