CHICAGO – The Bulls will be playing basketball after the conclusion of the regular season this April, even though they lost on Tuesday evening.

How long they’ll go is very much to be determined.

Despite a 123-105 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center, the Orlando Magic’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday evening helped the Bulls officially lock up a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

That will give them the chance to advance to the playoffs as either the seventh or eighth seed when it’s played April 11-14.

This is the first time the Bulls have been in the play-in tournament since it was introduced by the NBA during the 2020-2021 season.

At the moment, they currently have the tenth seed in the tournament with the chance to possibly move up to the eighth seed. That could be difficult, however, since they trail both the Hawks and the Raptors by two games with three to play.

Here are the scenarios for the Bulls in the play-in tournament with three games to go in the season.

• Should Billy Donovan’s team finish as the ninth or tenth seed, they would play their first game on Wednesday, April 12. The contest would be played at the United Center if the Bulls are the ninth seed.

• If they move up to the eighth seed, they would play on the road on Tuesday, April 11 against the seventh seed.
• Should the Bulls win the 7-8 game, they would immediately advance to the traditional 2023 NBA Playoffs as the seventh seed.
• A loss by the Bulls in the 9-10 game would end their season.
• A win by the Bulls in the 9-10 game or a loss in the 7-8 game would advance them to a “winner-take-all” game at the home of the higher seed on April 14. The team that comes out with the win in that contest would get the eighth seed in the playoffs.

Three more games remain for the Bulls before the end of the regular season with road games on Wednesday against the Bucks and Friday against the Mavericks before the regular season finale against the Pistons at the United Center on Sunday.