Can Chicago Bulls make the 2023 NBA playoffs? Looking at chances of 6x champion team making past play-in tournament

This week, with an Orlando Magic loss, the Chicago Bulls clinched a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.

With a play-in appearance right around the corner, many fans have continued to question whether the Chicago Bulls can make the 2023 NBA playoffs.

Chicago (38-42) is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. Sitting two games ahead of the Bulls in the standings are the Toronto Raptors (40-40). The Atlanta Hawks (41-39) are one game ahead of Toronto. The Miami Heat (42-37) are one-and-a-half games ahead of Atlanta.

As it stands right now, that would be the play-in-tournament seeding.

Despite that, the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets (44-36), who are a game-and-a-half ahead of the Heat, haven't clinched a playoff spot just yet.

Below, you can see a visual representation of the current standings. The table shows each team's record, how many games behind they are and how many games are left in the season.

Standing	Team	Record	Games Behind 1st place	Games Remaining
6	Brooklyn Nets	44-36	14.0	2
7	Miami Heat	42-37	15.5	3
8	Atlanta Hawks	41-39	17.0	2
9	Toronto Raptors	40-40	18.0	2
10	Chicago Bulls	38-42	20.0	2

If you need a refresher on the NBA play-in tournament, let's break it down. The ninth and tenth-place teams and the seventh and eighth-place teams will square off with one another.

The winner of the showdown between the seventh- and eighth-place teams will advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, while the loser will play the winner of the ninth- and 10th-place game for the No. 8 seed.

Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls

Looking at potential opponents for the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament

For the Chicago Bulls to make the playoffs, they'll have to win two games. Although they have no idea whether they will play the Toronto Raptors or Atlanta Hawks, let's take a look at their records against both teams this season.

The Bulls and the Raptors squared off three times during the regular season. Chicago lost 113-104 on Nov. 6 before picking up a 111-97 win the following night. The last time the two teams played, the Raptors won 104-98 on Feb. 28.

Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls

The Bulls played the Atlanta Hawks four times this season, losing 123-122 in overtime in their first meeting on Dec. 11. Weeks later, they picked up a 110-108 win to tie the season series, before then picking up a 111-100 win in January. Atlanta won the last meeting, beating the Bulls 123-105 on Tuesday to tie the season series at 2-2.

When it comes to a familiar face in Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, the Bulls swept the season series 3-0. Chicago won the season opener 116-108 on Oct. 19 before picking up a 113-103 win in December. On March 18, the Bulls again defeated the Heat, closing out the season series with a 113-99 win.

With the Bulls in a do-or-die position heading into the play-in tournament, only time will tell whether or not they're able to pick up two wins to clinch a playoff spot.