Nets’ 1st Round Playoff Opponent Still Up in the Air

Regardless of what players they're missing due to injury, Tom Thibodeau's Bulls never give up, ever

Even though the Nets have been firmly entrenched in the #4 spot in the Eastern Conference for awhile now, who will face them in the 1st round of the playoffs (the #5 seed) still hasn't been determined yet, and the race for the spot between the Bulls and the Hawks has come down to the last day of the regular season, today (the 17th of April). Right now, Chicago and Atlanta each sit at 44-37, with the Bulls holding the tiebreaker because of their 2-1 edge in the season series. 

This means that, with the Bulls playing the Wizards at the United Center and the Hawks taking on the Knicks at MSG later this evening, just a Chicago win OR Atlanta loss would give the Bulls the #5 seed and the Hawks the #6, matching up Brooklyn with Thibs' squad in the 1st Round and Atlanta with Frank Vogel's Pacers. 

As the Nets' record vs the Bulls this year is 1-3 and vs the Hawks 2-2, one would think that Brooklyn will be rooting hard for Joe Johnson's former team to take the #5 seed, and I would agree. Even without Derrick Rose and with the other injuries they may have, the Bulls under Thibodeau are a much, much scarier team than a healthy Atlanta Hawks squad. The incredible team defense and overall playoff toughness from Thibs' boys wouldn't be a good fit for the Nets, who would probably fare much better against a higher-scoring, less-defensive-intensive team like Atlanta.