


"You're not going to sneak around people," Thibodeau said. "If you're going to be successful, you have to go through people."

In other words, all systems go and full speed ahead?

This is known: The Heat rested LeBron James and Chris Bosh at Washington and the Heat got drilled by the Wizards, handing the Eastern Conference's top seed to the Pacers.

Meanwhile, the Raptors won their home finale against the Bucks. That means if the Raptors win at the Knicks on Wednesday, the Bulls will finish fourth and face either the Wizards or, most likely, the Nets in the first round. If they prevailed in that series, they would draw the Pacers-Hawks winner in the second round. It's the same scenario if both the Raptors and Bulls lose on Wednesday.

If the Raptors lose at New York and the Bulls down the Bobcats, they would grab the third seed and face the Bobcats, the Nets or, most likely, the Wizards. That would also mean a second-round showdown against the Heat if both teams advanced.

The Wizards still can earn the fifth seed if the Nets lose their final two games to the Knicks and Cavaliers and the Wizards beat the Celtics on Wednesday.

"I think when you start doing that, you get into trouble," Thibodeau said of aiming for playoff matchups. "I want us to play as well as we can down the stretch and whatever happens happens."

The Bulls finished off a 27-14 home mark, but it didn't come easily against a Magic team with just four road victories. A 16-point lead got whittled to three in the third quarter before the Bulls pulled away.