Bulls guard Zach LaVine saves the ball from going out of bounds in front of Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little during the second half Friday in Portlant. LaVine scored 33 points in the Bulls’ 124-96 win. (Craig Mitchelldyer / AP, Craig Mitchelldyer / AP)

March 26, 2023 at 7:06 p.m.

The Chicago Bulls are fighting for a spot in the NBA play-in tournament, a battle for the last two playoff seeds in each conference. Here’s an explainer about the history of the event and how it works — and where the Bulls stand.

When did the play-in begin?

The NBA introduced the idea after the restart of the pandemic-delayed 2019-20 season, with a team needing to be within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in for the last playoff spot in the conference.

The Memphis Grizzlies finished a half-game behind the No. 8 seed Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference, and the Blazers won the first game of a play-in, thus earning the final playoff spot. In the East, the ninth-place Washington Wizards finished 7½ games behind the eighth-place Orlando Magic, meaning a play-in was unnecessary.

How has the tournament evolved?

The next year, the NBA expanded its play-in rules, with only the top-six seeds in each conference guaranteed of a playoff spot and the Nos. 7-10 seeds battling for the final two berths.

No. 7 would play host to No. 8, with the winner earning the No. 7 seed. Then the winner of host No. 9 versus No. 10 would face the loser of the 7-8 matchup, with that winner earning the No. 8 seed. The NBA has kept this format since then.

For the record, none of the play-in teams has won a first-round playoff series.

Where do the Bulls stand?

After their 118-108 win against the Lakers on Sunday in Los Angeles, the Bulls have a 2½-game lead on the Washington Wizards for the No. 10 seed in the East with eight games remaining.

The Bulls currently own the tiebreaker against the Wizards and Hawks, but the Raptors have the edge on the Bulls.

Bulls remaining schedule

Monday: at Los Angeles Clippers, 9:30 p.m., NBCSCH
Wednesday: vs. Lakers, 7 p.m., NBCSCH
Friday: at Charlotte Hornets, 6 p.m., NBCSCH
April 2: vs. Memphis Grizzlies, NBCSCH
April 4: vs. Atlanta Hawks, 7 p.m., NBCSCH
April 5: at Milwaukee Bucks, 6:30 p.m., NBCSCH, ESPN
April 7: at Dallas Mavericks, 7:30 p.m., NBCSCH
April 9: vs. Detroit Pistons, noon, NBCSCH

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