Chicago Bulls can make it to the Playoffs

The Chicago Bulls' season has bordered on a disaster, with the Rajon Rondo blowup, the midseason roster shakeup and the Dwyane Wade injury in addition to five months of frustratingly uneven play and calls for Fred Hoiberg to be fired.

But basketball can be kind of crazy, and after somehow securing a season sweep of the defending champion Cavaliers with a 99-93 win Thursday night (on TNT, of course), the Bulls suddenly have a strong shot at the No. 8 seed.

How can that be? Well, at 36-39 they're one game back of Miami and Indiana for the final playoff spot, and both of those teams have a harder remaining schedule: Miami's last four are at Toronto and Washington, then home vs. the Cavs and Wizards; Indiana plays at Toronto and Cleveland and hosts the Raptors, Bucks and Hawks.

The Bulls, meanwhile, face only one team with a winning record in their final seven games. Here's a look at Chicago's easy path to the playoffs:

Vs. Atlanta Hawks, Sat., April 1

@ Pelicans, Sun., April 2

@ Knicks, Tues., April 4

@ 76ers, Thurs., April 6

@ Nets, Sat., April 8

Vs. Magic, Mon., April 10

Vs. Nets, Wed., April 12

So there it is: seven games against teams that the Bulls have a combined 7-7 record against. The Bulls will have to beat these bad teams to give themselves a shot at the postseason. Can they do it? Not much in this season makes you think they can, but then again who thought they'd sweep the Cavs and cause some concern about a possible first-round matchup?