Team standings in the playoff races ending March

LOS ANGELES — Despite a misfire on Monday night in a relatively positive stretch for the team, it’s still likely they’ll continue playing after the regular season.

Despite losing 124-112 to the Clippers in Los Angeles, the Bulls secure the 10th and final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining.

As of Tuesday morning, the team is three games ahead of the Wizards, who are currently in 11th place and out of the playoffs. The Pacers trailed Washington by half a game as both teams had fewer chances to play in his tournament.

A 10-6 record after the All-Star break helped the Bulls in their cause as they went through a highly inconsistent season, failing to reach the .500 mark from the first few weeks of the season.

Billy Donovan’s side still have a chance to move up a bit in the standings, as they have just completed their final seven games leading up to the Pistons at the United Center on April 9. At the moment they’re game behind the Hawks (8th) and Raptors (9th), and his play-in could help the team’s odds of advancing in the tournament.

The Heat and Nets are currently tied for sixth, four games ahead of the Bulls, with the top team avoiding play-ins altogether.

With only seven games left, catching them could be tough, but moving up past the spots for the Hawks, Raptors, or both would certainly help the Bulls. At , the team still has games to lose before facing elimination, but the 9th seed could host the 10th seed in a “win or go home” contest.

The Bulls will face the Lakers at the United Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and the Hornets in Charlotte on Friday. On Sunday, the Grizzlies will be in Chicago for a 2:30 p.m. matinee at the United Center. The team is close to playing more basketball after the regular season is over.