Race for Top Seed in the East Becoming More Clear

Derrick Rose stated his case for MVP again loud and clear as he scored 30 points and dished out 8 assists as the Bulls steamrolled the Boston Celtics 97-81 tonight moving them 4 games clear of both Miami and Boston with 4 games to play. This is huge for Chicago who improved to 35-5 at the United Center and now need to win just one more game to clinch the best record in the East. The Heat, who lost a home game to Milwaukee last night 90-85, catch a huge break as now they're back even with the Celtics and can move into 2nd place with a win over Boston on Sunday. Miami needs to finish with a better record than Boston to beat them as Boston currently owns the tiebreaker as a result of their 3 wins over Miami earlier this season.

Photo Courtesy: zimbio.com

Dwyane Wade sat out the loss to Milwaukee with a deep thigh bruise and the timetable for his return remains a question mark. The Heat host Charlotte tomorrow night and his availability for that game will be determined tomorrow morning. The Celtics have some injury issues of their own though as Shaquille O'Neal has already been ruled out for their Friday game with Washington.

While a win over Boston would be huge considering the obvious confidence boost they would get from finallybeating their nemesis, Miami won't be panicking if they end up the #3 seed. Home field advantage is obviously important, but no team in the Eastern Conference has won more road games than the Heat (26). Of course the flip side of that would be that the teams with the two best home records in the East are Chicago (35-5) and Boston (31-8).

Indiana clinched the final playoff spot in the East last night so now the only question that remains is seeding. Should be an exciting final week.