Bulls in playoffs? It's still possible with big stretch run

As bad as they've been this season, the Bulls still have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs.

Thursday morning, the Bulls were 2 games behind eighth-place New Jersey, 2½ behind seventh-place Philadelphia and 4 behind sixth-place Washington.

The Bulls have 10 games remaining against the other six teams battling for the final playoff spot in the East. Seven of those 10 games are at home, beginning tonight when the injury-ravaged Wizards visit the United Center missing Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas.

"We're down to the final 25 games and we have some ground to make up," coach Jim Boylan said following Thursday's practice at the Berto Center. "So every game we play, especially against the teams that are in the pack with us, are really important."

If the Bulls are going to make a playoff push, keep March 14 in mind. That's when they begin a stretch of playing six of nine games at home, with seven dates against the playoff competition.

"I think we definitely have an outside shot, just because we have a lot of back-to-backs, the schedule's not really in our favor," guard Larry Hughes said. "But we go in with the mind-set of being aggressive and putting pressure on teams and we'll see who's the last man standing."

The Bulls might actually have a more favorable schedule than the competition. For example, the Nets have a road trip next week that includes stops in New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio within seven days.

Hughes likes variety: Larry Hughes was asked Thursday to expound on complaints about his role in Cleveland's offense and whether it was a matter of not wanting to play point guard.

"My only thing with being the primary ballhandler was just playing it the whole game," he said. "I like to slide off the ball, play more than one position and just give the defense different looks.

"I definitely think I can have that here, especially with Ben (Gordon) and Lu (Deng) slashing to the basket. I think we have a good chance of being aggressive and attacking teams, getting those guys in foul trouble just like (the Pacers) did to us last night.''

Bull horns: Guard Thabo Sefolosha sat out Thursday's practice to rest a sore groin. The same injury has bothered him off and on for a few weeks and he's expected to play tonight. … Indiana attempted 43 free throws Wednesday, a season high for a Bulls opponent.