Bulls suffer that 'awful feeling'

The past two years, the Bulls have traveled to Miami in April for a first-round playoff series.

They flew into Florida on Monday with their playoff hopes on life support. One more Bulls' loss or an Atlanta victory officially eliminates the Bulls from the postseason for the first time in four years.

"It's an awful feeling," guard Ben Gordon said. "I was telling somebody the other day, I've never not been playing for a playoff spot, ever in my life. For this year to be the first year that's ever happened, not only in my NBA career, but my life, it's a bad feeling."

There's a decent chance the elimination won't come today. The Bulls are playing Miami (13-64), which has dropped seven in a row and needs 1 more loss to clinch the NBA's worst record. Atlanta, meanwhile, plays at Indiana, which could pull within 1½ games of eighth place by beating the Hawks.

But the Bulls probably won't stay alive much longer. They visit Orlando on Wednesday, while Atlanta's next game is at New York on Friday.

"We realize the circumstances we're under right now," Gordon said. "We're just going to go out there and play hard and just try and win. That's all we can do. We've just got to come to grips with what the reality of it is."

The Bulls limited Monday's practice to an hour and concentrated on preparation for the Heat. Coach Jim Boylan feels the players have been engaged at practice, even though most of them aren't used to playing out the season with nothing at stake.

Gordon, Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni and Chris Duhon have never missed the playoffs since joining the Bulls in 2004. Even newcomers Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden went to the NBA Finals last year with Cleveland.

"There are certainly a lot of guys that are frustrated over the fact that we're in this situation," Boylan said. "But at the same time we've been talking a lot about being professional, and I think they're taking it seriously.

"Everyone's a little discouraged and down that we're in this spot. But at the same time, we know that we have certain responsibilities we need to uphold and that's what we're going to do."

Boylan had a good answer ready when asked if he'll increase the minutes of the younger players once the Bulls are officially eliminated.

"We're already the youngest team in the league," he said. "Everyone keeps saying, 'Play the young guys.' We are playing the young guys."

Boylan knows there are situations where playing time could change. Second-year forward Tyrus Thomas is already starting in place of Drew Gooden, who is unlikely to be active during the Florida trip.

But second-year guard Thabo Sefolosha has been squeezed out somewhat by the crowded backcourt. The 31 minutes he played against Washington on Saturday were the most since the Feb. 21 trade with Cleveland.

The Bulls may want to take a look at Demetris Nichols, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown. All three have played sparingly since joining the roster. Of the three, only Simmons is under contract next season.

"I don't see that there's a whole lot to change," Boylan added. "A couple guys could play a few more minutes. Some guys who may be nicked up or something like that, obviously if we're out of it, then we'll just be real careful and make sure no one gets hurt."