Road woes an ongoing concern

The Bulls have blown plenty of late leads on the road this season. They won a couple of games against teams that were missing a superstar (Utah, New Orleans).

But have the Bulls produced a true quality road win? The closest would be winning at Philadelphia on Nov. 30 and in Phoenix on Jan. 31. Both of those teams were close to full strength.

Needless to say, winning away from the United Center has been a challenge for the Bulls this season and tonight's trip to the Palace of Auburn Hills will serve as a playoff dress rehearsal.

The easy way to bill this Bulls-Pistons clash is the loser gets LeBron James in the first round of the playoffs. That's not quite true, since the Bulls could lose to Detroit and still avoid eighth place in the East if the Pistons lose their finale at Miami while the Bulls beat Toronto.

But a Bulls win tonight guarantees that Cleveland would not be the first-round opponent. The Cavaliers own the league's best record and have lost just one game at home all season.

"I don't know if it matters much," Ben Gordon said after scoring 39 points in the Bulls' 113-106 win over Charlotte on Saturday. "But it would be a lot better to not play Cleveland."

The top four spots in the East are locked up. Whichever team finishes seventh will play Boston, No. 6 gets Orlando and No. 5 will face Atlanta.

Coach Vinny Del Negro talked about his goals for improving the Bulls' 12-28 road record. They are just the opposite, 28-12, at home, including 14-1 since the all-star break.

"It seems like on the road sometimes, when we get down, I don't want to say we panic, but we kind of start rushing things a little bit," Del Negro said. "I think at home, when we get down, we seem to have a little bit more toughness to us, a little more grit, a little more resiliency and I want to see that on the road.

"In this league sometimes you get punched in the mouth, but how are you going to respond to it? When things aren't going quite as well, we need to guard a little bit better. We need to get some stops. We can't always rely on our offense and that's the next step for us."

Bulls tie for No. 6 seed: Philadelphia lost its fifth straight on Sunday in Toronto, which means the Bulls and Sixers are now tied for sixth place in the East. Philadelphia would win the head-to-head tiebreaker, but finish the season with Boston at home and Cleveland on the road.

Miami's victory over New York on Sunday means the Bulls have no chance at finishing fifth. With Philadelphia losing, the Heat actually clinched the No. 5 seed.

Bull horns: Tim Thomas is expected to join the Bulls in Detroit after missing the past three games due to a family emergency. ... The Bulls are asking fans to wear red at the home playoff games as part of a "See Red" campaign.