Nightly Playoffs Preview: Bulls back in 3rd, Heat on life support

Every night from now through April 15, the end of the NBA regular season, theScore will bring you potential playoff matchups - and teams still in the mix to qualify - based on the final nightly standings.

Here's where things stand after April 9 (X-clinched playoff spot, Y-clinched division, Z-clinched conference):

Western Conference

• The Warriors' victory over the Trail Blazers did nothing to affect the West playoff picture since Golden State and Portland are just about locked into the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds already, but it did push the Blazers further away from home-court advantage in the first round. Portland now trails the fifth-seeded Clippers by two games, and hold the No. 4 spot in name only thanks to their Northwest Division crown. The Blazers are also now 2.5 games behind the Grizzlies and Rockets, as well as two games behind the Spurs.

In the Mix

• The Thunder sit ninth despite their identical 42-36 record to the Pelicans because New Orleans owns the tiebreaker by virtue of their 3-1 season series victory.

Eastern Conference

• The Bulls' Thursday night victory in Miami moved them a half-game ahead of the Raptors for the No. 3 seed in a battle to draw the Bucks and avoid the Wizards in the first round. Then again, if both teams fancy their chances against Washington, Chicago and Toronto might prefer the 4-seed, which keeps them away from Cleveland in the second round.

In the Mix

• The Heat's demoralizing second half collapse against Chicago was a pretty significant blow for Miami's playoff chances. They're now two losses behind the Celtics and Nets with three games to go, although they do own the season series tiebreakers with each team. They're also a loss behind the ninth-place Pacers, who beat the Heat three out of four times.