Celtics to face either Bulls or Butler-less Heat in Round 1

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks last night to earn a rematch with the Miami Heat. The winner will capture the 8th seed and face Boston in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Bulls and the Heat faced off last season with the 8th seed on the line and the Heat were victorious. Miami would go on to make it all the way to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately for the Heat not only did they lose last night to the 76ers, but it was learned after the game that their star Jimmy Butler suffered and played through an MCL injury and will now be forced to be sidelined for a few weeks.

The 76ers or the Heat (with Butler) would have been an annoyingly pesky first round match-up for the Celtics, but that's avoided now.