The Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers will begin their opening-round playoff series Saturday at noon. Here's the complete schedule:

Game 1: Saturday, Philadelphia @ Bulls, Noon, CSN/TNT

Game 2: Tuesday, Philadelphia @ Bulls, 7 p.m. CSN/TNT

Game 3: Friday, May 4, Bulls @ Philadelphia, 7 p.m. CSN/ESPN

Game 4: Sunday, May 6, Bulls @ Philadelphia, Noon  ABC

Game 5*: Tuesday, May 8, Philadelphia @ Bulls, time TBD  CSN

Game 6*: Thursday, May 10, Bulls @ Philadelphia, time TBD  CSN

Game 7*: Saturday, May 12, Philadelphia @ Bulls, time TBD  CSN/TNT

* If necessary

– Northwest Herald

This much is certain: The Bulls will begin their playoff schedule Saturday at the United Center.

However, the Bulls will have to wait until tonight to learn whether they will play the Philadelphia 76ers or New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs. The starting time for Saturday's game also will be announced after the pairings have been set.

The Bulls (49-16) have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference heading into their regular season finale today against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That means the Bulls will play the No. 8 seed in the first round, which could be either the 76ers or Knicks.

Both the Knicks and the 76ers are 35-30 heading into tonight, but the Knicks have the tiebreaker for the No. 7 seed if both teams finish with the same record. The Knicks will wrap up their regular season against the league-worst Charlotte Bobcats, while the 76ers will visit the Detroit Pistons.

Last season, the Bulls met the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. Despite a couple of close games, the Bulls won the series, 4-1, and moved on to play Atlanta and Miami.

-Tom Musick

The Bulls will clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs if they beat the Miami Heat today at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast nationally on TNT and WMVP-AM 1000.

Only four games remain in the regular season for the Bulls (47-15), who hold a 2 1/2-game edge on the Heat for the conference's top playoff seed. Five games remain for the Heat (44-17), but a loss today would make the gap between them and the Bulls too great to overcome.

Even if the Heat win today, the Bulls will remain in good position to clinch the top seed. They will finish the 66-game regular-season slate with a home game against the Dallas Mavericks, a road game against the Indiana Pacers and a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If the Bulls clinch the No. 1 spot, they will play whichever team secures the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Philadelphia 76ers would receive the No. 8 seed if the season ended today, but the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks also are possibilities.

If the Knicks win today, however, the Bucks will be eliminated from playoff contention.

-Tom Musick

Despite an overtime loss to the New York Knicks this weekend, the Bulls would have the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs if the season ended today.

The Bulls erased a 21-point deficit but lost, 100-99, in overtime Sunday at New York's Madison Square Garden. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose returned after missing the previous 12 games because of a strained right groin, but he appeared rusty in almost 39 minutes of playing time.

Rose scored 29 points but shot only 8-for-26 from the field. He also committed eight turnovers to go along with four assists, one steal and one blocked shot.

The loss dropped the Bulls' record to 43-14 with nine games remaining in the regular season. The Bulls' lead over the second-place Miami Heat dwindled to two games.

The NBA's playoff picture should come into greater focus this week.

1. Bulls, 43-14
2. Miami, 40-15 (2.0 games behind)
3. Indiana, 34-22
4. Boston, 32-24
5. Atlanta, 34-23
6. Orlando, 33-23
7. New York, 29-27
8. Philadelphia, 29-27
***
9. Milwaukee, 28-28

The Bulls will not have to wait long to try to avenge their loss to the Knicks this weekend. They will host the Knicks at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday in their next game, which will be followed by a home game against the Heat on Thursday and a road game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

-Tom Musick

Bulls guard Derrick Rose participated in a full practice Wednesday at the Berto Center.

Yet it remains uncertain whether Rose will play Thursday against the Boston Celtics.

Rose answered a few questions before leaving to take part in strength and conditioning drills after practice. Here is a transcript of his brief interview with media members.

Q: How did you feel today, and what do you think your chances are of playing tomorrow?
A: I really don’t know. I felt good, but me playing tomorrow, I don’t know. I was able to run a little bit more but not at my top speed.

Q: What’s the pain level compared with where it was before?
A: I really can’t explain it. Unless you have the injury…

Q: But is the pain more tolerable now than when you first were injured?
A: Definitely, yeah. I’m running and able to move a little bit more. I’m getting healthy.

Q: Where is your conditioning at right now? Could you play from a conditioning standpoint?
A: Taking three weeks off or two weeks off or however long I took off, my conditioning is definitely a worry. But in basketball, you should be able to fight through it.

Q: Do you think you can recover fully from this, or is it something you’ll have to play through for the rest of the season?
A: I really don’t know. This is my first time ever having this injury. Usually people, after they have it, they don’t have it anymore. But my biggest thing is coming back too quick and reinjuring it again.

The Bulls will host the Boston Celtics at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Rose officially is listed as a game-time decision, according to head coach Tom Thibodeau.

-Tom Musick