The Latest Breaking News from Zach LaVine

With just two regular-season games left, not only does DeMar DeRozan want to play in both — as meaningless as they might be for the playoff-bound Bulls — but he hopes that he and his teammates can recapture some early-season magic.

For the first time in five years, the Chicago Bulls are in the NBA playoffs. But the road out of the first round will provide a momentous challenge for a team that has struggled since the All-Star break.

Top-seeded Miami would still be a possibility, but isn’t very realistic. Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia are, and here’s how the Bulls stacked up against each, as well as how they could win the series.

The Bulls’ bench will be key in the playoffs, but it also might be needed in the last four regular-season games with players such as Alex Caruso and Zach LaVine limping to the finish line. That starts with White.

In what coach Billy Donovan called a measuring-stick game, the Bulls once again came up very short, losing to the Heat 127-109. The defeat dropped them to the No. 6 seed in the East, and they’re a combined 0-17 against Finals contenders Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Memphis and Golden…

It remains an unfortunate truth as the postseason approaches.

Ball hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 14, and after he and the medical staff opted to shut his running program down last week because of pain in his left knee, it looked like he wouldn’t play again this season. Now there’s at least some hope.

Even when Vucevic has had big games like he did against the Wizards on Tuesday, far too often this season he’s been overlooked. But come playoff time, he might be the most important player on the roster.

On a night in which DeMar DeRozan was inefficient early and Zach LaVine was inconsistent, Vucevic kept the Bulls afloat long enough for everyone else to wake up.