Cavs jump Bulls for first-round bye

CLEVELAND, OH — Going into Wednesday night, the Chicago Bulls only needed to beat the New Jersey Nets to secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Instead, they put forth a lackluster effort that allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to slide into second with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The reward – besides home court advantage in a potential head-to-head matchup – is a first round bye.

Rather than take time off, Cavs GM Danny Ferry is taking measures to keep his team sharp while the rest of the playoff teams battle to get out of the first round.

“After a week of negotiations, we have come to an agreement with the Washington Wizards,” Ferry said in a statement released . “We’ve set up some exhibition games against the Wizards that are designed to simulate a playoff series – with less-talented competition, obviously. The games will start Sunday and we’d love for our fans to come out and watch. It should be a blast and you can be sure LeBron will have his way out on the court.”

Meanwhile, the Bulls are stuck playing the defending champion Miami Heat.

“To be honest, I don’t think we would have scheduled a scrimmage series if we hadn’t blown it,” Bulls Coach Scott Skiles said when told of the plan. “With the Wizards’ current roster, I see more value in playing intra-squad games. But none of that matters now – I’ll be golfing by May.”

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!