Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Which Chicago team will make the playoffs first: Bulls or Blackhawks?

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote debated whether the Bulls or Blackhawks will make the playoffs first.

The Rahimi Harrison Grody Show, midday's 10 to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 670 the score. Rahimi Harrison Grotie, it is on the score. And what is true about the Bulls and Blackhawks this year, although it always just feels like a struggle, even if it's not as bad as it literally looks right now. The Bulls 23 and 25, your Chicago Blackhawks. vastly improved record-wise from last year at this time and now. Black Hawks are 21, 24, and 9.

What we are wondering and throwing out there for discussion is who is more likely to make the playoffs, the Bulls, or the Blackhawks. A reminder that in the NBA, 16 of the 30 teams do make the actual playoffs. That is truth. half. It's really, like I always say about the play-in, this was hilarious. It's like, just don't be one of the worst five teams in your 15-team conference and you get to play in postseason basketball.

Right. It takes doing to not make the playoffs. I'm not going to say like it's impossible, but it takes some doing. Last time, as I said before the break, the last time the Bulls made the playoffs was the 2021-2020 season in which the Bulls were beaten in five by the Milwaukee Bucks. Oh, it was a fun series. Do you remember when they won game two and people were like, oh, yes. It's a series now. We're coming back to United Center. Felt that way. Bulls can take a lead. They've got, they stole home court advantage from the Bucks. God, it was so nice. I was there. I was there.

It fell, oh, you were. I was there. It did feel that way. I know I fell for it because I wanted to, damn it. I wanted so badly to. But the Bulls have not been in. The Bulls have not been in. The playoffs since the 21-22 season in a league where 16 of the 30 teams make it. The Blackhawks, the last time they were in the playoffs was NHL season 2019-2020-2020 when the Blackhawks were a 12-seed and were dismissed from the playoffs in the first round by Las Vegas. And 16 of the 32 teams in the NHL make the postseason. And it's been that long since the Blackhawks have made it.

I honestly, to me, it would be really hard to think that either, neither of these teams would make it. As in I think they both should, the great wild card in this one is, and I think my answer will still stand, even after I say what I'm going to say, the great wild card is the Bulls and the trade deadline that they do start to dump off players, but I think I'm pretty right to be skeptical that they're not going to unload players and not going to take a slide to the end of the season, which has to have them exit from the playoffs. Do you consider taking a slide if they trade Vouch? Is that like, is that far? I think the question is, you're asking me, do I think the Bulls would take a slide?

No, no, no. Well, yeah. Yes. That's the, right. Like, if the Bulls don't have Vuchovitchevich, would they slide out of the playoffs? Would they, they wouldn't hit Rock Bottom without Nikola Voochovich in there. But I think he does probably even more than we'd find out the more that he was doing that maybe we didn't appreciate him for. Yeah, I think that you take a hit without Vuch.

I don't think you go rock bottom, though, at that point. I don't know that you even fall out of the playoffs. I don't know when Zach Collins is coming back, but that's a factor here. If you lose Vooch and you have Collins and Smith still, then you feel like you can still do some things, especially defensively because Vooch is a liability on Devens, as you've seen, as you've watched a lot of Bulls game of late. The problem with the Blackhawks is, first of all, they've lost four in a row. Second of all, since Connor Bredard has come back, he gave him like a little quick jolt, but they have not been good team-wise.

It's been a lot of, oh, they hung around or they had a lead and blew a lead. And the fact that they are 21, 24-9, and remember, they're 54 games in the season. There's only 28 games left. And as it stands right now, they've got 51 points. The Ducks have the second wild card spot in the West.

They're eight points behind them. They're going to have to start not just taking teams to overtime and losing in a shootout or losing an OT. They've got to win games. They've got to put together wins. And I just don't know. if they can get there. I think the Bulls have a better chance of making the playoffs. I really do. And that might be my stance a week from today after the Bulls have made their

trade deadline deals as well. Has Conor Badard actually even had a goal since he's returned? I know he had an empty netter. Does he had a non-empty net goal? I believe so. I don't know if he has. I'm not really sure. I mean, he's going through it. Like just the classic early, is he even 21 yet, too? That's another question for Conrad. Yeah, he had a goal against the penguins. Okay. And I'm trying to know what day that was yesterday. Okay.

I think the Blackhawks are in before the Bulls. But we shall see because there's going to be some. You just told me less teams make it in the energy. I know. I did say that. I didn't necessarily say that because of that the Blackhawks wouldn't get in. My answer is, as I said right at the beginning, and you can't do this. But I think the, like my answer was I think they would both get in.

But if I had to choose one of them, I think it will be the Black Hawk. I think you're highly optimistic. I think the chances of them both not getting in is way higher than the chances of them both getting in. Can't wait to find out. Also can't wait for Monday. Monday! It's happening. We are going FM.

It is the debut, the turning on of 104-3 the score. We're going to be FM, Marshall. That's right. All the shows, Rahimi Harrison Grotie included in this. All the score shows you could hear in FM. Pat Hughes, he's all right. Ready FM. Does this mean you're going to break out your FM voice?

That's my first question. I'm crafting it. You're crafting? I've been told I have the weekend to craft my FM personality. Okay. So I don't know. Should I be working on my FM personalities? Absolutely.

We all bring a different FM personality to the table. We do. But all the shows, the Bulls games, Chuck bouncing around on FM, okay, I'm in. We'll also be heard on 670 a.m. Still, that is not going away. But starting on Monday, 8 a.m. during the Mully and Hawes show, it is the debut, folks, of 1043 FM. The simulcast will be presented by the official sportsbook of the score, circus sports, sports betting the way it should be with no bet fees. You know this Marshall.

People have been running all over the hallways the last few days, trying to get things ready and prepared for Monday. In our last break, they were putting up new signage, like out in the hall. Oh, new signage is going up. I'm looking in the studio kitchen or the kitchen studio or whatever that thing is. What is that thing anyway? It's the kitchen. There's things in there. I have been, I will be dispatched after this show to a very familiar and popular location where I'll be filming something.

I don't know if I can. I actually have no idea if I'd be allowed to say. I don't even know exactly what it is. I know where I'm going. I don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing. Oh, okay. I'm going to be finding out. I'm going to blindfold you and surprise you with something.

I certainly hope that is not part of it. Okay. Because if it is. You don't want to go on anyone's trunk. I get it. What's not a secret, though, is at 8 a.m. sharp on Monday. 1043, the score. It's happening.

So it's going to be like a big, fun, festive day at the score with great guests all day. It's just going to be one of those score days. You got some surprises lined up. Surprises along the way. Coming up next. here on this show right here in the now, in the known, will be our guy, frequent contributor to the Rahimi Harrison Grotie show. He is Russell Dorsey. Yahoo Sports National Baseball Insider, amongst other things. We'll get to the full resume. We'll get to Russell's full

thoughts on baseball. I bet he'll want to talk some bears, and we have a topic that we will share with him as well that we're going to get into. It's all next here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on the score.