The Emirates NBA Cup (formerly the In-Season Tournament) will be returning for its second year starting in November, as the league’s effort to give some regular season games a bit extra juice will begin group play on November 12 and end on December 3, with the quarterfinals on December 10-11, semifinals on December 14, and championship on December 17 (with the last two rounds being in Las Vegas).
Last year, the In-Season Tournament provided us with some good fun, with the Lakers beating the Pacers in the inaugural championship game, resulting in the Lakers hanging the first NBA Cup banner — to the dismay of some. On Tuesday, the league announced who will make up the six groups of five teams and when they’ll play their Cup games, as we continue to get details about the schedule ahead of the full release, likely later this week.
EAST A: Knicks, Magic, Sixers, Nets, Hornets
East A features three playoff teams from a year ago, as the Knicks and Sixers will be the favorites, while the Magic figure to be a contender as well. The Nets, now actively tanking, shouldn’t be a factor and the Hornets will be underdogs in every game but against Brooklyn.
Knicks: at Sixers (11/12), vs. Nets (11/15), at Hornets (11/29), vs. Magic (12/3)
Magic: vs. Hornets (11/12), vs. Sixers (11/15), at Nets (11/29), at Knicks (12/3)
Sixers: vs. Knicks (11/12), at Magic (11/15), vs. Nets (11/22), at Hornets (12/3)
Nets: at Knicks (11/12), vs. Hornets (11/19), at Sixers (11/22), vs. Magic (12/3)
Hornets: at Magic (11/12), at Nets (11/19), vs. Knicks (11/29), vs. Sixers (12/3)
EAST B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, Pistons
East B also features a trio of playoff teams, as the Bucks, Heat, and surprise conference finalist Pacers figure to be the top contenders in this group. Toronto and Detroit will be longshots in this group, but both teams are hoping to take some strides this season led by young cores, and we’ll see if they can make a little noise in this group.
Bucks: vs. Raptors (11/12), vs. Pacers (11/22), at Heat (11/26), at Pistons (12/3)
Pacers: vs. Heat (11/15), at Bucks (11/22), vs. Pistons (11/29), at Raptors (12/3)
Heat: at Pistons (11/12), at Pacers (11/15), Bucks (11/26), vs. Raptors (11/29)
Raptors: at Bucks (11/12), vs. Pistons (11/15), at Heat (11/29), vs. Pacers (12/3)
Pistons: vs. Heat (11/12), at Raptors (11/15), at Pacers (11/29), vs. Bucks (12/3)
EAST C: Celtics, Cavs, Bulls, Hawks, Wizards
The defending NBA champion Celtics will be heavy favorites in this group, with the Cavs as the clear top contender to them. The Bulls and Hawks met in the Play-In a year ago, while the Wizards are still figuring things out in their rebuild.
Celtics: vs. Hawks (11/12), vs. Cavs (11/19), at Wizards (11/22), at Bulls (11/29)
Cavs: vs. Bulls (11/15), at Celtics (11/19), at Hawks (11/29), vs. Wizards (12/3)
Bulls: at Cavs (11/15), vs. Hawks (11/22), at Wizards (11/26), vs. Celtics (11/29)
Hawks: at Celtics (11/12), vs. Wizards (11/15), at Bulls (11/22), vs. Cavs (11/29)
Wizards: at Hawks (11/15), vs. Celtics (11/22), vs. Bulls (11/29), at Cavs (12/3)
WEST A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, Blazers
Just about all of the West groups are tough, but the A group is the one that features a clear favorite. The Timberwolves, fresh off a conference finals appearance, should be a good bit better than the other four teams, but in a four-game round-robin, anything can happen. The Clippers will be dealing with life post-Paul George, while the Kings are hoping to get back in the playoff mix and the Rockets have an eye on actually crashing the Play-In party this year. The Blazers, meanwhile, are one of two teams in the West (along with Utah) clearly vying for the best odds to land the No. 1 pick.
Timberwolves: at Blazers (11/12), at Kings (11/15), vs. Rockets (11/26), vs. Clippers (11/29)
Clippers: at Rockets (11/15), vs. Kings (11/22), at Wolves (11/29), vs. Blazers (12/3)
Kings: vs. Wolves (11/15), at Clippers (11/22), at Blazers (11/29), vs. Rockets (12/3)
Rockets: vs. Clippers (11/15), vs. Blazers (11/22), at Wolves (11/26), at Kings (12/3)
Blazers: vs. Wolves (11/12), at Rockets (11/22), vs. Kings (11/29), at Clippers (12/3)
WEST B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs
West B is a fascinating group. Oklahoma City is the favorite after earning the West’s top seed a year ago and bolstering their roster with two big additions this summer. That said, we saw last year that LeBron James and the Lakers do take this seriously and the Suns might be looking to make a bit of a statement (if they can) that this season will be different. Beyond that, Victor Wembanyama always brings intrigue, and the Jazz will be the big underdog in this group.
Thunder: vs. Suns (11/15), at Spurs (11/19), at Lakers (11/29), vs. Jazz (12/3)
Suns: at Jazz (11/12), at Thunder (11/15), vs. Lakers (11/26), vs. Spurs (12/3)
Lakers: at Spurs (11/15), vs. Jazz (11/19), at Suns (11/26), vs. Thunder (11/29)
Jazz: vs. Suns (11/12), at Lakers (11/19), vs. Spurs (11/26), at Thunder (12/3)
Spurs: vs. Lakers (11/15), vs. Thunder (11/19), at Jazz (11/26), at Suns (12/3)
WEST C: Nuggets, Mavs, Pelicans, Warriors, Grizzlies
The Group of Death title belongs to West C, which was always going to be the case for whatever group landed the Grizzlies. Memphis was awful last year due to an insane run of injuries, but when healthy they were a top-4 team in the West for two straight years. Add in the defending West champs in Dallas, the NBA champs from two years ago in Denver, a Pelicans team that thinks they’ve upgraded their roster, and it may be the Warriors (who have Steph Curry) who are the underdogs in this group.
Nuggets: at Pelicans (11/15), at Grizzlies (11/19), vs. Mavs (11/22), vs. Warriors (12/3)
Mavs: at Warriors (11/12), vs. Pelicans (11/19), at Nuggets (11/22), vs. Grizzlies (12/3)
Pelicans: vs. Nuggets (11/15), at Mavs (11/19), vs. Warriors (11/22), at Grizzlies (11/29)
Warriors: vs. Mavs (11/12), vs. Grizzlies (11/15), at Pelicans (11/22), at Nuggets (12/3)
Grizzlies: at Warriors (11/15), vs. Nuggets (11/19), vs. Pelicans (11/29), at Mavs (12/3)
