In an exciting new development, the NBA’s first-ever In-Season Tournament started off last week with a bang. In an effort to add more spice to the early goings of the 82-game long regular season for each team, the NBA came up with a creative abbreviated tourney with an NBA Cup at stake.
The In-Season Tournament will consist of two stages: Group Play and the Knockout Rounds. In the initial Group Play, all 30 teams were bunched randomly into 3 groups within their conferences based on won-loss records from the 2022-23 regular season. Starting last November 3 and continuing through Tuesday, Nov. 28, each team will play the four other designated Group teams on “Tournament Nights” – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road. To differentiate In-season games from regular games, teams will use different city edition uniforms and play on specially-designed courts.
Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds. These are the teams with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups, plus two “wild cards”. The 2 wildcards are the top teams from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group. These 8 remaining teams will go through a win-or-go-home Knockout Round in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championship. What this means is that we will have a first-ever NBA Cup champion by December 9. This will be a fast and furious, bing-bang-boom tournament where favorites can get waylaid with a single misstep of a game, where early injuries to key players will matter, where even the unseeded teams can get really lucky.
This early, the Mavs, the Thunder and the Grizzlies – 3 teams expected to reach deep into the playoffs- all need victories to stay in the thick of the tournament race. Having lost their first games last week, and with an 0-2 record almost certain to eliminate any team from the running, they have their work cut out for them.
Having said that, who do you think will reach the 8-team quarterfinals?
Groupings are as follows:
West Group A – Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, L.A. Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trailblazers
West Group B – Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets
West Group C – Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs
East Group A – Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons
East Group B – Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets
East Group C – Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic
My bets:
For the West, it will be the Phoenix Suns (Grp A), the Denver Nuggets (Grp B), the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavs (wildcard) moving up. For the East, it should be clearer, with the Philadelphia 76ers (Grp A), the Milwaukee Bucks (Grp B), the Boston Celtics (Grp C) and the New York Knicks (wildcard) taking the step forward.
The In-Season Tournament promises to be a blast, as players and fans alike look forward to a another chance at cage glory. This is a new tournament, which provides for better chances for upsets, as you only have to upend your opponent once.
Let’s see how it goes! Great idea, good job, NBA! This should be a blast!
Cover photos courtesy of Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, NESN.com and Dallas Morning News.
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