10 months ago
The league's inaugural in-season tourney is group to statesman Friday, and while specified a title is acquainted pinch world shot fans, it's caller territory successful nan US, wherever leagues typically person only 1 championship.
But dissimilar England's FA Cup aliases North America's less-celebrated Leagues Cup, nan caller in-season tourney blends nan NBA's 82-game regular play pinch group and knockout stages.
Simply put, teams won't needfully beryllium playing much basketball, but nan stakes person changed somewhat.
Here's a preview of what to expect from nan NBA's expansive experiment:
Donovan Mitchell and nan Cavs will return portion successful nan group shape of nan arena starting Friday
Courts were redesigned for nan arena truthful that fans will beryllium capable to separate tourney games
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Every Tuesday and Friday successful November (except for this coming Tuesday, erstwhile location are nary games to commemorate Election Day) has been designated arsenic a tourney night. All games connected nan schedule those nights are tourney games.
Paul George (left) and Victor Wembanyama (right) could triumph a title arsenic early arsenic December
There are six five-team groups; teams play nan different 4 teams successful their group once. The six group winners make nan quarterfinals, arsenic will a brace of wild-card teams — nan 2 champion second-place finishers from nan groups.
Quarterfinal games are December 4 and 5 astatine higher seeds; nan semifinals are December 7 successful Las Vegas and nan title crippled is December 9 successful Las Vegas.
There are 14 teams that will statesman play Friday and 13 teams will get their first tourney games successful connected November 10. Orlando and Atlanta won't commencement their tourney schedules until November 14, and Toronto doesn't make its tourney debut until November 17.
The 22 teams that don't make nan quarterfinals will play still-to-be-scheduled regular-season games connected December 6 and December 8. Also connected nan December 8 schedule: regular-season games betwixt nan teams that suffer quarterfinal games.
The groups:
- East Group A — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Indiana and Detroit.
- East Group B — Milwaukee, New York, Miami, Washington and Charlotte.
- East Group C — Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago and Orlando.
- West Group A — Memphis, Phoenix, nan Los Angeles Lakers, Utah and Portland.
- West Group B — Denver, nan Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston.
- West Group C — Sacramento, Golden State, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
There are galore reasons, but ratings are very precocious connected nan list. The caller courts are designed to drawback nan oculus of channel-flippers and make them return announcement (with hopes they extremity to watch nan games), and it's nary coincidence that this tourney will hap earlier Christmas – traditionally erstwhile much group commencement watching nan NBA. Anything to bring much eyeballs successful November and early December is simply a plus.
There's a rate incentive, $500,000 per subordinate connected nan winning squad and smaller prizes ($50,000 to $200,000 per player) for nan different teams that make nan quarterfinals and semifinals. That useful retired to a full prize excavation of astir $18 million.
And it should put a small other meaning connected early play games.
'I deliberation they've embraced nan perfect of playing for thing successful nan mediate of nan season,' Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. 'I deliberation it's bully for our game, which I'm ever excited about. … You for illustration being nan champion astatine what you do. It's an opportunity to beryllium nan champion astatine something, let's springiness it a go.'
Also astatine stake: The NBA Cup. Fans will spot images of nan caller trophy splashed connected nan courts passim nan tournament. There will beryllium an MVP and an All-Tournament squad arsenic well.
Kristaps Porzingis and his Celtics teammates could triumph $500,000 apiece successful nan tournament
DO THE GAMES COUNT?
Yes, isolated from nan title game. Every crippled successful nan tourney counts arsenic 1 of nan 82 regular-season games that each teams will play this season.
The logic nan title crippled doesn't count is that nan teams successful that matchup will extremity up playing 83 games — and it doesn't make sense, standings-wise, to person 2 teams playing 1 much crippled than nan different 28 clubs.
Teams sewage 80-game schedules complete nan summer. Games 81 and 82 will either beryllium those crossover games connected December 6 and 8, aliases nan quarterfinals and semifinals.
WHAT ABOUT THESE COURTS?
Every squad will person a different, recently painted location tribunal for this tourney — chiefly a coagulated color, pinch a stripe down nan halfway of nan level and images of nan NBA Cup astatine some midcourt and successful nan foul lanes.
It will beryllium particularly different successful Boston, wherever parquet will beryllium temporarily put away.
The Celtics will play a location crippled connected a non-parquet level for nan first clip successful nine history
In 1946, erstwhile then-Celtics proprietor Walter Brown wanted a tribunal for his caller team, only scraps of wood were disposable because of shortages that followed World War II. So, nan parquet-style tribunal was utilized and became a imperishable fixture for nan squad erstwhile it moved full-time into Boston Garden successful 1952.
But for games successful Boston during this tournament, nary parquet.
WHAT DO THE ODDS SAY?
Think of nan tourney this way: a four-game regular play earlier nan playoffs. With only 4 games to determine who moves connected from each group, expect surprises. A two-game losing streak successful nan tourney mightiness beryllium reliable to overcome.
Boston is nan favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, astatine 8-1. Milwaukee and Denver person 8.5-1 odds, while nan Lakers and Golden State are 12-1.
