The Warriors are now 3-0 in NBA Cup games, making them the first team to clinch a spot in the knockout round of the in-season tournament. As the NBA announced late on Friday night after Golden State beat New Orleans and Dallas beat Denver (Twitter link), the Warriors have won West Group C, officially securing a quarterfinal berth for December.
The 3-0 Warriors are one game ahead of the 2-1 Mavericks in the NBA Cup standings, while no other team in their group has more than one victory so far. That means the Mavs are the only West Group C club with a chance to match Golden State’s win total, and the Dubs would hold the tiebreaker in that scenario as a result of beating Dallas last Tuesday in their NBA Cup opener.
The winners of the six groups advance to the eight-team knockout round, along with one “wild card” from each conference. The Mavs have a good chance to be that wild card team in the West if they defeat Memphis on December 3, since their +41 point differential in NBA Cup contests is the second-best mark in the league. Point differential is the second tiebreaker after head-to-head results.
The Rockets (Group A) and Lakers (Group B) are the only two other Western Conference teams who are undefeated in NBA Cup play, putting them in the driver’s seat to join the Warriors in the quarterfinals if they can keep winning.
Over in the East, the Hawks (2-1) could clinch Group C with a win over Cleveland next Friday, assuming the Bulls lose at least one of their two remaining NBA Cup games. If Atlanta loses, a Celtics victory over Chicago on Friday would secure the group for Boston. There are still two undefeated teams apiece in East Group A (Magic, Knicks) and East Group B (Bucks, Pistons).
Who cares?
It used to be that there was no reason to pay attention to the league until Christmas. I enjoy having a little razzle dazzle, and it seems at least some of the players try s little harder.
I’m happy for the tournament but who cares who the first team is? Schedules mean it’s based on who starts playing first.
The players want the $500,000 prize. The warrior bench players been motivated by it. Green said they are doing it for the players that need the money like 2 way players.
I like the idea of knowing that when a juggernaut plays a lottery team that they better be ready. And that resting a player in the middle of the tournament is bad vibes. But the cup itself should mean nothing to the fan.
Only Pedro Martinez’s Sour Grapes Tree
I bet last year he was bragging when the Lakers won.
They need to drop the conferences of the teams when setting up the groups because when one conference is so good like the Western Conference they get screwed because all these good teams play each other knock each other out in the group phase and the Eastern conference group winners have a much easier time getting to the quarterfinals. In the soccer champions league or cups, like the FA cup, it’s much more equitable who plays who than the NBA cup.
They need to stop using colored courts and just change the graphics for this! My eyes were sore after these games
Riveting.
OK I think we finally have one thing we ALL can agree on:
While changing the graphics on the actual court for these games is fine, changing the color of the entire court is maybe worst idea of all time and makes the games hard to watch on a screen!
Are we all in agreement here? Good.
Ehhh. I don’t get it.
So…we’re getting to the TNA round now? Cool, is the next stage the WWE Divas division?
Nobody cares Sliver
Also go back to matching shoes
Self expression is shown in one’s game
Not foot wear!