Following the conclusion of the group play games in the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the eight teams advancing to the knockout round have been set, and the quarterfinal games have been scheduled.
After the Warriors, Rockets, and Hawks previously clinched spots in the knockout round, the Thunder, Mavericks, Bucks, Knicks, and Magic joined them as a result of Tuesday’s outcomes. The quarterfinal matchups are as follows, per the NBA (Twitter links):
Eastern Conference:
- Orlando Magic (No. 4) at Milwaukee Bucks (No. 1): Tuesday, December 10 (7 pm ET)
- Atlanta Hawks (No. 3) at New York Knicks (No. 2): Wednesday, December 11 (7 pm ET)
Western Conference:
- Dallas Mavericks (No. 4) at Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 1): Tuesday, December 10 (9:30 pm ET)
- Golden State Warriors (No. 3) at Houston Rockets (No. 2): Wednesday, December 11 (9:30 pm ET)
While those four games will be played in the home team’s arena, the winners will advance to a neutral site for the final four. The semifinals (Dec. 14) and final (Dec. 17) will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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The quarterfinal and semifinal results will count toward each team’s regular season record, whereas the final won’t. A team that loses in the quarterfinals will play the other quarterfinal loser in its conference in newly scheduled regular season games to make sure those clubs get the full 82.
Meanwhile, the 22 teams who did not advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup have each had two regular season games added to their initial 80 to fill that mid-December gap on their schedules.
Here are the newly added games for those clubs, according to the league (Twitter link):
Thursday, December 12:
- Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm ET)
- Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat (7:30 pm ET)
- Sacramento Kings at New Orleans Pelicans (8 pm ET)
Friday, December 13:
- Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers (7 pm ET)
- Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers (7 pm ET)
- Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves (8 pm ET)
- Brooklyn Nets at Memphis Grizzlies (8 pm ET)
- Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls (8 pm ET)
- Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9 pm ET)
- Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz (9:30 pm ET)
- San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers (10 pm ET)
Sunday, December 15:
- New Orleans Pelicans at Indiana Pacers (5 pm ET)
- Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards (6 pm ET)
- Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs (7 pm ET)
- Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns (8 pm ET)
- Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers (9:30 pm ET)
Monday, December 16:
- Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets (7 pm ET)
- Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons (7 pm ET)
- Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors (7:30 pm ET)
- Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm ET)
- Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings (10 pm ET)
- Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm ET)
I will say that this mini tournament does make this part of the season a bit more interesting. You can tell that some teams really wanted to win more than others.
no it doesn’t. it is stupid. no team cares to win it
no one cares, stupid tournament with no meaning or value
Many of the players do care
This tournament is a complete joke, like its creator. But now that it has a sponser, it isn’t going anywhere for awhile. It’s Silver’s baby, so the coaches and players need to pretend it matters, to the extent they can bear it. Even they, though, have their fits of honesty.
NYK got screwed last year with the scheduling, and it looks like the same again this year. BOS gets 2 new games next weekend with WSH and DET, CLE gets WSH and BKN. While the NYK will play ATL and either MIL/ORL.
The only guys with something at stake are the minimum wage guys, particularly ones on NGC’s that might not last beyond the deadline. E.g., on the NYK, Matt Ryan. But they’re unlikely to play.
Wizards end up with a tough draw here – Cleveland and Boston. Just gets them a little closer to ending up with a top 3 pick…
Negativity about a sport you keep coming back to rag about ……. ONLY. …….only speaks of you.
These are regular season gms. Only the two competing to win this tournament. Play one more gm for the season. And both get paid to do it. And get a trip to Vegas. Winners get 500,000 dollars a man. Yeah it don’t mean shhh to them.