Pistons Rumors

Knockout Round Matchups Set For NBA Cup; Games Scheduled For Non-Quarterfinalists

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.

[RELATED: Details On NBA Cup Prize Money For 2024]

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)

Central Notes: Pistons, Mitchell, Buzelis, Ball

The NBA Cup might not be a big deal for some teams, but the Pistons are energized by the possibility of making the knockout round. They host the Bucks on Tuesday and the winner will prevail in East Group B of the tournament. They are both 3-0 heading into the contest.

“Guys are into it,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “The vibes are good, guys are excited, they’re looking forward to the opportunity. Like we talked about, we want to give our guys a chance to play meaningful basketball and see what that feels like, and for some of our guys this is the most meaningful basketball that they’ve been able to play. It’s a great opportunity for us, great experience for us.” 

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Donovan Mitchell scored 30 second-half points on Sunday as the Cavaliers bounced back from two losses to Atlanta by defeating the Celtics. Mitchell said it was the type of game that the Cavs, who trailed by double digits in the second half, might not have won in the past, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “I think that just speaks to the growth of our group,” Mitchell said. “I think you go back to when I first got here, obviously we’re younger, we’re not as familiar with each other, [and we’d] kind of fold in those situations. You’re just seeing the growth, and that’s the biggest thing I feel like is for us just continuing to build … if we continue to grow and continue to learn from these different things, that’s really what it’s about. That’s what tonight was. We could have easily been like, ‘All right, turning the ball over, different things, not getting stops, offense kind of bogged down.’ But who were we when we hit adversity? And that’s what I’ve been saying. It’s great to learn through these wins, but when we face adversity, who are we going to be? And that’s what you’re continuously seeing from this group. We’ve been trying games and different things, and so I’m proud of the way we fought.”
  • Matas Buzelis scored a season-high 20 points, a great sign from the lottery pick. Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Buzelis and the other young players on the roster have to continue to earn their minutes, Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune writes. “They’ve got to get playing time. But they have to understand it’s not free candy,” Donovan said.
  • Lonzo Ball is on a minutes restriction but the Bulls guard has made an impressive impact in limited playing time. He has the best plus-minus rating on the roster, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic notes. “I know it’s only a very small sample size, but if you look at his plus-minus on the floor, it’s crazy for the amount of time he’s gotten,” Donovan said of Ball, a free agent after the season.

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, B. Brown, Stewart, Springer, Bulls

Since Landry Shamet dislocated his shoulder during the preseason, scuttling his chances of making the Knicks‘ opening night roster, reports have indicated that the club is highly likely to re-sign him if and when he gets healthy.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms as much and adds another detail to those reports. According to Scotto, if Shamet returns, the hope in New York is that Matt Ryan – who is currently on a non-guaranteed contract – will clear waivers and rejoin the club on a two-way deal.

The Knicks have an open 15-man roster spot, but don’t have enough breathing room below their hard cap to carry both players on standard deals, so Ryan would have to be cut if Shamet re-signs.

Here are a few more rumors from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Although the Raptors declined offers of multiple second-round picks for Bruce Brown at last season’s trade deadline, there’s a widespread belief that the versatile swingman will be back on the trade block this season, per Scotto. Brown, who is on an expiring $23MM contract, continues to make his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and appears to be getting closer to making his season debut.
  • Isaiah Stewart‘s demotion to a bench role this season for the first time since his rookie year has led executives around the NBA to believe that the Pistons‘ big man will be available on the trade market this season, according to Scotto. Stewart is in the first season of a four-year, $60MM contract that features flat annual cap hits of $15MM.
  • Confirming previous reporting, Scotto says the Celtics gauged the trade market for Jaden Springer and his $4MM expiring contract in the fall. While there were teams willing to take on Springer if it means acquiring draft compensation from Boston, the C’s weren’t interested at that time in giving up draft capital to move off of the guard’s contract, Scotto reports. It will be interesting to see if that changes before the trade deadline.
  • Explaining the recent uptick in trade rumors surrounding the Bulls, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times says, citing a source, that the only new development in Chicago is that the team is “starting to look at a more responsible asking price” for veterans like Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic. The Bulls remain unwilling to attach a first-round pick to LaVine though, Cowley notes.

Pistons’ Bickerstaff Urges NBA To Reconsider Back-To-Backs Involving Cup Games

Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes the pressure to win NBA Cup games causes players to treat them like veritable mid-season playoff bouts, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.

On Friday, the Pistons defeated the Pacers 130-106 in an NBA Cup game. With that win, the Pistons improved to 3-0 in East Group B, tied by record with the Bucks. Milwaukee’s +29 point differential in its three wins is only marginally better than Detroit’s +28 as the two teams prepare to match up on Tuesday.

The Pistons subsequently had to travel to Philadelphia, where they fell in a blowout to the lowly Sixers on Saturday. Citing travel issues and the challenge of playing a back-to-back set that includes an NBA Cup contest, Bickerstaff said his squad was worn out for Saturday’s game.

“I mean, our guys were exhausted,” Bickerstaff said following the Philadelphia defeat. “We sat on the runway last night until 2:30, 3:00 in the morning. Got home at 4:00 in the morning in the snowstorm. They drove home, by the time they got to bed it was 5:00 a.m, 5:30 a.m. I thought they went out and they dug down… They tried to give it what they had. We just didn’t have it tonight, and that’s fair. They tried but today was just a rough day for them.”

Later during his post-game remarks, Bickerstaff advocated for the league to make some tweaks to its NBA Cup scheduling, specifically in regard to how it doles out back-to-back sets of games if one is part of the in-season tournament.

“I’ll scream it to the rooftops, and I hope people will pay attention and they’ll listen,” Bickerstaff said. “I think the league has done a wonderful thing by adding the Cup series. Obviously, as time goes on, there will be adjustments that are made to it, but you should not play a back-to-back after one of those games. The guys are competing their tails off to go out and win at a high level, and it’s just extremely difficult to come back the next night and have to play a back-to-back to follow it up.

“Hopefully, it’s something that they’ll look at. I’m not a scheduling expert by any means. I just think it’s extremely difficult for guys to go out and compete at that intensity that we’re asking them to.”

Patterson notes as a caveat that Detroit has gone 1-4 on the second night of back-to-backs this year, regardless of whether or not an NBA Cup game was part of the set.

Central Notes: Pistons, Cunningham, Middleton, Donovan

Coming off years of losing, the Pistons view this year’s NBA Cup as a chance to experience some high-stakes basketball, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. The Pistons have been one of the surprises of the tournament, winning their first three games by a combined 28 points. They can clinch a spot in the knockout round by defeating Milwaukee on Tuesday, and coach J.B. Bickerstaff said his team is taking the games very seriously.

“Our guys wanted to win. They came out with a sense of urgency,” he said after Friday’s NBA Cup victory over Indiana. “We talked about it, but this gives our guys an opportunity to play games of significance and see how they respond. I thought our guys did a great job of responding in a positive way, playing with that sense of urgency that you need to play with to win games of significance.”

It’s a huge turnaround from last season, when Detroit went 0-4 in Cup play amid a franchise-record losing streak. That memory was fresh for Cade Cunningham, who recalled being embarrassed by the Pacers a year ago.

“We need every game we can get anyways, but I remember last year, Indiana ran it up on us in the in-season tournament and how serious they took it,” he said. “They were going for points, they just beat us up. This game was really personal for us, but in general, we all wanna go to Vegas and we all want to experience winning something. We’re going for it.” 

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Cunningham had an obvious impact on the team as he returned Friday after missing three games with a left sacroiliac joint sprain, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Patterson observes that in addition to his production, Cunningham instills confidence in his teammates that enables them to play at a higher level. “Cade is the type of person and player that he’s with you no matter the good and the bad,” Bickerstaff said. “He believes in you because he watches how hard everybody works and he knows what everybody is capable of. When you have a leader that believes in you, it gives you more comfort and more confidence.”
  • Bucks swingman Khris Middleton will miss another game tonight against Washington, but coach Doc Rivers said he’s getting closer to making his season debut, per Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel. Middleton had a scheduled day off for Friday’s practice, but he went through a productive five-on-five session earlier in the week. “He’s progressing,” Rivers told reporters. “I’m going to keep saying it. You can ask as many questions as you want, it’s not going to make him come back faster.”
  • The Bulls have many issues to address, but they don’t need to make a coaching change, contends Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Billy Donovan has shown an ability to adapt to his personnel, Cowley notes, going from 28th in the league in pace last year to near the top this season.

Fischer: Bulls Open To Discussing ‘Majority Of Their Roster’

The Bulls are viewed as a prime candidate to sell off veterans ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, Jake Fischer writes on Marc Stein’s Substack page.

As Fischer explains, Chicago has been fairly competitive thus far, currently holding an 8-12 record. But winning too many games could jeopardize the Bulls’ first-round pick, which will convey to San Antonio if it falls outside of the top 10 in next year’s draft (Chicago will keep the pick if it lands in the top 10).

That’s why the Bulls have been signaling to rival teams that they’re open to discussing the “majority of their roster” ahead of the February 6 trade deadline, league sources tell Fischer. Unsurprisingly, Fischer hears Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball top the list of players Chicago would like to move.

The Bulls have reportedly been trying to trade LaVine for well over a year, but have yet to find a suitable deal due to his injury history and maximum-salary contract — he’ll earn a combined $89MM this season and next, with a $49MM player option for ’26/27.

The 29-year-old has been productive this season, averaging 21.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 4.3 APG on a sparkling .510/.434/.814 shooting line through 17 games (33.7 MPG). He has also reportedly mended fences with head coach Billy Donovan.

However, three teams who previously held some level of interest in the two-time All-Star — the Kings, Warriors and Pistons — are now considered unlikely suitors for LaVine, according to Fischer.

Here’s more on the Bulls from Fischer’s latest story:

  • He doesn’t explicitly mention him by name, but Fischer strongly suggests multiple rival teams would want young players Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips included in any package for taking on LaVine’s contract.
  • Vucevic, who is having the most accurate shooting season of his career from all over the court (62.5% on twos, 44.9% on threes, 86.0% on free throws), should have positive trade value. One GM told Fischer he thinks the former All-Star center could net the Bulls a couple of second-round picks. The 34-year-old is earning $20MM in ’24/25, followed by $21.5MM in ’25/26.
  • Rival teams haven’t shown much interest in forward Patrick Williams, according to Fischer. Williams, who is currently sidelined with a foot injury, re-signed with Chicago as a restricted free agent over the summer, inking a five-year, $90MM deal.
  • Is Josh Giddey a lock to stay in Chicago? Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that Chicago and Giddey didn’t have any meaningful discussions about a rookie scale extension prior to October’s deadline, and Fischer hears the Bulls never even made the 22-year-old an offer. Giddey will be a restricted free agent in 2025, and his play and minutes have been inconsistent early in his Bulls tenure.
  • Fischer suggests contending teams might have some interest in Jevon Carter, but I’d be shocked if he has anything but negative trade value. The veteran guard didn’t play well last season in his first campaign with Chicago, he’s only played 48 total minutes in ’24/25, and he makes $6.5MM this season, with a $6.8MM player option for ’25/26 that he’s virtually certain to exercise.

Central Notes: Ivey, Thompson, Middleton, Haliburton

Jaden Ivey is eligible for a rookie scale extension after this season and the Pistons guard has bounced back from a subpar sophomore campaign. With Cade Cunningham sidelined by a hip injury, Ivey scored the game-winner against Toronto on Monday. He finished with 25 points and eight assists and is now averaging 18.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game on the season.

“(Ivey) played a complete basketball game (Monday),” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “He’s good enough to do it again and again. He’s just got to trust it like he does and keep putting the confidence in the work that he’s put in.

“… For me, it wasn’t just that last shot. He was phenomenal to start the game and for all of his minutes, setting the tone and attacking when he needed to be aggressive. But I thought he did an unbelievable job of playing the complete floor (Monday), making sure his teammates were involved, getting us organized. Just from a point guard perspective, that was a huge step for JI.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Pistons second-year forward Ausar Thompson made his season debut on Monday. He was medically cleared to play this month after his rookie campaign was cut short by blood clotting issues. He had five points, four assists and three rebounds. “I was able to play free,” Thompson said. “I’ve done a lot of conditioning over the past eight months. It was just, first game in eight months. 260-something days. Just don’t know what to expect. And first time playing with a new coach. My guys had my back, they showed me what to do out there. Just played basketball.”
  • Khris Middleton, who has yet to make his season debut for the Bucks, participated in full 5-on-5 scrimmages on Monday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (video link). Middleton, who is recovering from an ankle injury, been cleared medically to play and the club is hopeful he’ll return to action shortly after Thanksgiving.
  • Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton made nine 3-pointers on Monday and has now knocked down 18-of-39 attempts in his last three games, breaking out of a perimeter slump. Even with the recent surge, he’s only made 32.9% of his long-range attempts this season. “I think my individual performance and how I view that, I mean, if we’re winning, I really don’t care. I’ve been frustrated with myself because I feel like the games we’ve been losing, if I was myself, then we would be winning. I care more about us winning than what my numbers are looking like necessarily. But obviously, it feels good to see the ball go in,” he told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.

Central Notes: Jerome, Ivey, Brown, Bulls

It’s still early in the season, but to this point, perhaps no player has boosted his stock ahead of 2025 free agency more than Ty Jerome.

After signing a two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Cavaliers in 2023, Jerome was limited to just two games last season due to an ankle injury. But the 27-year-old guard has had a remarkable start to the ’24/25 campaign, averaging 12.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals in just 19.0 minutes per game through 18 outings. He’s posting a ridiculous shooting line of .597/.544/.879, for league-leading true shooting percentage of .736.

As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes, as absurd as it might sound on the surface, considering the Cavs have three former All-Stars and a former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up all playing at a high level, there’s an argument to be made that Jerome has been the team’s early-season MVP, especially from an expectations standpoint. He ranks just 10th on the roster in minutes per game, but he has played exceptionally well when on the court.

Over the past four games alone, Jerome has set new career highs in points (29), field-goals made (10), three-pointers made (seven) and steals (four). He also tied his career-best mark with eight assists. The former Virginia star is averaging 22.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 5.0 APG and 1.3 SPG on .604/.556/1.000 shooting over that span (27.9 MPG), which is easily the best four-game stretch of his six-year NBA career.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

  • Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason, certainly isn’t lacking for confidence. The 22-year-old believes that he and Cade Cunningham have a chance to be a world-class backcourt. “The potential is limitless. Cade is an All-Star and will be one of the best players in this league,” Ivey told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda. “Our ability to share the floor has been special from day one. I believe we have the talent to be one of the best backcourts ever.”
  • Journeyman center Moses Brown, who signed a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract with Indiana last week amid season-ending Achilles injuries to James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, gave the Pacers a major boost in Sunday’s victory over Washington, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. After Myles Turner picked up a couple of quick fouls in the first quarter, head coach Rick Carlisle put in Brown, who responded by scoring Indiana’s first eight points. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, four rebounds and a block in 12-plus minutes. “He’s gotta rebound, run, be a great screen setter, roller and execute coverages to the best of his availability,” Carlisle said. “We play a different defensive system than he’s played in the past but he’s working at adapting. He’s a great kid. He really appreciates this opportunity. This was heart-warming to see.”
  • Are fans losing interest in the Bulls‘ new up-tempo playing style, which has seen the team give up at least 135 points in four of their last 10 games? Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune ponders that question, noting that the coaching staff and players are preaching patience despite acknowledging a slim margin for error defensively.

Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Thompson, Stewart, Trades

Cade Cunningham missed Saturday’s loss to Orlando and his Pistons teammates struggled to fill the huge void. Detroit had more turnovers than assists in the 11-point loss while Cunningham sat out with a hip injury.

“Obviously those injuries are tough when you take a blow to the tailbone-ish area. That’s the core of where your movement starts. He’s obviously pretty sore, but feels like he’s improving. We’ll just take it day by day and see how he gets better,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.

Cunningham was injured during the late going of Detroit’s game against Charlotte on Thursday. He’s listed as doubtful to play on Monday against Toronto, Sankofa tweets.

We have more on the Pistons:

  • Ausar Thompson is no longer on the injury report and is positioned to make his season debut as soon as Monday. Thompson’s rookie season was short-circuited by blood clotting issues. The second-year forward could impact the team defensively, as Hunter Patterson of The Athletic describes in detail. Thompson’s return will likely mean reduced minutes for Wendell Moore Jr., rookie Ron Holland and Simone Fontecchio, Patterson notes.
  • Isaiah Stewart is receiving more minutes at center this season and prefers that role, compared to being a stretch four, he told Forbes contributor Mat Issa. “I love being back at center on offense,” Stewart said. “Playing at the power forward spot, I wasn’t really involved in too many actions. At the center spot, I’m constantly setting screens and using my body.”
  • In Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois’ latest mailbag post,  he predicts the odds of a significant in-season move being pretty low, less than 20 percent. While there might be a minor move near the trade deadline that could net a second-round pick or two, Langlois doubts the front office will be particularly active this season.

Warriors Become First Team To Clinch NBA Cup Quarterfinal Berth

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).