Tim Bontemps | ESPN15 from ago, 2023, 10:32 ETReading: 9 min.
NBA Cup: A showcase for Wemby
The NBA announced how this new tournament will be played during the regular season and reported that San Antonio will play three games on national TV in the most appearances of all teams.
The NBA on Tuesday announced its schedule for the group stage games of its season-opening tournament, where the NBA Cup will be awarded for the first time in Las Vegas on December 9 on ESPN.
The new tournament will be a showcase for the league’s newest star, as Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs have more nationally televised games (three) than any other team during the four-game group stage of the tournament, which will have place in the month of November.
So what exactly is the NBA Cup? How will the tournament work? Why is it happening? What does the NBA hope to get out of this?
With those questions in mind, here’s what we do and don’t know about the NBA’s seasonal tournament:
Why is this happening?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has wanted to implement it for years, for a variety of reasons. However, just like in the play-in, it took him a long time to convince everyone involved to give it a try.
The first hope, obviously, is that it generates income. The NBA believes that the seasonal tournament can become a major lucrative franchise over time due to the ability to sell its television rights, as happened with the WNBA version of the event. The other hope is to draw more eyes to the league. The time frame in which the tournament takes place, from early November to the first week of December, might be the most irrelevant part of the NBA schedule. It’s after the initial rush of the start of the season, and alongside the NFL and college football regular seasons. If this tournament can bring more attention to the sport during its less important time of the year, it will be seen as a victory.
What is the format?
Silver has long been fascinated with European soccer, and the foundation for the NBA’s seasonal tournament lies in cup tournaments across Europe. In those leagues, there is a regular-season championship, determined by the team with the most points throughout the year, and then a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) held concurrently with the season. the league.
However, unlike European soccer tournaments, which are all played outside of the league schedule, the NBA Cup is integrated into the NBA’s regular season schedule. The 30 teams were divided into six groups of five teams.
The four group stage matches will be played on seven dates in November: four Fridays (November 3, 10, 17 and 24) and three Tuesdays (November 14, 21 and 28).
The quarterfinals will be played on December 4 and 5 in the highest ranked team, and the semifinals and the championship will be played on December 7 and 9 in Las Vegas.
How will this affect the regular season schedule and standings?
Teams will have to adapt on the fly to new games being added to their seasons.
Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. This year, however, the league will send each team just 80 games. Because? Because each team’s final two games of the regular season will be determined by how the season’s tournament plays out.
The 22 teams that do not qualify for the knockout rounds of the seasonal tournament will have their last two games scheduled, one at home and one away, on December 6 and 8 against other teams eliminated in the group stage.
The teams from the East that lose in the quarterfinals and the teams from the West that lose in the quarterfinals will play each other on December 7. Teams that lose in the semifinals in Las Vegas will have played their full allotment of 82 games, while teams that make it to the championship game will actually end up playing 83 games, with the championship game not counting toward the regular season standings.
Why does the NBA Cup include regular season games?
Prior to its launch, one of the biggest questions surrounding the seasonal tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. By making it part of the regular season schedule and by making every game count toward the regular season (very important from a playoff tiebreaker standpoint), the NBA created a situation where teams are interested in winning these games. games.
Had this been staged like the cup tournaments in European soccer, nothing would have stopped NBA teams from literally or figuratively opting out, sitting out all their best players and getting extra rest time. However, under this system, they will have every incentive to play and win.
What teams make up the groups?
To create the groups, which were separated by conferences, the NBA placed the 15 teams from each conference into five pots, separated by their ranking in last season’s standings. So: Pot 1 included the teams that finished 1-3 on the regular season record, teams 4-6 entered Pot 2, teams 7-9 in Pot 3, teams 10-12 in the Pot 4 and teams 13-15 in Pot 5.
As a result, the following groups were drawn:
Group A: Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons
Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets
Group C: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic
Group D: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers
Group E: Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets
Group F: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs
What do players get for winning?
Another incentive: Players on the winning team will each receive $500,000, while runners-up will get $200,000. Losing players in the semifinals will each receive $100,000, and losing players in the quarterfinals will each receive $50,000.
Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?
There will be an MVP award for the season tournament, as well as an all-star tournament team.
Will this have any impact on the playoffs?
No. While there was some debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff spot as a reward for winning the tournament, ultimately that idea, or any other to further incentivize teams, was not enacted. The only impact in the playoffs will come from the accumulated wins and losses throughout the tournament.
Why is it called the NBA Cup?
Because it is quite easy to change. In the short term, the NBA has said it went with the more basic titles for both the tournament and its trophy, the ‘in-season tournament’ and the ‘NBA Cup’, as a way of introducing the concept to fans. However, using such bland and nondescript names has another distinct advantage: When the league looks to sell the naming rights to both, it will be easier to go from a nondescript name to one related to a specific person (such as the late David Stern, a possibility that had been raised before the tournament was officially revealed).
Tournament schedule in the season
DATE | GAME | GROUP | TIME | NATIONAL TV
*Eastern Times
Friday, Nov. 3
Nov. 3 | New York vs. Milwaukee | Este B | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 3 | Dallas vs. Denver | Oeste B | 10 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 3 | Cleveland vs. Indiana | Este A | 7 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Washington vs. Miami | Este B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Brooklyn vs. Chicago | Este C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Golden State vs. Oklahoma City | Oeste C | 8 p.m.
Nov. 3 | Memphis vs. Portland | Oeste A | 10 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 10
Nov. 10 | Brooklyn vs. Boston | Este C | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 10 | L.A. Lakers vs. Phoenix | Oeste A 10 p.m. | ESPN
New Moon. 10 | Philadelphia vs. Detroit | Este A | 7 p.m
Nov. 10 | Charlotte vs. Washington | Este B | 7 p.m.
Nov. 10 | New Orleans vs. Houston | Oeste B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 10 | Utah vs. Memphis | Oeste A | 8 p.m.
New Moon. 10 | Minnesota vs. San Antonio | Oeste C | 8 p.m
Nov. 10 | LA Clippers vs. Dallas | Oeste B | 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 10 | Oklahoma City vs. Sacramento | Oeste C | 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 14
Nov. 14 | San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City | Oeste C | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 14 | LA Clippers vs. Denver | Oeste B | 10 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 14 | Miami vs. Charlotte | Este B | 7 p.m.
New Moon. 14 | Atlanta vs. Detroit | Este A | 7 p.m
New Moon. 14 | Indiana vs. Philadelphia | Este A | 7 p.m
Nov. 14 | Orlando vs. Brooklyn | Este C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Dallas vs. New Orleans | Oeste B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 14 | Portland vs. Utah | Oeste A | 9 p.m.
New Moon. 14 | Minnesota vs. Golden State | Oeste C | 10 p.m
Nov. 14 | Memphis vs. L.A. Lakers | Oeste B | 10:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov 17
New Moon. 17 | Philadelphia vs. Atlanta | Este A | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 19, 17 | Sacramento vs. Sacramento San Antonio | West C 7:30 pm | ESPN
Nov. 17 | Phoenix vs. Utah | Oeste A | 10 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 17 | Milwaukee vs. Charlotte | Este B | 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 | New York vs. Washington | Este B | 7 p.m.
New Moon. 17 | Detroit vs. Cleveland | Este A | 7:30 p.m
New Moon. 17 | Boston vs. Toronto | Este C | 7:30 p.m
New Moon. 17 | Orlando vs. Chicago | Este C | 8 p.m
Nov. 17 | Denver vs. New Orleans | Oeste B | 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 | L.A. Lakers vs. Portland | Oeste A | 10 p.m.
Nov. 17 | Houston vs. LA Clippers | Oeste A | 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 21
Nov. 21 | Cleveland vs. Philadelphia | Este A | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 21 | Utah vs. L.A. Lakers | Oeste B | 10 p.m. | TNT
New Moon. 21 | Toronto vs. Orlando | Este C | 7 p.m
New Moon. 21 | Indiana vs. Atlanta | Este A | 7:30 p.m
New Moon. 21 | Portland vs. Phoenix | Oeste A | 9 p.m
Friday, Nov. 24
Nov. 19, 24 | Boston vs. Boston Orlando | This C | 2:30 pm | NBA TV
Nov. 24 | Phoenix vs. Memphis | Oeste A | 5 p.m. | NBA TV
Nov. 24 | Miami vs. New York | Este B | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Nov. 24 | San Antonio vs. Golden State | Oeste C | 10 p.m. | ESPN
New Moon. 24 | Chicago vs. Toronto | Este C | 7:30 p.m
New Moon. 24 | Detroit vs. Indiana | Este A | 8 p.m
Nov. 24 | Denver vs. Houston | Oeste B | 8 p.m.
Nov. 24 | Washington vs. Milwaukee | Este B | 8 p.m.
New Moon. 24 | Sacramento vs. Minnesota | Oeste C | 8 p.m
Nov. 24 | New Orleans vs. LA Clippers | Oeste A | 10:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 28
Nov. 28 | Milwaukee vs. Miami | Este B | 7:30 p.m. | TNT
Nov. 28 | Golden State vs. Sacramento | Oeste C | 10 p.m. | TNT
New Moon. 28 | Chicago vs. Boston | Este C | 7:30 p.m
Nov. 28 | Toronto vs. Brooklyn | Este C | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Atlanta vs. Cleveland | Este A | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 28 | Charlotte vs. New York | Este B | 7:30 p.m.
New Moon. 28 | Oklahoma City vs. Minnesota | Oeste C | 7 p.m
Nov. 28 | Houston vs. Dallas | Oeste B | 8:30 p.m.
2023-08-15 14:32:00
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