Tag: in-season tournament

NBA Cup: A proposal for a better tournament

HoopsHype breaks down how the NBA can make the NBA Cup a better tournament with multiple exciting and intriguing proposals.

Early returns on the NBA Cup, originally known as the In-Season Tournament, have been mixed. Some fans have seen it as a breath of fresh air while others see it as superfluous at best, and tedious at worst. The crazy court designs for NBA Cup games have likewise been divisive.

On our end, we commend the NBA for pushing the envelope and trying something new when they had no reason to do so besides to try and find another way to entertain basketball fans.

However…

We think there are things they could do differently to make the NBA Cup more interesting.

Below, we break down our proposal to make the NBA Cup a better, more exciting event.

San Antonio Spurs group, dates for NBA Cup (formerly in-season tournament) revealed

The second-annual NBA Cup will look to build on the history set by the eventual winners, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Fans of the San Antonio Spurs got some news about when the new event that was known as the in-season tournament (and now as the NBA Cup) that will clarify when the Spurs will be playing in it, and more importantly, which ball clubs they would be doing so against once the event rolls around in the middle of the NBA’s 2024-25 season.

The second-annual NBA Cup will look to build on the history set by the eventual winners, the Los Angeles Lakers, with the Spurs being the sort of team well-positioned to win such an award with some luck.

The group play segment of the NBA Cup will begin on Nov. 12, and the semifinals stage on Dec. 14. The finals will be on Dec. 17.

The teams that the Spurs will play are in the Western Conference Group B, along with the Lakers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Rockets learn five-team group for 2024-25 NBA in-season tournament

The Rockets will compete with the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Kings, and Clippers in the NBA’s second in-season tournament this fall.

This fall, the NBA will play the second annual edition of the in-season tournament that it introduced a year ago. Each season, six five-team groups — three groups per conference — play a round-robin format. The winners of each group, along with one wild-card from each conference, advance to the eight-team knockout round.

Now known as the Emirates NBA Cup 2024, this season’s event tips off on Nov. 12 in team markets and culminate with the semifinals (Dec. 14) and championship (Dec. 17) taking place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.  The full schedule will be released in August.

On Friday, the Houston Rockets learned that they will be grouped with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Portland Trail Blazers as part of Group A in the Western Conference. Each group has teams from the top, middle, and bottom of that conference, based on the 2023-24 standings.

In the recently completed 2023-24 regular season, the Timberwolves were 56-26, while Portland was 21-61. The Rockets (41-41), Kings (46-36), and Clippers (51-31) were in the middle.

Groups for all NBA teams can be viewed below.

[lawrence-related id=124774,124605]

Explaining how the 2024-25 NBA Cup tournament works

Explaining how the 2024-25 NBA Cup tournament works.

The 2024-25 season will feature the NBA Cup for the second straight campaign. The tournament — called the in-season tournament last year — will feature all 30 teams.

Here’s a quick reminder of how the NBA Cup works as the league will announce the six groups of five:

The league will have six groups of five NBA squads divided among the Western and Eastern conferences. It will be a Round-robin style of group play where each team will play four games against the rest of their group.

Since it’s only a four-game sample size in group play, tied records are bound to happen. The tiebreaker for the group standings is point differential.

These games will occur on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the November-December portion of the 2024-25 season.

Whoever has the best record among the six groups advances to an eight-team knockout tournament with two at-large bids. The at-large bids will be one from the West and one from the East.

The quarterfinals will be played from Dec. 10-11. The remainder of the tournament will be held in Las Vegas from Dec. 14-17. The NBA Cup championship will take place on Dec. 17.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural in-season tournament last year against the Indiana Pacers. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished fourth place in West’s Group C with a 1-3 record.

The NBA Cup winner’s roster will receive $500,000 each. The runner-ups are rewarded with $200,000 per player. The semifinal losers receive $100,000 apiece and the quarterfinal losers receive $50,000 apiece,

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

You can never take the In-Season Tournament title from these Lakers

Never forget the historic accomplishment of the 2023-24 Lakers

It’s not all doom and gloom in Lakers Land, folks.

Sure, Los Angeles just got handled a gentleman’s sweep by the Denver Nuggets thanks to two extremely unfriendly buckets from Jamal Murray. Sure, the LeBron James-Anthony Davis era is barreling towards uncertainty. Sure, there’s been more talk about adding Bronny James this offseason than plans to add proven difference-makers to the roster.

But lest you forget, this is still the only team in the NBA to win a title this season.

Oh what, you thought everyone forgot about this team’s historic accomplishments? You think that just because L.A. went 47-35 and had to fight its way into the postseason through the Play-In games that this season is a failure?

Not in Adam Silver’s NBA it’s not. No sir. Banners will be hung from the rafters at Staples Center Crypto.com Arena after the 2023-24 season and true Lakers fans won’t forget why.

Yeah, that’s right. There’s only ONE team in NBA history that gets to claim the inaugural then-yet-to-be-sold-to-a-sponsor in-season tournament that casual fans didn’t really understand. You thought that gimmick was just about selling jerseys no one liked and displaying weird courts? You clearly don’t know ball.

These 2023-24 Lakers will go down as champions. How dare anyone suggest otherwise.

Joe Mazzulla on what he takes from the in-season tournament for the rest of the season

Speaking at the first Celtics practice since the team was eliminated by the Indiana Pacers, Mazzulla admitted he did not watch the IST once Boston was eliminated.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla knows his players wanted to win the NBA’s new in-season tournament (IST), but for the Celtics coach, the main takeaway for the IST from a Celtics point of view, the elevated levels of effort and focus throughout the IST games are simply something Mazzulla wants to cultivate in every tilt Boston plays.

Speaking at the first Celtics practice since the team was eliminated by the Indiana Pacers, Mazzulla admitted he did not watch the IST once Boston was eliminated. For him, the focus is now on maintaining a winning mindset throughout the remaining games of the 2023-24 campaign, stressing the importance of maintaining the right mindset for the entire season.

CLNS Media reporter Bobby Manning provided a report from the Auerbach Center following practice Monday.

Check it out in the clip embedded above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

Former Celtic Jeff Teague says he warned Jayson Tatum about Tyrese Halliburton

Teague also shared how he was impressed by the quality of basketball in the in-season tournament.

The NBA’s new in-season tournament (IST) exceeded expectations among fans and analysts of the game, providing entertaining basketball to fans of the Boston Celtics and the rest of the league in November and December, even if it ended poorly for fans of the Celtics at the hands of Indiana Pacers star point guard Tyrese Halliburton and Co. in Monday’s IST quarterfinals road loss to the Pacers.

Speaking on a recent episode of his “Club 520” podcast, former Celtics floor general Jeff Teague revealed he had tried to tell star Boston forward Jayson Tatum abut how deadly Hali can be with his Pacers. Teague also shared how he was impressed by the quality of basketball in the IST, saying it felt like the playoffs — quite an achievement so early in the season.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what Teague had to say about the Celtics-Pacers tilt, the IST, and more.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks: How to watch, broadcast, lineups

After losing their respective quarterfinals tilts in the NBA’s new in-season tournament (IST), the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks face each other on the Celtics’ home court.

After losing their respective quarterfinals tilts in the NBA’s new in-season tournament (IST), the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks face each other on the Celtics’ home court of TD Garden this Friday night.

If you happen to be looking for a way to watch the on-court action live on cable television or a local or national online streaming service that carries the game, keep reading while we get you up to speed on everything else you need to know about the game. Along with player injuries and likely starters for both teams, we of course will have how to watch it listed below.

Let’s begin with the players available to play.

Boston Celtics fans didn’t really care about the in-season tournament — right?

How do we feel about the in-season tournament on the outside looking in?

NBC Sports Boston broadcaster Drew Carter and the NBA’s new in-season tournament (IST) are both new things to the fans of the Boston Celtics. For Carter’s sake, hopefully his tenure covering the Celtics goes better than Boston’s first run at winning the tourney did — a good start marred by a late fumble — but the NBC Sports color man took some time to talk about Boston’s play in the IST and more on a recent episode of the “First to the Floor” podcast after his own string start in his new gig has won over fans.

They also get into how the job has been for him so far and what it entails behind the scenes, what it’s like to walk in such big footsteps, and what he thinks of Boston’s season so far.

Check out the clip embedded below to hear their conversation in full.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

NBA Twitter reacts to Pacers beating Bucks in IST semifinal: ‘Tyrese HaliburtHIM’

The Indiana Pacers advanced to the In-Season Tournament’s Final after a 128-119 win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Tyrese Haliburton was the best Pacer again with another monster performance: 27 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers. Giannis …

The Indiana Pacers advanced to the In-Season Tournament’s Final after a 128-119 win against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Tyrese Haliburton was the best Pacer again with another monster performance: 27 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 37 points and 10 rebounds while Damian Lillard scored 16 of his 24 points in the third quarter.

Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Pacers upsetting the Bucks.