Here’s the answer: yes, the NBA Cup games do count for the regular season standings, with one exception! The championship game doesn’t count in terms of stats or a team’s record.
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The NBA Cup starts on Tuesday! Remember that? I know it’s been a while.
This is the NBA’s in-season tournament for those of you out of the loop. It didn’t have a name last season, but now it has an expensive new sponsor and an official title: The Emirates NBA Cup. Exciting stuff.
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How it works is simple. Every team in the NBA is siloed off into one of six groups organized by conference. This year’s groups are as follows:
Eastern Conference Groups
Group A: Knicks, Magic, Nets, Hornets, 76ers
Group B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, Pistons
Group C: Celtics, Wizards, Cavaliers, Hawks, Bulls
Western Conference Groups
Group A: Timberwolves, Rockets, Clippers, Trail Blazers, Kings
Group B: Thunder, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, Suns
Group C: Warriors, Mavericks, Pelicans, Nuggets, Grizzlies
The team with the best head-to-head record in group play wins the group. The winners of each group, along with two wild card teams, advance to play in the knockout rounds. From there, it’s like the playoffs in the middle of the regular season. The teams play until someone wins the championship.
It’s a simple yet fun process that brings a bit of spice to the NBA regular season — a product that critics of the league have argued has needed to be much spicier for years now.
The regular season matters in the sense that teams need to perform well in it to make the playoffs and win a championship. But it doesn’t feel like it matters. Teams rarely seem to be going full throttle on a night-to-night basis. There aren’t many rivalries that get people excited about certain regular-season matchups anymore. The 3-pointer takeover has created a bit of monotony to the game that makes the product less interesting for casual viewers.
Whether those criticisms of the league are entirely fair doesn’t matter. What does matter is that people are clearly tuning NBA basketball out. Ratings are dipping. Year over year, viewership has declined sharply since the start of the season. The league is currently competing against a lot, from the NFL to a monster of a World Series to a presidential election. Capturing attention during this time is tough.
That’s exactly why the NBA Cup has to work for the NBA.
It needs something to click. The league needs a spark. The tournament brings a bit of intrigue to the NBA regular season that wasn’t necessarily there before. The question is, will it work?
It can! Last year’s championship game did well. It was the most viewed non-Christmas NBA game since 2018. Part of that was likely the Lakers’ influence, certainly. But still. That’s a good sign for the league.
There seems to be something here. The NBA is doing its best to tap into it. We’ll have to see if it works long-term, but the league is smart to lean in as hard as possible on this.
Please be serious, Tua
Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
I’m not one of those folks who winces every time Tua Tagovailoa takes some contact on the football field.
This is football, after all. The dude is going to get hit. His history with concussions is scary, but he knows the risk and is willing to take it on. That’s his choice. We shouldn’t fret over it ourselves if he isn’t.
With that said, I couldn’t help but cringe on Monday night when he dove headfirst to make a tackle after throwing an interception. Then he had the nerve to joke about it, writes Charles Curtis:
On top of that, he was asked about lowering his head after the game and he actually joked about it: “That was pretty bad tackling form, though,” he said with a smile.
Thank goodness it wasn’t much worse.”
Tua, buddy. Please. We want better for you. It would help if you wanted better for yourself.
Shane Waldron is out
(Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Somebody had to take the fall for the Chicago Bears’ offensive struggles as of late. The team has only scored 27 points in its last three games. That’s unheard of.
Instead, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron takes the fall. Chicago reportedly let Waldron go on Tuesday morning. Eberflus released a statement on the decision:
“After evaluating our entire operation, I decided that it is in the best interest of our team to move in a different direction with the leadership of our offense. This decision was well-thought-out, one that was conducted deliberately and respectfully. I would like to thank Shane for his efforts and wish him the best moving forward.”
That’s a tough look for Waldron, but probably the right move. Benching Williams was a non-starter. He’s Chicago’s priority at this point. If it weren’t Waldron taking the fall here, it would’ve been Eberflus himself.
We’ll see how things go from here. But one thing is for sure: That hot seat is not cooling off just yet.
Quick hits: NFL Power Rankings … Nikola Jokic’s dominance … and more
— Here are Christian D’Andrea and Robert Zeglinski with their weekly NFL power rankings, including more on the Steelers surprising dominance so far this year.
The In-Season Tournament is back, now rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup, and with it a bunch of new court designs. You may like them or not, but you cannot say they are not bold. Below, you can see all the new courts from this year along with the …
The In-Season Tournament is back, now rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup, and with it a bunch of new court designs. You may like them or not, but you cannot say they are not bold.
Below, you can see all the new courts from this year along with the ones from the inagural In-Season Tournament.
The Boston Celtics will face the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards in the NBA Cup’s East Group C.
The Boston Celtics have been gifted an easy group in the NBA Cup. Joe Mazzulla’s team will face the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards in the first round of the tournament, with all the games taking place during the month of December. Given Boston’s talent level and how they dominated the regular season in their last campaign, they should be expected to breeze through their group.
“The Boston Celtics are a veteran team that just won the NBA title. Seeing them take it easy during the in-season tournament wouldn’t be all that surprising,” Bailey wrote. “But Boston is also a very real juggernaut with a three-point-heavy attack that can beat anyone, even if one or two Celtics are out. The “well-oiled machine” cliche doesn’t apply to any team quite like it does Boston right now.”
On paper, the Cavaliers will be the Celtics’ biggest test during the group stage.
New episode of the Celtics Lab Podcast on YouTube via @CelticsCLNS ☘️🧪📺
A way too early look at the 2028 Olympics and more with @Max_Lederman
Kenny Atkinson’s team faced Boston in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and may feel like they have something to prove when squaring off against the reigning NBA champions. The Bulls and Wizards are both rebuilding teams, but they shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Given Boston’s task of repeating their championship-winning success next season, it will be interesting to see how seriously they take the NBA cup and their participation in it. Nevertheless, if they do want to stake a claim for an in-season title, they’ve been gifted one of the best starts you could ask for.
Fans of the Spurs will be stoked to use it as a measuring stick for where this version of the team is in their rebuild.
The NBA’s in-season tournament has itself a new name for the 2024-25 season, rebranded as the NBA Cup. And there are already a host of intriguing games in place scheduled to be played in it come fall. From the Golden State Warriors vs. the Dallas Mavericks, to the Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics, there are several must-see tilts scheduled.
But our favorite of them is the San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers contest. Fans of the former team will be stoked to use as a measuring stick for where this version of the Spurs is in their rebuild.
To talk it all over, the hosts of the ESPN “NBA Today” sat down to talk over the Spurs in the NBA Cup and more.
Check it out for yourself in the clip embedded above to get up to speed on all things San Antonio and the NBA Cup.
Should the OKC Thunder chase after the 2024 NBA Cup?
To make the early portions of the regular season interesting, the league has added the NBA Cup. Last season saw the inaugural in-season tournament succeed with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers taking it seriously.
Many wondered how ambitious teams would be for the tournament. The winner received solely monetary gain before they returned to the rest of their regular season schedule.
For the league to see arguably the greatest player ever and their biggest franchise win it the first year must’ve provided a massive boost of confidence. Now it’s about building off that momentum.
This upcoming season hopes to see similar results as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver tries to weave the NBA Cup into the regular season tradition.
Fans have hesitated about the idea, mocking it as a meaningless trophy with no enjoyable rewards. However, as each season passes, the NBA Cup will become the norm for future generations.
To further legitimize the controversial NBA Cup, the Oklahoma City Thunder capturing the December crown can help.
The Thunder will be a title contender for the foreseeable future. The formation of their trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams is enough for several deep playoff runs barring health.
If the Thunder are next season’s NBA Cup winner, it could be a symbolic passing of the torch from James to Gilgeous-Alexander as one of the league’s faces.
The league should be excited about the possibility. OKC will be a fixture in the contender scene and pundits could point towards its win of the NBA Cup as a reason for its success later on down the road in the playoffs.
For the Thunder, an NBA Cup could help curry favor for future seasons. They were notably left off the slate for Opening Night and Christmas — the league’s two biggest regular-season days.
Boasting an NBA Cup championship should ensure that doesn’t happen again as long as the Thunder are in this title window. It’d be a beneficial success for both sides which goes beyond the extra cash all 18 Thunder players would receive in this scenario.
Now, with the motivation laid out, how realistic is it for the Thunder to win the 2024 NBA Cup?
They have one of the best odds to win it. That’s also considering the likelihood the Thunder treat the Group B games as the average regular season outing. Even if OKC doesn’t trim its rotation like a playoff contest, the roster is good enough to be a serious threat.
They are the first seed in the West’s Group B. Examing their competition of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz, OKC should be the favorite to capture first place in group play and advance to the eight-team knockout stage.
The Lakers have already won the tournament, which means a lack of motivation to repeat might exist. James and Anthony Davis will likely pace themselves during the regular season. They won’t go all out for a November or December contest.
The Suns are in a similar situation. Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal hope to cruise through the regular season to be as healthy as possible by the playoffs. They won’t go 100 miles an hour at the start of the season.
The Jazz are in a rebuild. They hope to lose as many games as possible. Expect Utah to be a favorite to land Cooper Flagg in the 2025 NBA draft. This should be an easy win for the Thunder and gives them a chance to boost their point differential.
That leaves the Spurs, who will arguably be the toughest squad to face in group play for the Thunder. Like OKC, San Antonio is young and hungry. Victor Wembanyama will chase after the NBA Cup as an early-career accolade.
A Wembanyama-Holmgren matchup by itself is juicy enough, add in the stakes of the NBA Cup and it should increase those sparks.
Even with that considered, the Thunder are simply better than the Spurs. The latter added some nice veteran pieces but is still far from challenging OKC at the top of the Western Conference.
If the Thunder advance past the group stage, they have as good odds as anybody else to capture the NBA Cup. The league should cross its fingers and hope OKC takes it seriously enough to win.
From Steve Kerr’s coaching to what we’re looking forward to in the 2024-25 regular season, we’ve got your Celtics offseason covered.
Team USA won gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but plenty of drama (especially that involving star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum) coupled with an improving field came a bit close for comfort. What will the US National Team need to do to stay on top in the 2028 Olympics — and which Celtics (if any) might be part of that push?
To take a closer look at the future of the Olympics through a Boston-tinted lens, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with NBC Sports Boston’s Max Lederman. We talk all things international basketball, Boston’s looming 2024-25 season, and more.
From Steve Kerr’s coaching to Team USA’s structure up to what we’re looking forward to in the 2024-25 regular season, we’ve got everything you need to stay on top of the Celtics, the offseason, and the Celtics in the offseason.
The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks and Gametime.
The Warriors will open the NBA’s season in-season tournament against Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks.
In the first edition of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament, the Golden State Warriors’ run was over before it started.
Following a loss to Malik Monk and the Sacramento Kings in a thriller in Sacramento at the buzzer, the Warriors were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers went on to win the first in-season tournament, now known as “The Emirates NBA Cup.”
On Tuesday, the NBA announced the schedule of the group stage for the 2024 in-season tournament. The Warriors group stage will begin with the return of Klay Thompson and the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks to the Bay Area. The Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets will round out the rest of Golden State’s group. Three teams in the group all made the playoffs last season.
The team with the best record from group play will advance to the knockout rounds that consists of 10 teams. The top team from each group will advance along with a wildcard team from each conference. The knockout rounds are single elimination with the semifinals and finals set in Las Vegas starting on Dec. 14.
The event formerly known as the in-season tournament for the coming 2024-25 NBA season is set.
The Boston Celtics now join the rest of the league in knowing the pertinent details of the event formerly known as the in-season tournament for the coming 2024-25 NBA season. The IST, as it was known for short, has a new name, the NBA Cup. It also has dates for next season, which kicks off with the group play section of the tourney on November 12.
The next phase, the semifinals, start on December 14, with the finals coming soon after on December 17. And of course we also now know the Celtics’ group for the group play segment of the tournament as well.
This season, the Celtics have been put in the Eastern Conference Group C.
New episode of the Celtics Lab Podcast on YouTube, via @CelticsCLNS ☘️🧪📺@Ky_Carlin stops by to look at how the Sixers will fare next season against the Celtics before breaking down the rest of the East
That group includes Boston, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Washington Wizards, an advantageous draw for the Celtics if ever there was one. (Yes, we do know there has only BEEN one so far. Sheesh.)
