🏀 The NBA Cup Preview

It is what it is, whether you’re a fan of the NBA Cup or not, at least the NBA is trying to make the regular season a little more interesting. Taking a page out of international soccer, the NBA Cup sponsored by Emirates, gets going today! Let’s dive into it!

For years, the NBA faced criticism for having a boring regular season. The NBA’s response? The in-season tournament. This will be the second annual in-season competition and will take place throughout November and into mid-December, with the championship taking place in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Dec. 17th.

The Emirates NBA Cup consists of two stages: Group play and knockout rounds. The first, group play. Here’s how the groups shook out:

• West A: T’Wolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, Blazers

• West B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs

• West C: Nuggets, Mavs, Pelicans, Warriors, Grizzlies

• East A: Knicks, Magic, 76ers, Nets, Hornets

• East B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, Pistons

• East C: Celtics, Cavs, Bulls, Hawks, Wizards

One team from each group will advance, as well as two wild card teams. The wild card teams are selected as the team from each conference that had the best record in group play and finished second in its group. The knockout round is a single-elimination tournament and the teams will play for a prize pool and the NBA Cup championship trophy.

The Lakers won the inaugural trophy and even raised a banner into the rafters to celebrate the victory. Who will win this year? Only one way to find out. Tune into the Emirates NBA Cup tonight on TNT and through the next 5 weeks.

Stump Prediction: The Mavs get RED HOT and win themselves an NBA Cup.

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