Compared to the regularity of the league, the cup is the tournament of surprises. The premise is also fulfilled in the first stages of the NBA Cup, the new tournament that the most important basketball championship in the world has invented to add some spice to the start of the season. The path to winning the NBA Cup begins with a league phase and there are already two qualifiers: the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers. None of them were seeded in their respective group.
The Lakers have had a perfect tournament so far, with four wins in four games. They beat the Phoenix Suns at home in the most complicated game and then they proved intractable against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers and this Friday, against the Utah Jazz. The Lakers dominated the game from start to finish. In the first quarter, the team of LeBron James and Anthony Davis was already ahead 32-17 and at halftime the score was 64-39. The second half was a breeze in which they didn’t have to work hard to manage their lead. In the end, the Lakers won clearly (131-99) and are first in group A of the Western Conference.
In Group A of the East, Indiana Pacers gave a blow of authority against the Atlanta Hawks this Tuesday, despite being in tow for most of the game. Led by Tyrese Haliburton, who had 37 points, 16 assists and 5 rebounds, the Pacers won 152-157 and have three wins in three games in Group A of the Eastern Conference. They still have to play against the Detroit Pistons, the weakest rivals in the group, but even if they lose they would retain first position. The Cleveland Cavaliers can only add three wins, whom the Indiana team has already defeated and, therefore, beat them in the event of a tie.
Those who can no longer even hope to qualify as second in the group are the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost yesterday to Cleveland 119-122 in a vibrant game that was resolved in overtime. Darius Garland, with 32 points and 8 assists, led his team to victory against Joel Embiid’s team, who also scored 32 points, but failed in the decisive moments. The Philadelphia team has only lost 4 of the 14 games it has played in the regular season, but two of them have been precisely those that qualify for the group stage of the cup tournament, so they are already out.
The favorites
The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks remain the favorites in the other two groups in the Eastern Conference. Both have won their first two games, but the path seems clearer for Boston, who have two theoretically comfortable matchups left (Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls) to certify their classification as first in group C.
The Bucks, however, will play for the pass as first in the last game, on Tuesday the 28th, against the Miami Heat, who was their executioner in the playoffs from last season. A chance to take revenge for Antetokounmpo’s team, who even if they lost would have a good chance of finishing as the best second of the three groups in the East. They accumulate a difference in their favor of 36 points in two games that they can still increase this Friday against the weak Washington Wizards, already eliminated. But in that group the possibility of a three-way tie is also open if the New York Knicks beat Miami on Friday and then Miami beats Milwaukee.
It’s not easy to make predictions in the Western Conference either. In group B, the New Orleans Pelicans caused a surprise by beating Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets, last season’s NBA champions. Now, Denver isn’t depending on itself to finish first. Even if they beat the Houston Rockets, the pelicans they would be ahead Yeah They beat the Clippers, last in the group so far. The Clippers themselves and the Dallas Mavericks are not mathematically eliminated, but almost.
In group C there is a lot to decide, but one thing is already clear. Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs have lost all three group stage games they have played and are eliminated. They are also the team with the worst points difference in the entire tournament. Wemby He is averaging 18.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, impressive figures for a rookie, but they do not make him the decisive player who wins games for now. He is not very well accompanied for it either.
At the top of that group C are the Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have two wins in two games, but the Golden State Warriors, with a win and a loss, still have a chance to overcome.
In both the east and the west, the first in each of the three groups are classified and the best second. In the quarterfinals, on December 4 and 5, the best first team in each conference faces the best second place team in a single match at home. The other two group winners face each other at the home of the one who has had the best results in their group (if they have won the same games, the point difference and the highest score are the tiebreakers). The NBA Cup semifinals, one for each conference, are played on December 7 in Las Vegas, as is the final, two days later.
regular season
The NBA has made arrangements so that the league matches of the cup tournament at the beginning of the season also count towards the regular phase of the championship. In it, the Celtics have the best balance for now, with 11 wins and 3 losses, fulfilling their role as favorites. They are accompanied in the top positions in the east by the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sixers (both with 10 wins and 4 losses), also meeting expectations. The Detroit Pistons (2 wins and 13 losses) and the Washington Wizards are at the bottom, which is also no surprise.
In the Western Conference things are more mixed. The unexpected leaders for now are the Minnesota Timberwolves (10 wins and 3 losses), followed by the champions Denver Nuggets and the surprising Oklahoma City Thunder (both with a record of 10-4). At the tail end, the San Antonio Spurs. Wembanyama has only been able to celebrate victory in 3 of his team’s 14 games.
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