While some still debate the ultimate purpose of the NBA Cup, the in-season tournament might mean a little more to certain teams.
The Cup is up for grabs but neither Lord Stanley nor any form of puck is anywhere to be found.
In-season glory is once again there for the taking for the NBA’s 30 teams, as the NBA Cup will create a treat on Halloween in the form of group play’s tip-off. The Milwaukee Bucks are the competition’s defending champion after the Los Angeles Lakers prevailed in the debut edition. Group play will run through Black Friday on Nov. 28 and the knockout stage will open December action on the Association docket.
While some may question the Cup’s ultimate purposes, a deep look into the competitors hints that the competition may have a little more meaning in certain surroundings. BIL has a nominee from each of the six groups assembled for pool play below …
East, Group A: Cleveland
It’s hard to assess the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell era at this point: year one saw them place fourth in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket but they fell to Mitchell’s previous suitors, the New York Knicks in six games. Injuries have eaten away at the potential success of the last two seasons, including last year’s historic 64-win campaign.
Further ailments this time around, headlined by the continued absence of Darius Garland, have hampered the Cavs’ early development. They recovered from an opening loss to the Knicks with wins over Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Detroit but it feels like they should be beyond a 20-point loss to the equally, if not more severely, depleted Boston Celtics, a happening they endured in their last pre-Cup tune-up on Wednesday.
Simply put, the Cavaliers need to learn how to win at this point, as it feels somewhat surprising that they haven’t even managed to fall rear-backward into a conference finals with Mitchell in tow. Even with their injuries, they could use any form of championship feeling to push the Mitchell era forward.
East Group B: Orlando
Group B in the East is packed to the brim with relative desperation: this might be the last time the Brooklyn Nets are in the spotlight until the draft lottery, the Detroit Pistons are eager to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke, and the Philadelphia 76ers are seeking to capitalize on a scorching start.
But no one might be more desperate than the Magic, who have struggled to live up to expectations that Central Florida isn’t used to: pegged by some as an Eastern darkhorse with contending mainstays like Boston and Indiana ailing, the Magic has already endured a four-game losing streak on this young season, all but one of the losses coming by double figures. Orlando is struggling to get shots off (ranking 26th in shot attempts and 28th in 3-point tries entering pool play) and is having issues to move the ball again, as 28th in assists in an improvement from dead last the year before.
The Magic has made some sizable commitments going into this season: Paolo Banchero inked a nine-figure extension and the team shipped off most of its future to Memphis for Desmond Bane. Putting up a good showing in Cup play could prove especially vital for head coach Jamahl Mosley, who holds the most, let’s just say, adjustable spot on the Magic ledgers. The former Colorado star has accomplished a good bit in four-plus seasons, but he probably needs some sort of named currency on his Orlando resume beyond 2024’s fifth-place finish to ensure that he gets to stick around for the potential Banchero-led good times ahead.
East Group C: New York
Group C features the Knicks and the defending NBA Cup champion Milwaukee Bucks, the only two teams that have appeared on each of the first two in-season knockout brackets. Unless the Chicago Bulls keep their perfect start rolling, both sides should be well on-pace to push that streak to three.
The Bucks could perhaps benefit from a repeat to assure Giannis Antetokounmpo that things are trending in the right direction, but the Knicks need it just a little more. A lot has been accomplished in the Jalen Brunson era and expectations have hit a full-on fever pitch in Manhattan with pretty much every major contributor—beyond, of course, ousted head coach Tom Thibodeau—from last year’s Eastern Conference Finals trip back for another go.
But the Knicks don’t have any named hardware to show for their success in the Brunson era, not even an Atlantic Division title (as meaningless as such a title is in the modern NBA). Making progress on the Cup leaderboard, which has seen them fall out in the quarterfinal round in each of the first two tries, would assure observers that new boss Mike Brown has a plan to make things right, as well as vindicate some other expensive decisions, such as the lofty trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
West Group A: Utah
The favorites in a group that features the defending Western finalists Oklahoma City and Minnesota should be obvious. If the NBA Cup does have a lasting purpose beyond just adding a little flair to early fall basketball, it’s perhaps to showcase the “not ready for primetime players” on the Association circuit: perhaps the world could’ve seen the Indiana Pacers’ rise to power, for example, after their unexpected run to the inaugural Cup final in 2023.
That’s where the Jazz come in: everyone even remotely involved with Utah basketball was prepared to tighten their belt once the Jazz traded Mitchell but now it’s time to start seeing results. It appears that they may have a bona fide superstar in Lauri Markkanen (averaging 34 points through the first four games) but it’s time for something more palatable on the standings and the leaderboard.
Even with the emergences of Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Walker Kessler, it’s perhaps unfortunate that the Jazz got situated in this group. A wild card berth might prove to be more attainable, but it might require an early upset or two.
West Group B: Dallas
Even with ping pong ball-bestowed luck at the draft lottery, it didn’t take long for Mavericks fans to draw their verbal swords.
Less than a week into the season, supporters still irked about the Luka Doncic trade are once again channeling their inner Donald Trump and calling for general manager Nico Harrison‘s ousting. It’s hard enough to lose Doncic in a crowd, but with offensive cohesion is at an all-time low (Dallas is likewise struggling to get shots off, ranking at or near the bottom of such categories), his absence as a point guard is particularly glaring. Even group play won’t be a reprieve, as the Mavericks are due to face Doncic (currently working off finger and lower body injuries) and the Los Angeles Lakers in SoCal during the final hours on Nov. 28.
Barring an unexpected championship run, the best thing that the Mavericks can do right now is buy time for management and get the fanbase excited for the Cooper Flagg era. Harrison and Co. will need to a lot more than a mere in-season tournament victory to fully take viewers’ minds off Doncic (not to mention yet another Anthony Davis injury) but it’s safe to say they have the most to net gain in their group.
West Group C: Houston
There’s a lot to get excited about in the final group of the West, as it has the dueling star power of Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, and Victor Wembanyama, which could be enough to bury the off-court issues the Portland Trail Blazers are working through. No one on this docket, however, has more to gain—or lose—than the Houston Rockets, who are seeking some early season traction.
The Rockets, seeded second on last year’s Western playoff bracket went swinging for the fences with the trade for Kevin Durant, but the early returns are resembling the disappointing outputs the Phoenix Suns endured when they paired him with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. The lengthy departure of Fred VanFleet likely isn’t helping matters, but the Rockets have already missed a couple of opportunities to make a statement, such as the season-opening double-overtime defeat to Oklahoma City that re-opened the “NBA on NBC” era.
With Oklahoma City and San Antonio already leaping out to perfect starts, the Rockets could be grounded in the middle stages of the Western leaderboard fairly quickly. Like Michael Jordan before them, there’s a chance for the Rockets to take things personally, as they’ll get a chance at revenge against Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags26th
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