After taking Thanksgiving off, the NBA returns with a full-day Black Friday feast. Two-thirds of the league will be in action as the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup resumes with 10 games, beginning with Knicks-Hornets at 12 p.m. ET and stretching all the way through a tasty Thunder-Lakers matchup in the 10 p.m. ET nightcap.
Here’s a look at what’s at stake in Friday’s 10-game NBA Cup slate, as well as the lay of the land in each of the six groups as the tourney presses on:
How it works: Group winners and wild cards
There are two more nights of Group Play, which concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with the top eight teams in the East and West — the winners of Groups A, B and C, plus two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in group-play games that finished second in its group) — advancing to the single-elimination knockout rounds.
Because of the small number of games, tiebreakers will likely come into play (even for the wild card), with the advancing team being decided by:
(1) head-to-head record in group play;
(2) non-overtime point differential in group play;
(3) total non-overtime points in group play;
(4) 2023-24 regular-season record;
… and, finally, if all of that fails to break the tie:
(5) a random drawing.
The four quarterfinal games will be played Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Wednesday, Dec. 11.
The four winners will advance to Las Vegas, where the semifinals will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14. The championship game for the NBA Cup will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It will be the only game in the entire tournament that won’t also count toward the participating teams’ regular-season records or their players’ statistics.
The teams that don’t make it to Las Vegas won’t just be chilling at home, though. During the knockout rounds, on the days where no NBA Cup games are scheduled — Dec. 12, 13, 15 and 16 — the 22 teams who didn’t qualify for the knockouts will each play two regular-season games. The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals will each play one regular-season game against one another, too.
Here’s where things stand in group play:
Gone ’til (next) November
We’re now up to four teams eliminated.
The Pelicans were first out, after losing to the two teams they trail in West Group C by a margin that gives them the West’s worst point differential. The Wizards’ Tuesday loss to the Bulls dropped them to 0-3, and thus out of contention, in East Group C. Ditto for the Jazz, whose Tuesday loss to Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs ousted them from West Group B.
And despite not even playing on Tuesday, the Raptors found themselves out of the competition by virtue of the Bucks’ win over the Heat, which ensured that Toronto couldn’t finish higher than third place in East Group B. Knocked out on a night off. Tough break, Raps.
Who’s sitting pretty
The Warriors were the first team to punch their ticket to the knockout round, winning West Group C.
The Rockets joined them on Tuesday, knocking off the Timberwolves in overtime behind huge games from Alperen Şengün and Fred VanVleet to improve to 3-0 with a West-leading +49 point differential, and win West Group A.
The Bucks improved to 3-0 by outlasting the Heat in Miami, without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. They haven’t clinched East Group B; the Pistons are 2-0, meaning the winner of the head-to-head meeting between Milwaukee and Detroit on Dec. 3 will wind up atop the group. Even if Cade Cunningham and Co. win out, though, the Bucks — currently with a +29 point differential, second-best in the East behind the Group A-leading Magic — look to be in strong position for a wild-card berth.
Also undefeated thus far: The Knicks, at 2-0 in East Group A, with a head-to-head game against the Magic on tap at Madison Square Garden to wrap up group play on Dec. 3.
Who’s still in the hunt
With just four teams eliminated and two teams advanced, that means there are 24 teams still technically alive for a knockout-round spot.
The four aforementioned undefeateds — Magic, Knicks, Bucks, Pistons — are in the best shape. The Mavericks didn’t win West Group C, but at 2-1 with a +41 point differential, they’re still very much alive for the wild card.
Each conference’s Group B features three 2-1 teams — the Bulls, Hawks and Celtics in the East; the Suns, Lakers and Spurs in the West — plus one 1-1 team that ranks among the NBA’s best thus far this season (the Cavaliers and Thunder, respectively).
The Clippers and Trail Blazers both sit at 1-1, and are still theoretically alive for a wild-card spot. Both have negative point differentials, though, which gives them a very tough road amid so many other one-loss teams. For either to have any chance of joining Houston in coming out of West Group A, they’ll likely need to win their final two games, and do so by comfortable margins … which could make their head-to-head matchup on the final day of group play particularly spicy.
The teams currently at 1-2 or 0-2 — the 76ers, Nets, Hornets, Heat, Pacers, Timberwolves, Kings, Nuggets and Grizzlies? Well, they’re going to need a lot of help.
East Group A
1. Orlando Magic (2-0)
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Remaining schedule: at Nets, at Knicks
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Key tiebreaker: +37 point differential (23 points ahead of New York)
2. New York Knicks (2-0)
3. Philadelphia 76ers (1-2)
4. Brooklyn Nets (1-2)
5. Charlotte Hornets (0-2)
East Group B
1. Milwaukee Bucks (3-0)
2. Detroit Pistons (2-0)
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Remaining schedule: at Pacers, vs. Bucks
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Heat
3. Miami Heat (1-2)
4. Toronto Raptors (0-2)
5. Indiana Pacers (0-2)
East Group C
1. Chicago Bulls (2-1)
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Remaining schedule: vs. Celtics
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Hawks
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+15 point differential (one point ahead of Boston)
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Win Group C with win AND Cavaliers loss to Hawks
2. Atlanta Hawks (2-1)
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Remaining schedule: vs. Cavaliers
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-1 point differential, but hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Celtics
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Win Group C with win AND Bulls loss to Celtics
3. Boston Celtics (2-1)
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Remaining schedule: at Bulls
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Cavaliers
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Win Group C with win AND Hawks loss to Cavaliers
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1)
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Remaining schedule: at Hawks, vs. Wizards
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Bulls
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Win Group C with wins over Hawks and Wizards AND Celtics loss to Hawks
5. Washington Wizards (0-3)
West Group A
1. Houston Rockets (3-0)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (1-1)
3. LA Clippers (1-1)
4. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-2)
5. Sacramento Kings (0-2)
West Group B
1. Phoenix Suns (2-1)
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Remaining schedule: vs. Spurs
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Lakers
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+19 point differential
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Win Group B with win AND Thunder loss
2. Los Angeles Lakers (2-1)
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Remaining schedule: vs. Thunder
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-16 point differential, but hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Spurs
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Win Group B with win AND Suns loss
3. San Antonio Spurs (2-1)
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Remaining schedule: at Suns
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Thunder
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+14 point differential
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Win Group B with win AND Lakers loss
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1)
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Remaining schedule: at Lakers, vs. Jazz
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Hold head-to-head tiebreaker over Suns
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Win Group B with wins over Lakers and Jazz AND Spurs loss
5. Utah Jazz (0-3)
West Group C
1. Golden State Warriors (3-0)
2. Dallas Mavericks (2-1)
3. New Orleans Pelicans (1-2)
4. Denver Nuggets (1-2)
5. Memphis Grizzlies (0-2)
Friday’s schedule (all times Eastern)
Knicks at Hornets, noon (NBA TV)
Cavaliers at Hawks, 2:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Pelicans at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. (NBA TV)
Magic at Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Clippers at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Pistons at Pacers, 8 p.m.
Raptors at Heat, 8 p.m.
Celtics at Bulls, 8 p.m.
Thunder at Lakers, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Kings at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
