The second edition of the NBA Cup is in full swing. After the NBA regular season matches played on Tuesday, the eight teams qualified for the play-offs of this tournament included in the championship are now known. This competition was created last year with the aim of giving visibility to the NBA in November and December, at the same time as the NFL season (the baseball season is over while the media coverage of ice hockey is less) .
Orlando gets the wild card
The 30 NBA franchises were divided into six groups of five teams. Each had four matches to play, which were part of the regular season. This will also be the case for the quarter-finals and semi-finals but not the title match.
In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks finished at the top of their group, while the Orlando Magic qualified thanks to a wild card. Boston, reigning NBA champion, Cleveland, current number 1 in the regular season, and Indiana, finalist in the NBA Cup last year, have however fallen by the wayside.
In the West, the Houston Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors won their group and the Dallas Mavericks won the wild card. The Los Angeles Lakers, winners of the first edition of the NBA Cup, were eliminated, as were Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets.
The quarter-finals will take place next Monday and Tuesday (see the program below). The rest of the tournament will take place in the form of a Final Four, in Las Vegas, with semi-finals on December 14 and final on the 17th.
