One of the coaches present at the Final Four of the Emirates NBA Cup that tonight begins in vegas he blurted out as soon as he won his quarter-final match. “We want to win this thing”. The author of the statement is Doc Rivershe Hawks coach. And “this thing” perfectly reflects what the NBA Cup that was invented last year in the offices of the American League means to the majority of coaches, players and the public. The “thing” differs radically from the “playoff” culture installed in the NBA since time immemorial. The “thing” is about direct eliminators and the “thing” at the moment works for two fundamental reasons. The matches, both in the group stage and in the quarterfinals, have had an unmistakable “playoff” aroma. And the equality/new thing is that only one of the four semi-finalists, the Bucks de Antetokounmporepeats from last season. The Cup coincides with the usual season where the champion has not been repeated since 2019.
And the favorite in the imposing T-Mobile of Las Vegas, which almost looks like just another casino, are the Oklahoma City Thunder. They ended up in the quarterfinals with the Mavericks de Luka Doncic and it doesn’t matter that they arrive without their particular unicorn, Chet Holmgren. They have a star in the League, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, second in the MVP voting last year, and is surrounded by an endless squad. There are eight players who score seven or more points with Shai’s 30.2 as a reference. But the best is not that. Nobody defends like them and the proof is that in the quarterfinals they became the second team of the season capable of leaving Luka Doncic at less than 20 points. It is the only team that is in the “top 5” of defensive and offensive efficiency, it is the only team that steals more balls than it loses and it is the third most efficient in NBA history. This statistic reflects the difference in their defense and that of the rest of the teams and is +8.6. Only the Celtics of the 1963-64 and 1964-65 seasons were more efficient.
As if that were not enough, the arsenal of the best team in the West has added a 2.13 white center this season, Isaiah Hartensteinwhich has given them an inner strength that they lacked. He is justifying his 30 million salary by contributing more than ten points and ten rebounds per game. He is also the fifth best passing center in the NBA (4.5 per game) and the team’s balance with him is 7/1. The Rocketsthe revelation of the season (8/17), arrive as victims after having eliminated Stephen Curry’s Warriors.
And in the East semifinal the Milwaukee Bucks appear, the only team of the four that is in the “top 10” in salary spending, and the Atlanta Hawks. No one was counting on the team from the capital of the state of Georgia after having chosen the number one in the draft – the Frenchman Zaccarie Risacher – but they were able to beat the Knicks in Madison. The Bucks started the season in a disastrous way, but they have righted the course (13/11) with a superb Antetokounmpo. He has gone 20 games in a row without dropping below 20 points and exceeding 50 percent shooting accuracy. His Bucks are favorites in the first semifinal.
And in addition to the title, the champion of the “thing” has a financial reward. Each member of the winning team takes half a million dollars. The amount for guys like Antetokounmpo, which is close to 50 “kilos” per course, is a tip, but… for three or four members of each squad it can be a quarter of their annual salary. And all in Las Vegas.
