The first NBA in-season tournament tips off Nov. 3 with group play and concludes Dec. 9 with the championship game, the league announced Saturday. All 30 teams will participate in the group stage in three groups of five teams within each conference.
The groups were decided by a random draw during “NBA Today” on Saturday. Here are the groups:
Eastern Conference
Group A: Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons
Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets
Group C: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic
Western Conference
Group A: Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers
Group B: Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets
Group C: Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs
Group play will begin Nov. 3 and all games will count toward regular season records and statistics. Each team will play four group games, two home games and two road games. Group play games will be held only on Tuesdays and Fridays in November, except for Nov. 7, which is Election Day and no games will be held. The group play schedule, along with national TV broadcasts, will be released next month.
The team with the best record in each group and two wild-card teams will advance to the knockout stage. The wild cards will be the team in each conference that finished with the best record in group play but was second in its group.
The knockout round consists of single-elimination quarterfinals on Dec. 4-5 hosted by teams with the best group-play record. The semifinals and championship will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and 9. The championship game is the only game that will not count toward the regular season record and statistics. For the two teams, it will count as Game 83, one more than every other teams’ 82-game slate.
The teams that do not advance to the knockout round will play two additional games on Dec. 6 and 8 to fill out their 82-game schedule. The teams that lose in the quarterfinals of the knockout round will play one additional regular season game on Dec. 8.
A prize pool will be allocated to teams advancing to the knockout round, and the champion earns the NBA Cup trophy. An MVP of the in-season tournament will be named along with an All-Tournament Team based on performance throughout the group and knockout rounds.
SOURCE: Yahoo Sports
