The NBA has introduced the five-team groups that can used for the league’s first-ever in-season tournament, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The unveiling occurred Saturday throughout a particular episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today” held at “NBA Con” in Las Vegas.
The groups have been decided in a draw related to what’s utilized in soccer’s World Cup. There are six groups — three every from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference — and every convention was cut up into 5 pots primarily based on final season’s standings. One staff was randomly chosen from every of the pots to find out the opening-round matchups.
The outcomes are:
- Group 1: Sixers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers and Pistons.
- Group 2: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards and Hornets.
- Group 3: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls and Magic.
- Group 4: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Trail Blazers.
- Group 5: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks and Rockets.
- Group 6: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder and Spurs.
The tournament will begin with group play, which can match every staff with the opposite 4 in its grouping. Those video games will happen on Nov. 3, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24 and 28.
The winner of every group will advance to a knockout spherical, joined by the staff with the most effective report in every convention amongst those that didn’t win a gaggle.
Quarterfinal video games will likely be performed Dec. 4 and 5, hosted by the higher-seeded groups. The 4 winners in that spherical will transfer on to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Dec. 7 semifinals and the Dec. 9 championship sport.
Bontemps factors out that every one groups will play inside their convention till the final sport, which ensures an East vs. West matchup, similar to the NBA Finals.
“Everybody’s not going to buy in right away,” admitted Joe Dumars, the NBA’s govt vice chairman of basketball operations. “So that can’t be the goal that everybody’s going to buy in from day one. These things take time. And I think, as time goes on, I think you can build this up and people can really get into it.”
The championship trophy will likely be known as the NBA Cup, and gamers will obtain $500K every for profitable it. Other prize cash contains $200K for second place, $100K for dropping within the semifinals and $50K for dropping within the quarterfinals.
The league opted to not present different incentives, corresponding to a assured playoff spot, for the tournament winner.
Discussion about this post