The NBA’s In-Season Tournament is a new competition that has been created to give basketball fans even more throughout the season. The event has been designed to take place throughout November and the first week of December, and now we know when the latter stages will actually take place.
The Quarterfinals are scheduled for December 4 and 5, with the Semifinals pencilled in for December 7. Once the two winners have been decided, they will play the Final for the inaugural NBA Cup on December 9. All games from the Final 4 will be played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, thus making it a neutral venue for whichever team is able to reach this stage. The top teams in each Conference will have a home tie in the Last 8.
The League is looking to improve its product as much as possible, and creating the In-Season Tournament could facilitate that. Given that it is a new competition with an interesting format, it will likely attract numerous fans and potentially create a new way to benefit the NBA. It may attract new fans to watch basketball and create a higher engagement level, potentially generating higher revenues as more games are played.
Which teams are likely to make the NBA In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals?
Although it is still very early in terms of the number of games to have been played at this moment, there are some teams that have already made some solid starts.
Franchises have been randomly put into groups of five with other teams in their Conference. There has been a method in some aspects, though, as teams have been paired together based on their win-loss record of the last season. There are three groups across each region, with A, B, and C. Teams will play each other once in the group while playing two games at home and two while they are on the road. Each game in this stage will go toward their regular season totals, thus going toward the 82 games that are played over the course of the year aside from those participated in if qualified for the postseason.
The top team from each group will advance and take up six of the eight available spots in the Quarterfinals, with the remaining two places going to the franchises with the best record in each Conference that finished second in their group and failed to qualify automatically.
Which teams are the favorites to win the NBA In-Season Tournament?
According to the NBA Odds 2023 already released, the Boston Celtics are currently the favorites to win the inaugural competition. They are priced at 4/1, and having started unbeaten, there are many who believe they will continue to record the wins required to obtain the NBA Cup. They have arguably one of the strongest rosters in the entire league, with a starting five that most teams would take in an instant.
Odds also feel that last year’s NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets, have a solid chance of winning the In-Season Tournament, as they have been priced at 9/2, whereas the Milwaukee Bucks are priced at 5/1. The Los Angeles Lakers are among a plethora of teams to be unbeaten at this stage, which is why their odds of 6/1 could provide value for those looking at a potential outsider.
How are the Knockout Games formatted and played?
Unlike the NBA Playoffs, teams do not get another chance to compete and record a victory if they are unable to win a game. Each game in this tournament is a single-game eliminator once the knockout stage is reached, thus making each game count.
Games played in the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals will count towards their standing in the regular season, but the two teams who reach the Final will not have it count. The teams that lose in the Quarterfinals will play against the opponent in the same Conference on Friday, December 8.
Franchises that win their games will see the player prize pool increase with each progression, while a player will be named the MVP at the end of the tournament. This accolade – and the award of being named in the All-Tournament Team – will be based on their performances throughout the entirety of the competition, and not just in the Final game.