2023-12-07 09:36:52
The NBA has achieved the goal. The Copa, The new tournament that launched this season has been a success in many ways. In spectacle, emotion and, as intended, the commissioner Adam Silver, also in audience, to the point that the baseball league (MLB) would be considering its own alternative.
Now all that remains is to finish it off with a plenary session in the Vegaswhere the four teams that have achieved a place will compete for the title. Pacers y Bucks They will face each other on the night of Thursday to Friday in the first semifinal (11 p.m.) and Pelicans y Lakers, in the second (03:00 hours) to make their way to the final that will be played in the early hours of Saturday to Sunday (02:30 hours) and which will reward the winner with a trophy weighing almost 16 kilos and 58 centimeters high, designed by Tiffany and made with silver covered with 24 karat gold.
SEMI-FINALS OF THE #NBAInSeasonTournament in LAS VEGAS ♦️????
PACERS ???? BUCKS (23:00)
PELICANS ???? LAKERS (03:00)Night from Thursday to Friday. pic.twitter.com/5P7Y6Enofo
— NBASpain (@NBAspain) December 6, 2023
As in any self-respecting Cup tournament, the In-season Tournament reaches its decisive phase after leaving some surprises along the way. The elimination of the champion, Denver Nuggets, in the first phase, of the solids Celticsor the irruption of the Pelicansprotagonists of the great bell of the tournament after beating the group stage Nuggetsto the Mavericks de Doncic and the Clippers or to the Kings in the quarterfinals. What will be guaranteed is showtime and the presence of some of the championship’s biggest stars.
LeBron’s motivation
Los Lakersthe last to achieve their classification, have done so hooked on the talent of their leader LeBron James, author of 31 points in the victory against the Suns (106-103), more motivated than ever at 39 years old, and determined to register his name as the first to lift the new trophy, next to a huge Anthony Davis. The same ambition or more exudes Pelicans con Zion Williamson y Brandom Ingram, los Bucks of Giannis Antetokounmpo o Dame Lillard (they knocked down the Knicks 146-122 yesterday with 28 triples) and the Indiana Pacers by one Tyrese Halliburton path to stardom and Miles Turner.
???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???? #sleepcowards pic.twitter.com/6CuxF3b0GM
— NBA on Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarNBA) December 6, 2023
“We have some of the best competitors in the world, if it gives us the opportunity to compete for something, some incentive, we will be there,” he explains. LeBron about the desire that moves him and his companions. “This tournament is like that. We have the opportunity to play on a big stage, so no one doubts it, we are going to go out there and fight.” Also Dame Lillard, the big signing of this summer in Milwaukeepromises battle: “We are not satisfied with just getting to Las Vegas, the goal is to win.”
Half a million prize
The success of the Cup designed by the NBA It is indisputable. The audiences in the first part of the League and the attendance at the pavilions, with a competition overloaded with matches and with the ‘playoffs’ very far on the horizon, had been slowly falling without remission. After studying it in recent years, the NBA decided to try the new format to increase interest.
The introduction of the new trophy, with the reference of the tournaments in Europa and of the NCAA ‘final four’ as inspiration, has hit the target. The average number of matches this season has exceeded the figures from a year before by 26% and the match between the Kings y los Warriors on November 28, it was above two million viewers on average, figures that invite optimism.
???? Boston and Sacramento are going home.
✔️ Indiana and New Orleans, to Las Vegas. #sleepcowards pic.twitter.com/owt9LzQkCo— NBA on Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarNBA) December 5, 2023
Also at a competitive level, the championship has been a step forward, with some matches with a level of tension typical of the ‘playoffs’ such as the Warriors-Timberwolvesin which Draymond Green ended up expelled for holding his neck for several seconds Rudy Gobert. The explanation is that the results not only serve to fight for a place in the tournament Las Vegasbut they also count to define the League positions.
The venue chosen to host the tournament responds to another reason. The NBA has been flirting for some time with the idea of settling in Las Vegas. But at the same time it has an advantage that encourages players. Each of the members and the coach of the team that wins the title will take home half a million dollars. Two hundred thousand in the case of the finalist. And according to the tax rules of the state of Nevada that amount will be tax-free. “Everyone is aware of the prize that comes with it. “Money talks,” acknowledged the Los Angeles coach. Darwin Harm.
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