The eight-team knockout round of the NBA Cup 2024 is taking shape and by the end of the evening we will know all the quarterfinalists of the league's seasonal tournament (Follow live updates here). Six of the eight knockout round spots have now been determined and the Eastern Conference has been decided. The Bucks, Knicks and Magic all secured a spot in the knockout round on Tuesday night. The Bucks and Knicks won their groups with lopsided victories. The Magic, meanwhile, lost to the Knicks by 15 points, but their point differential in the contest (+45) was still good enough to earn Orlando the wildcard spot.
Two more places are available on Tuesday schedule in the Western Conference. The Spurs, Thunder, Suns and Mavericks are in the mix for those spots.
Here's a quick summary of how the tournament works, including the events for tiebreakers if they're needed on Tuesday:
- The NBA's 30 teams were divided into six groups of five teams each: There are three groups in the Eastern Conference and three groups in the Western Conference.
- Teams play in a round-robin style against the other four teams in their group on Tuesdays and Fridays. The 2024 NBA Cup began on November 12th and group play ends on Tuesday (December 3rd). By the end of Tuesday evening, each team will have played four NBA Cup games.
- Eight teams (the six group winners plus one wildcard team from each conference) advance to the knockout rounds. Placement will be determined based on overall record, head-to-head record and points difference if a tiebreaker is required (There are more tiebreakers if necessary).
- The knockout round will be a single-elimination round. The four East teams are on one side of the group, the four West teams on the other. The quarterfinals will take place on December 10th and 11th. The semifinals will take place on December 14th in Las Vegas and the final between the East and West winners will take place on December 17th (also in Vegas).
Got it? Good. While the event is underway, we'll keep an eye on the rankings (and potentially important point differences) below.
Scenarios for winning the NBA Cup
- The Magic secure East Group A with a win against the Knicks.
- The Knicks secure East Group A with a win against the Magic.
- The Bucks secure East Group B with a win against the Pistons.
- The Pistons secure East Group B with a win against the Bucks.
- The Spurs secure West Group B with a win against the Suns.
- The Thunder secure West Group B with a win against the Jazz and a loss against the Spurs.
- The Suns secure West Group B with a win against the Spurs and a loss against the Thunder.
- Scenarios for wildcard places can be found here East and the west.
NBA Cup standings
X – Won group
O – Eliminated from Knockout Contest
WC – wildcard won
East Group A
East Group B
East Group C
West Group A
West Group B
West Group C
Odds for the NBA Cup 2024
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- Knicks: +450
- Missiles: +500
- Thunder: +550
- Warrior: +650
- Dollars: +700
- Magic: +850
- Underdog: +1200
- Celtics: +1800
- Suns: +2000
- Falcons: +2200
