The 2024 NBA Cup quarterfinals are set. Five spots within the eight-team bracket have been clinched Tuesday as group play concluded, and the Knicks, Bucks and Thunder have been among the many night time’s notable winners. As a reminder, it is single elimination from right here on out. The knockout spherical will begin on the residence court docket of the upper seeded quarterfinalists, with the 4 winners advancing to Las Vegas for the semifinals and championship recreation.
Quarterfinal matchups
East
No. 1 Bucks vs. No. 4 Magic
No. 2 Knicks vs. No. 3 Hawks
West
No. 1 Thunder vs. No. 4 Mavericks
No. 2 Rockets vs. No. 3 Warriors
Here are some winners and losers from the group stage.
Winners: The undefeateds
Only two of the NBA’s 30 groups made it via group play within the NBA Cup with excellent 4-0 information: the Bucks and Knicks.
It’s been tough begin to the season for the 11-9 Bucks, their seven-game/schedule-friendly successful streak however. A 4-0 report out of the Eastern Conference’s Group B, Milwaukee is the East’s high seed and can host Atlanta within the quarterfinal. Cup play has been the spotlight of the Bucks’ season to this point, they usually have an opportunity to create some juice with a Vegas run that might carry over.
New York, in the meantime, went 4-0 to win East’s Group A. The Knicks will host the Magic, who get in because the East’s wild card, within the quarterfinals. New York completely throttled Orlando on Tuesday to clinch the group in a recreation that was not almost as shut as the ultimate rating indicated. The Knicks’ offense is buzzing with Karl-Anthony Towns.
Winners: The remainder of the quarterfinal area
They did not go undefeated, however a 3-1 group-play report was adequate to get the opposite six groups — the Warriors, Rockets, Hawks, Thunder, Magic and Mavericks — into the quarterfinals. Both Golden State and Houston had a shot at 4-0 however have been unable to seal the deal Tuesday, when the Warriors fell at Denver and the Rockets have been tripped up by Sacramento.
The Warriors, Hawks and Thunder all punched their ticket by the use of a tiebreaker. Golden State gained its group regardless of ending tied with the Mavericks at 3-1 as a result of they gained the head-to-head with Dallas, whereas Atlanta additionally gained its group by the use of the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Celtics. Oklahoma City, in the meantime, completed tied at 3-1 with the Suns however superior by the use of their plus-45 level differential (Phoenix was plus-30).
Houston is the crew to look at right here. The loss at Sacramento on Tuesday however, the Rockets have gained 10 of their final 13 video games and really feel like they may very well be this 12 months’s Cup Cinderella.
As far because the wild-card groups go, the Mavericks completed tied with the Warriors at 3-1 in Group C however misplaced the tiebreaker (head-to-head). Luckily, the Mavericks blasted the Pelicans by 41 factors, convey their level differential to plus-46 regardless of their different three Cup video games being inside two possessions.
The Magic had a shot at a 4-0 mark however misplaced to the Knicks on Tuesday. The Magic get in by the use of their plus-45 level differential, edging the Celtics at plus-30. “That’s why you play each minute within the different video games,” Franz Wagner stated of Orlando advancing through level differential.
Loser: LeBron James
A 12 months after successful the inaugural NBA Cup (initially the In-Season Tournament), the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t get out of group play with a 2-2 report and James, comparatively talking, did not do rather a lot to additional the trigger. Over 4 Cup video games, LeBron, who has missed his final 19 3-point pictures total, was held below 20 factors 3 times and missed 16 of his 20 3s. It’s fairly loopy that we’re speaking concerning the James decline truly occurring when he is averaging 22-9-8 for the season, however that is the usual he has set.
Losers: The winless crew
Let’s break down the 4 groups who went 0-4 within the NBA Cup this season.
- Indiana Pacers: A 12 months after they have been the darling of the inaugural In-Season Tournament, the Pacers didn’t register a single Cup victory in 2024 whereas shedding their 4 video games by a median of 15 factors every.
- Washington Wizards: The Wiz punctuated their 0-for-14 November by shedding by 31 factors to the Cavs on Tuesday, which sealed their 0-4 Cup report. In the method, they completed with a Cup-worst minus-74 level differential in group play. Truly hideous stuff.
- Utah Jazz: Utah may quietly be a winner right here. Sure, the Jazz misplaced all 4 Cup video games, however on this season, losses are literally wins for the Jazz, who’re most actually angling to win the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
- Charlotte Hornets: Charlotte dropped group video games to Orlando, Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia by a mixed deficit of 33 factors. It actually appears like this crew is simply by no means going to be good, even if the presently injured LaMelo Ball is a unprecedented expertise and Brandon Miller may truly be higher than him.
Winner: Franz Wagner
Wagner, who has been on a tear for the Magic within the absence of Paolo Banchero, averaged 30.5 factors and picked up 10 steals over Orlando’s 4 Cup video games. For some perspective, since Banchero has been out, Wagner has scored extra complete factors than Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Stephen Curry.
Winner: Trae Young
Ironically, the Hawks obtained into the quarterfinals by the use of a shock win over the Celtics wherein Young did not even play. But he’ll take it. Young, who averaged 25 factors and 11 assists in three group-play video games, will get one other big-stage shot on the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, the place he turned full heel throughout Atlanta’s first-round win over New York within the 2021 playoffs.
There is nothing Young feeds off greater than huge phases. He’s constructed for them. The MSG crowd will probably be buzzing. Will Young find yourself taking one other bow? This one will probably be must-see TV.
Winner: Jalen Brunson
Brunson led the Knicks with slightly below 27 factors per recreation in Cup play, and he was particularly large in two shut victories that wound up propelling the Knicks via group play. In a two-point win over Brooklyn, Brunson had 37 factors. In a one-point win over Charlotte, he had 31.
Loser: The Celtics
Boston could be via to the quarterfinals had it not in some way misplaced to the Hawks three weeks in the past, who have been enjoying with out Trae Young. Instead, they go 3-1 in Group C with a plus-23 level differential, shedding out to the aforementioned Magic (plus-45) for the East’s wild card. Having stated this, one thing tells me Boston would not truly really feel like a loser right here. They’re enjoying for an actual championship, and skipping a visit to Vegas might be a long-run boon to that endeavor.
Winners: Giannis and Dame
Giannis Antetokounmpo — who’s quietly within the midst of a profession season, which is clearly saying a few two-time MVP — was wonderful in group-stage motion, averaging 29.3 on 75% capturing (33 for 44). Damian Lillard matched Giannis’s 88 Cup factors whereas canning 16 3-pointers at a 50% clip.
