NBA Cup 2024: What’s at stake for Friday’s 10 games

On By Littum

After taking off Thanksgiving, the NBA returns with an all-day Black Friday celebration. Two-thirds of the league will be in action when the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup resumes with 10 games, starting with Knicks-Hornets at 12:00 PM ET and stretches all the way through a tasty Thunder-Lakers matchup in the 10:00 PM ET nightcap.

Here’s a look at what’s at stake in Friday’s 10-game NBA Cup schedule, as well as the land area in each of the six groups as the tournament looms:

There are two more nights of group play, concluding on Tuesday, December 3, with the top eight teams in the East and West – the winners of Groups A, B and C plus two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in group play , who finished second in its group) — advanced to the single-elimination knockout rounds.

Due to the small number of games, tiebreakers will likely come into play (even for the wild card), with the advancing team being decided by:

(1) head-to-head record in group play;

(2) point difference without overtime in group play;

(3) total non-overtime points in group play;

(4) 2023-24 regular season record;

… and finally, if all to fails to break a tie:

(5) a random drawing.

The four quarter-final matches will be played on Tuesday 10 December and Wednesday 11 December.

The four winners will advance to Las Vegas, where the semifinals will be held on Saturday, December 14. The championship game for the NBA Cup takes place on Tuesday, December 17 at 8:30 PM ET on ABC. It will be the only game in the entire tournament that does not also count toward the participating teams’ regular season records or their players’ statistics.

The teams that don’t make it to Las Vegas won’t just be relaxing at home, though. During the knockout rounds, on the days when no NBA Cup games are scheduled – December 12, 13, 15 and 16 – the 22 teams that did not qualify for the knockouts will each play two games in the regular season. The four teams that lose in the quarterfinals also play one game against each other in the regular season.

Here’s where things stand in the group stage:

We are now down to four teams eliminated.

The Pelicans were first out, having lost to the two teams they trail in West Group C by a margin that gives them the West’s worst points difference. The Wizards‘ Tuesday’s loss to the Bulls dropped them to 0-3, and thus out of contention, in Eastern Group C. Ditto for Jazzwhose Tuesday loss to Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs eliminated them from West Group B.

And despite the fact that they didn’t even play on Tuesdays Birds of prey found himself out of the competition by virtue of the Bucks’ win over the Heat, which ensured Toronto could finish no higher than third in East Group B. Knocked out in one night. Hard break, Raps.

The Warriors was the first team to punch their ticket to the knockout roundwins West Group C.

The Rockets joined them on Tuesday, knocking off the Timberwolves in overtime behind big plays from Alperen Şengün and Fred VanVleet to improve to 3-0 with a West-leading +49 point differential and win the West Group A.

The Bucks improved to 3-0 by outlasting the Heat in Miami, without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. They have not won East Group B; the Stamps is 2-0, meaning the winner of the December 3 head-to-head meeting between Milwaukee and Detroit will finish atop the group. Although Cade Cunningham and Co. winner, the Bucks – currently with a +29 point differential, are second best in the East behind Group A leaders Magic — appears to be in strong position for a wild-card spot.

Also undefeated so far: The Knicksat 2-0 in East Group A, with a head-to-head matchup against the Magic on tap at Madison Square Garden to conclude group play on Dec. 3.

With only four teams eliminated and two teams advanced, that means there are still 24 teams technically speaking alive for a knockout round spot.

The aforementioned four undefeated — Magic, Knicks, Bucks, Pistons — are in prime form. The Mavericks didn’t win West Group C, but at 2-1 with a +41 point difference, they’re still very much alive for the wild card.

Each conference’s Group B has three 2-1 teams – the Taurus, Hawks and Celtics in the east; the Sun, Lakers and Spurs in the West – plus a 1-1 team that ranks among the NBA’s best so far this season (the Cavalier and Thunderrespectively).

The Cutting machines and Trail Blazers both sit at 1-1, and are quiet theoretically alive for a wildcard spot. However, both have negative point differentials, giving them a very tough road among so many other one-loss teams. To either have any chance of joining Houston in making it out of West Group A, they likely need to win their final two games, and do so by comfortable margins … which could make their head-to-head matchup on the last day of the group stage especially spicy.

The teams currently at 1-2 or 0-2 — the 76ers, Nets, Hornets, Heat, Pacers, Timberwolves, Kings, Nuggets and Grizzlies? Well, they’re going to need a lot of help.

1. Orlando Magic (2-0)

  • Remaining schedule: at Nets, at Knicks

  • Key tiebreaker: +37 point difference (23 points ahead of New York)

2. New York Knicks (2-0)

3. Philadelphia 76ers (1-2)

4. Brooklyn Nets (1-2)

5. Charlotte Hornets (0-2)

1. Milwaukee Bucks (3-0)

2. Detroit Pistons (2-0)

  • Remaining schedule: at Pacers vs. Bucks

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Heat

3. Miami Heat (1-2)

4. Toronto Raptors (0-2)

5. Indiana Pacers (0-2)

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 19: (L-R) Jaylen Brown #7 and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics look on from center court as they play against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second quarter of the Emirates NBA Cup at TD Garden on November 19, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTICE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and or using this photograph, User consents to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 19: (L-R) Jaylen Brown #7 and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics look on from center court as they play against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second quarter of the Emirates NBA Cup at TD Garden on November 19, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTICE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and or using this photograph, User consents to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum watch from center court during the Emirates NBA Cup at TD Garden on November 19, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

1. Chicago Bulls (2-1)

  • Remaining program: vs. Celtics

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Hawks

  • +15 point difference (one point ahead of Boston)

  • Win Group C with win AND Cavaliers loss to Hawks

2. Atlanta Hawks (2-1)

  • Remaining program: vs. Cavaliers

  • -1 point difference, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Celtics

  • Win Group C with win AND Bulls loss to Celtics

3. Boston Celtics (2-1)

  • Remaining schedule: at Bulls

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cavaliers

  • Win Group C with win AND Hawks loss to Cavaliers

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1)

  • Remaining schedule: at Hawks vs. Wizards

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bulls

  • Win Group C with wins over the Hawks and Wizards AND Celtics loss to the Bulls

5. Washington Wizards (0-3)

(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports Illustration)(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

(Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

1. Houston Rockets (3-0)

2. Portland Trail Blazers (1-1)

3. LA Clippers (1-1)

4. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-2)

5. Sacramento Kings (0-2)

1. Phoenix Suns (2-1)

  • Remaining program: vs. Spurs

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lakers

  • +19 point difference

  • Win Group B with win AND Thunder loss

2. Los Angeles Lakers (2-1)

  • Remaining schedule: vs. Thunder

  • -16 point difference, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Spurs

  • Win Group B with a win AND a Suns loss

3. San Antonio Spurs (2-1)

  • Remaining schedule: at Suns

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Thunder

  • +14 point difference

  • Win Group B with a win AND a Lakers loss

4. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1)

  • Remaining schedule: at Lakers vs. Jazz

  • Hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Suns

  • Win Group B with wins over the Lakers and Jazz AND Spurs losses

5. Utah Jazz (0-3)

1. Golden State Warriors (3-0)

2. Dallas Mavericks (2-1)

3. New Orleans Pelicans (1-2)

4. Denver Nuggets (1-2)

5. Memphis Grizzlies (0-2)

Knicks at Hornets, noon (NBA TV)

Cavaliers at Hawks, 2:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

  • The Cavaliers are eliminated with a loss

  • Hawks win Group C with win AND Bulls loss to Celtics

  • Hawks are eliminated with a loss + (a) Celtics win; (b) Bulls win + Celtics point difference; (c) stamps win; (d) Knicks win + Magic win

Pelicans at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. (NBA TV)

Magic at Nets, 7:30 p.m

Clippers at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

  • The Clippers are eliminated with a loss AND a win by either the Kings or Lakers

  • Timberwolves are eliminated with a loss OR a Lakers win OR Trail Blazers win + Wolves win over Clippers by less than five points or in overtime

Stamps at Pacers, 6 p.m. 8 p.m

Raptors at Heat, 6 p.m. 8 p.m

Celtics at Bulls at 8 p.m

  • Celtics win Group C with win AND Hawks loss to Cavaliers

  • Celtics are eliminated with a loss + (a) Hawks win; (b) Cavs win + Hawks point differential; (c) stamps win; (d) Knicks win + Magic win

  • Bulls win Group C with win AND Cavaliers loss to Hawks

  • Bulls are eliminated with a loss + (a) Hawks win; (b) stamps win; (c) Knicks win + Magic win

Thunder at Lakers, 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Kings at Trail Blazers, 7 p.m. 10 p.m