The 2024 NBA Cup quarterfinals are set. 5 spots within the eight-team bracket had been clinched Tuesday as group play concluded, and the Knicks, Bucks and Thunder had been among the many evening’s notable winners. As a reminder, it is single elimination from right here on out. The knockout spherical will begin on the dwelling courtroom 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
Listed here are some winners and losers from the group stage.
Winners: The undefeateds
Solely 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 has been tough begin to the season for the 11-9 Bucks, their seven-game/schedule-friendly profitable streak however. A 4-0 file out of the Japanese Convention’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 up to now, and so they 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 practically as shut as the ultimate rating indicated. The Knicks’ offense is buzzing with Karl-Anthony Cities.
Winners: The remainder of the quarterfinal subject
They did not go undefeated, however a 3-1 group-play file was adequate to get the opposite six groups — the Warriors, Rockets, Hawks, Thunder, Magic and Mavericks — into the quarterfinals. Each Golden State and Houston had a shot at 4-0 however had been unable to seal the deal Tuesday, when the Warriors fell at Denver and the Rockets had 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 Metropolis, 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 observe 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 could possibly be this 12 months’s Cup Cinderella.
So far as 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). Fortunately, the Mavericks blasted the Pelicans by 41 factors, carry 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 is why you play each minute within the different video games,” Franz Wagner mentioned of Orlando advancing through level differential.
Loser: LeBron James
A 12 months after profitable the inaugural NBA Cup (initially the In-Season Match), the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t get out of group play with a 2-2 file and James, comparatively talking, did not do loads to additional the trigger. Over 4 Cup video games, LeBron, who has missed his final 19 3-point photographs general, was held beneath 20 factors 3 times and missed 16 of his 20 3s. It is fairly loopy that we’re speaking concerning the James decline truly taking place 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 had been the darling of the inaugural In-Season Match, the Pacers didn’t register a single Cup victory in 2024 whereas shedding their 4 video games by a mean 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 file. Within the course of, they completed with a Cup-worst minus-74 level differential in group play. Actually hideous stuff.
- Utah Jazz: Utah may quietly be a winner right here. Positive, the Jazz misplaced all 4 Cup video games, however on this season, losses are literally wins for the Jazz, who’re most definitely 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 though the at the moment 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 whole 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 Younger
Sarcastically, the Hawks bought into the quarterfinals by the use of a shock win over the Celtics through which Younger did not even play. However he’ll take it. Younger, 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 Sq. Backyard, the place he turned full heel throughout Atlanta’s first-round win over New York within the 2021 playoffs.
There may be nothing Younger feeds off greater than large phases. He is constructed for them. The MSG crowd will likely be buzzing. Will Younger find yourself taking one other bow? This one will likely be must-see TV.
Winner: Jalen Brunson
Brunson led the Knicks with just 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 can be via to the quarterfinals had it not one way or the other misplaced to the Hawks three weeks in the past, who had been taking part in with out Trae Younger. As an alternative, 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 mentioned this, one thing tells me Boston does not truly really feel like a loser right here. They’re taking part in 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 couple of two-time MVP — was glorious 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.
