Emirates NBA Cup: What’s at stake this week

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Fifteen games this week will propel the Emirates NBA Cup toward clarity and a heavy slate on Dec. 3 to complete the NBA Cup Group Play stage. Five games Tuesday and 10 more Friday might even determine some quarterfinalists before the 11 games scheduled for the final night.
Notice we said 11. In a perfect world, all 30 NBA teams would be playing next Tuesday to draw maximum suspense to that final night — and they’d all tip off simultaneously so no one could calculate and game the points-differential tiebreaker if needed.
But when each conference (15) and each Group (five) have an odd number of teams, it’s impossible for everyone to play and every game to count toward Cup qualifying. Blame math.
Eight teams will have their Group work done by the end of Friday. Like the rest of us, they’ll be spectators on Dec. 3 awaiting their fates and marching orders.
The TNT doubleheader Tuesday — Milwaukee at Miami (7:30 p.m. ET), followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix (10 ET) — is compelling for reasons both related and unrelated to the Cup pursuit.
But in their post-Thanksgiving matinee at State Farm Arena (2:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV), the Hawks could pull off the improbable by clinching a berth in the Knockout Round Dec. 10-11. Winning Friday would give them the East C title outright because, despite their current 7-11 record, they would have beaten both group powerhouses, the Celtics and the Cavs. Lose? Atlanta would finish 2-2, need help from the Bulls and the Wizards and still probably fail a three-team tiebreaker.
Here’s a breakdown of each group’s upcoming week.
East A
Orlando Magic (2-0)
By the time the Magic face Brooklyn on Friday, they will have gone two weeks between Cup games. Then Orlando will close out Group Play four nights later against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, capping nearly a week in New York (it plays the Nets again on Sunday).
New York Knicks (2-0)
The final hurdle in the Knicks’ five-game road trip is the stop in Charlotte on Friday. The East A crown then might hinge on the Dec. 3 clash with the Magic.
Philadelphia 76ers (1-2 )
With only their Group finale left in Charlotte next week, the Sixers’ Vegas aspirations are dim. Either the Magic or the Knicks will finish with three victories, and Philadelphia ranks ninth in points differential for the East’s wild-card tiebreaker.
Brooklyn Nets (1-2)
Cam Thomas has dialed it up in Cup games, averaging 30.5 ppg on 59.5% shooting compared to 24.7 ppg on 46.1% overall. He’ll get his fourth shot at a big game Friday vs. the Magic.
Charlotte Hornets (0-2)
With their two Group road games behind them, the Hornets get a post-Thanksgiving matinee vs. New York as the first of their two home games. Charlotte’s net rating of -13.1 is the worst in NBA Cup play so far.
East B
Milwaukee Bucks (2-0)
The Bucks play at Miami on Tuesday in a rivalry that transcends East B, then have just one game — home vs. the Wizards on Saturday — before wrapping up Group Play at Detroit next week. Khris Middleton, out all season recovering from surgery on both ankles, is expected back soon.
Detroit Pistons (2-0)
The Pistons rank 12th defensively this season but fifth in Cup play, their rating in the small sample improving from 111.9 to 104.3. They face Indiana on Friday, hoping to reverse their 115-109 loss on Opening Night.
Miami Heat (1-1)
The Heat packed their first two Group games into the first week, and now wrap up by playing host to the Bucks and the Raptors this week. If Miami wins both, it could emerge as the Group champ and a quarterfinalist either outright or by tiebreaker.
Toronto Raptors (0-2)
The Raptors are 1-10 on the road with their non-Cup loss at the buzzer at Detroit on Monday. They face two more road games this week: at New Orleans on Wednesday and then their third East B game on Friday at Miami. They’ll conclude Group Play against Indiana on Dec. 3 at home, where the Raptors are 4-4.
Indiana Pacers (0-2) 
Someone else will fill Indiana’s role as the youngish team fast-tracking its timeline – well, allegedly – with feisty play in the Cup tournament. The Pacers have lost to the Bucks and the Heat. They play host to Detroit, then travel to Toronto on Dec. 3 as part of a four-game trip.
East C
Atlanta Hawks (2-1)
Atlanta had a chance to control East C until it got routed by the Bulls in Chicago on Friday. Its Group finale is no bargain, with the game against the Cavaliers coming as the second of a home-and-home vs. Cleveland.
Boston Celtics (2-1)
Of the five teams that played two Cup games last week, the Celtics were the only ones who went 2-0. They could know their fate for the quarterfinals as soon as Friday when they close at Chicago while Atlanta welcomes the Cavaliers.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1)
Cleveland ranks first offensively in Cup play but 26th defensively, compared to first and ninth this season. Kenny Atkinson’s crew will try to tighten things up against the Hawks on Friday before concluding next week vs. the Wizards. Pardon the Cavs if they’re distracted by the game in between — the Celtics visiting Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Sunday.
Chicago Bulls (1-1)
The Bulls got their first Cup victory in six tries (dating back to last season’s tournament) Sunday, stopping Atlanta. Their last two games this year are on Tuesday at Washington, followed by Boston at United Center on Friday.
Washington Wizards (0-2)
The Wizards take an 11-game losing streak into their third East C challenge on Tuesday vs. Chicago. They have a six-game losing streak in Cup play dating to the 2023 edition.
Here’s a breakdown of each group’s upcoming week.
West A
Houston Rockets (2-0)
If they need it to break any ties, the Rockets have a fat cushion of +49 in point differential, tops in the league and better after two games than any of the eight teams that have played three. Three of its next four are on the road, including Cup completion at Minnesota on Tuesday and at Sacramento on Dec. 3.
Portland Trail Blazers (1-1)
The Blazers have only two players — Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe — who barely squeak into the Top 100 in Cup scoring average (15.0). But just as during the season overall, they have seven players averaging 10+ points. Portland got skewered at Memphis on Monday and plays at Indiana on Wednesday before its next Cup game on Friday vs. Sacramento.
Minnesota Timberwolves (1-1)
Taking care of Cup business this week at Target Center against Houston and the Clippers would serve two masters for Minnesota: Give them a shot at the Knockout Round while easing the sting from their current 2-5 slump. Point guard Mike Conley has been ailing (toe) — the Wolves won the two recent games he played but lost three he didn’t.
LA Clippers (1-1)
The Clippers are trying to chase down the Rockets, to whom they lost in their Cup opener. That sparked them to five consecutive victories and stingier defense (96.8 points allowed during the streak). They’ll face Minnesota at the end of a four-game trip, then wrap up at home next week vs. Portland.
Sacramento Kings (0-2)
De’Aaron Fox is averaging a league-best 44.5 points and hitting 58.2% from the field through two Cup games. But the Kings lost both, to the Wolves and at the Clippers, and rank 22nd offensively and 18th defensively. Their overall season spots are 11th and 15th.
West B
Los Angeles Lakers (2-0)
The defending Cup champions outscored the Spurs and the Jazz to win their first two Group games. The foes get tougher this week when the Lakers play at Phoenix on Tuesday and at home against Oklahoma City on Friday. Anthony Davis has bumped his stats to 33 ppg, 13 rpg and 58.5% shooting in Group Play.
San Antonio Spurs (1-1)
No Victor Wembanyama, no problem — the big fella’s absence didn’t stop the Spurs from picking up their first-ever Cup victory, beating OKC in San Antonio. They’re in Salt Lake City Tuesday, facing an opponent against which Wembanyama has averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds while totaling 27 blocked shots in five games.
Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1)
The Thunder can flip the script in this group if they can beat the Lakers on Friday. That would position them for a potential 3-1 mark with the head-to-head edge over L.A. OKC closes against Utah on Dec. 3.
Phoenix Suns (1-1)
Losing twice — by 10 when scoring 99 against Orlando, then by 16 when giving up 138 to New York — is an ill-advised way to start a six-game homestand. The Suns will be home for their final Cup games against the Lakers on Tuesday and the Spurs on Dec. 3.
Utah Jazz (0-2)
The Jazz are looking for their first two-game winning streak of the season in their Group Play game against visiting San Antonio. Home cooking hasn’t been good — Utah scores less, shoots worse and gets to the line less frequently at the Delta Center than everywhere else.
West C
Golden State Warriors (3-0)
The Warriors are idle in Group Play, facing the Nuggets next week. They’ll play Denver for the first time this season (and only meeting until March) with a shot at 4-0 on Tuesday.
Dallas Mavericks (2-1)
The Mavericks have Memphis at home on Tuesday but they’re at a disadvantage after losing the group opener to Golden State back on Nov. 12. That’s the first tiebreaker for advancing to the Knockout Round. Luka Dončić has averaged 28.5 points in the first three but is shooting 27.8% on 3-pointers.
New Orleans Pelicans (1-2)
An 0-2 week in group games stretched the Pelicans’ rough patch to 1-10, now 1-11 since Nov. 3 after Monday’s loss at Indiana. Zion Williamson’s absence is the obvious issue — New Orleans is 2-4 when he plays and 2-9 when he doesn’t. And he still is out indefinitely with a left hamstring strain.
Denver Nuggets (1-2)
No Vegas in the Nuggets’ near future after their 1-1 week, and their blowout loss to New York Monday opened another can of worms: Denver is just 5-4 at home, which is where they’ll wrap Group Play Dec. 3 vs. Golden State.
Memphis Grizzlies (0-2)
Memphis is 11-5 in non-Group Play, but that’s not going to get the Grizzlies to the Knockout Round. They’ll finish the tournament against New Orleans on Friday, then at Dallas on Dec. 3. The franchise still is in search of a Cup tourney victory, two years in.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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