Starting 5, Nov 24: A full day of In-Season Tournament
Sometimes, the holiday season can make your head spin.
To help, we planned out your Friday – from morning through the final of 10 In-Season Tournament games. Enjoy.
THE LINEUP
- Early Morning: Content & coffee ☕
- Morning: Clinching scenarios ✅
- Afternoon: Magic in the air
- Evening: Fox, Ant, tiebreakers
- Night: Curry on fire
Heat-Knicks, 7:30 ET, ESPN
Spurs-Warriors, 10 ET, ESPN
8 more games on NBA TV, NBA App
In-Season tournament latest
- EARLY MORNING: YOUR COFFEE COMPANIONS
The day after Thanksgiving means a few things.
Leftovers. Naps. And hoops (almost) all day.
So while you’re shaking off the cobwebs, the carbs or the urge to give in and buy those kicks ‘for someone else’ on Black Friday … let’s start off the day easy.
Here are a few recommendations right now to gear up, before 10 In-Season Tournament games tip on the second-last day of Group Play.
- The Tournament Tracker: Multiple teams can clinch spots in the Knockout Rounds today. Keep things basic and find what you need to know. Quick.
- Race for the NBA Cup: Binge the full series (so far) for an exclusive, behind the scenes look at the teams, players and stories coming together in the first-ever In-Season Tournament
- Already Seen It? But still want something to lean back with? Check out the NBA ‘Films For Fans’ collection, with stories of hoops told by directors all around the world. A good starting point: Mountain Ballers, from the Philippines
- Inside LeBron’s Genius: After Bron’s 39K night, go inside with Darvin Ham
- Happy 85th, Big O: One of the greatest ever, Oscar Robertson didn’t invent the triple-double, but he did make it famous. As he turns 85 today, just how good – and how transformative – was he? Hear it from other NBA75 members themselves
- Did you know that your free NBA ID membership unlocks hundreds of full-length classic games in the app? Like Robertson and Kareem (then Lew Alcindor) teaming up to lead Milwaukee to its first title in just its third year of existence
- MORNING: CATCH UP ON CLINCHING SCENARIOS
So, what’s at stake on the second-to-last day of Group Play games, before Knockout Rounds begin Dec. 4?
A lot.
Let’s break it down:
New Orleans clinches West Group B with a win AND a Houston loss.
- Pelicans and Nuggets finish Group Play with a 3-1 record
- All other teams in the group have 2+ losses
- Pelicans win tiebreaker with head-to-head win
Denver clinches West Group B with a win AND a New Orleans loss.
- Nuggets finish Group Play with a 3-1 record
- Pelicans and Rockets (loss to Nuggets) suffer second loss
Sacramento clinches West Group C with a win AND a Golden State loss.
- Kings would finish no worse than 3-1 in group play
- Timberwolves (with a loss to Kings) finish no better than 3-1
- Warriors would take second loss
- Worst Kings could do is tie with Timberwolves for top spot and Kings win tiebreaker with head-to-head win
Minnesota clinches West Group C with a win.
- Timberwolves would finish no worse than 3-1 in Group Play
- Kings (with a loss to Timberwolves) and Warriors could best tie Timberwolves for top spot
- Timberwolves would own tiebreaker over both with head-to-head wins against each team
Boston clinches East Group C with a win
- Celtics would finish no worse than 3-1 in Group Play
- Magic would take second loss in Group Play
- Worst Celtics could do is tie with Nets for top spot and Celtics won head-to-head game against Nets
Got it? Alright, hit up some leftovers and get ready for the games to get underway this afternoon
- AFTERNOON: MAGIC IN THE AIR
The Magic came into the year with whispers.
A sense that this team, full of young talent and the reigning Rookie of the Year, could start to rise.
So far, fresh off a win over the defending champs, Orlando’s made the kind of leap it can take years to make – behind the NBA’s top-ranked defense and an offensive makeup predicated on sharing the rock.
Today, they’ll have a chance to move into a 3-way tie for the best record in East Group C, when they take on the Boston Celtics (2:30 ET, NBA TV), the top team in the Group as well as the whole conference.
- A Defensive Revolution: The Magic ranked 18th defensively last year. They’re tied for second this year, taking 6.2 pts off their DefRtg. It’s their best ranking since 2009-10
- Spreading The Love: Orlando goes DEEP, with eight players averaging 9+ pts a night. Meanwhile, leading scorer Paolo Banchero’s 19 ppg makes them one of two squads without a leading scorer over 20 ppg
- The History There: The last teams to start 10-5 without anybody scoring 20? The 2019-20 Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, who made the NBA Finals & Western Conference Finals, respectively
Suns at Grizzlies
West Group A, 5 ET, NBA TV
PHX 2-1, MEM 0-3
Bulls at Raptors
East Group C, 7:30 ET
CHI 0-2, TOR 0-2
Heat at Knicks
East Group B, 7:30 ET, ESPN
MIA 2-0, NYK 1-1
- Rivalry Renewed: Today adds a different dimension to a longtime East rivalry: a battle for the head-to-head tiebreaker in a packed Group B. The winner gets a big boost to their Knockout hopes
- EVENING: HOW WOLVES-KINGS CAN TEACH TIEBREAKERS ⚖️
A Fox and an Ant are on a quest to get to Las Vegas.
No, this is not a pitch for a new heartwarming animated film about an unlikely friendship forged through a shared journey.
- This is a showdown between two of the NBA’s most electric guards – Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards – squaring off with first place in West Group C on the line (8 ET, NBA App)
- Same Group, Same Record: Both teams enter Friday’s game with matching 2-0 records in Group Play
- Tiebreaker on the line: The winner of this game earns the head-to-head tiebreaker if it is needed to determine which team advances to the Knockouts
What Does A Win Mean? If the Wolves win, they win the group. If the Kings win, they’d take first but wouldn’t clinch yet…unless the Warriors lose.
Explain That Please: The Wolves only have OKC (1-2) left to play after tonight. The Kings still need to play the Warriors, who could be 2-1 after today.
How would tiebreakers come into play?
- Head-to-Heads Aren’t Enough: The primary tiebreaker. With a win tonight, the Wolves would own it over the Kings and Dubs would move on. A loss could send things to…
- Point Differential: Second-most important. Comes into play when head-to-head isn’t enough, like a 3-way tie or the wild card race. Right now the Kings have a 6-point advantage over the Wolves.
Nuggets at Rockets
West Group B, 8 ET
DEN 2-1, HOU 1-1
Pistons at Pacers
East Group A, 8 ET
DET 0-3, IND 3-0
Wizards at Bucks
East Group B, 8 ET
WAS 0-3, MIL 2-0
- NIGHT: CURRY ON FIRE
Steph’s been changing the game for so long, but this year is different.
14 games into his 15th season, the best shooter in the history of the game is off to the best start of his career.
Before Curry and the Warriors take on Wemby and the Spurs in the In-Season Tournament (10 ET, ESPN), catch up on just how good Steph has been to start the year.
- His Record Start: Curry’s had some hot starts before, but never this hot. His 14-game streak of 4+ 3PM broke his own NBA record, before ending Wednesday
- Leading The Way: At 4th in the league in scoring (30.4 ppg), Curry was the only Warrior to score more than 20 points in the Dubs’ first 11 games of 2023-24
- Did His Range…Grow? He’s shooting 45.8% from 25 feet and beyond, at 9+ attempts per game. Last year, he was at 43.8%
As far as this game goes, the Warriors (1-1 in the Tournament) have a big opportunity.
- Looking At 2-1: Either the Wolves or Kings will leave Friday at 3-0 in West Group C. The other, at 2-1. Meanwhile, the Dubs have lost to the Wolves but still have yet to play the Kings. So if GSW wins, they’ll pull even in wins with whoever’s in second, putting a big focus on…
- Point Differential: They’re at -1 right now and will have two games to make up ground. Keep an eye on how Steve Kerr handles his lineup if the Dubs go up, especially late
Pelicans at Clippers
West Group B, 10:30 ET
NOP: 2-1, LAC: 1-2
- Fate In Their Hands: If the Pelicans win, they move on – even if the Nuggets win. If not, and Denver wins, things get murky for New Orleans
