The NBA Cup is back for a second season, starting Tuesday night and running through Dec. 17.
It was called the In-Season Tournament last year when it debuted, after years and years of Commissioner Adam Silver wanting to add something extra to the regular season. All 30 teams take part and will play four group-stage games.
From there, eight teams move to the quarterfinals and the winners of those games will head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Dec. 14.
All games in the tournament — except for the championship game — count in the regular-season standings and statistics. The championship game is considered extra and isn’t part of the 82-game season for the two teams that make the final.
What’s at stake?
To the winners: pride, a trophy and money.
Players on the winning team will claim $514,971 each, while $205,988 goes to each player on the runner-up team, $102,994 to players whose teams lost in the semifinals and $51,497 to those players whose teams lost in the quarterfinals.
Bulls looking for their first NBA Cup victory
The Bulls have yet to win an NBA Cup game after going 0-4 in last year’s group stage, a dismal run that was punctuated by a 124-97 blowout at the hands of the Boston Celtics. They were seeded for a consecutive year in East Group C, which once again includes the Celtics in addition to the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards.
After struggling in the tournament last season, coach Billy Donovan said he spoke with Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle about his team’s experience with the final rounds in Las Vegas and noted the importance of using this year’s group stage to give experience to younger players.
“For us last year, we didn’t fare too well in it at all, so we were out of the mix pretty early on,” Donovan said. “The league’s made it something that‘s a priority right now. I think everybody’s trying to put their best foot forward.”
Who plays where and who plays when?
Here’s a breakdown of the groups; here’s what’s been played and what’s upcoming on the schedule.
- East Group A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets
- East Group B: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons
- East Group C: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards
- West Group A: Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers
- West Group B: Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs
- West Group C: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies
What to know
If teams get eliminated in group play, they’ll have two more games added to their schedule. If teams get eliminated in the quarterfinals, they’ll have one more game added.
All teams have only 80 games scheduled so far in the regular season but will play 82. That’s why the title game doesn’t count; it would be an 83rd game for those teams (the 80 games that are already scheduled, then the quarterfinal, then the semifinal will be their 82 games).
Not every game played over the next month is a tournament game. A quick way to know if it is a tournament matchup: Every team has a new, distinctive court for these games. See those courts, and you’ll know it’s a Cup game.
How to watch
TNT has national doubleheaders on Nov. 19, Nov. 26 and Dec 3. ESPN has national doubleheaders Friday and again on Nov. 22. ESPN and NBA TV will show five games — spanning about 13 hours — on Friday, Nov. 29, with games starting at noon and tipping off through 10 p.m.
Bulls games will be available on CHSN, as usual.
- Friday: Bulls at Cavaliers, 6:30 p.m.
- Nov. 22: Hawks at Bulls, 7 p.m.
- Nov. 26: Bulls at Wizards, 6 p.m.
- Nov. 29: Celtics at Bulls, 7 p.m.
Tribune’s Julia Poe contributed to this story.