The NBA regular season can only be described as a long stretch of repetition since all thirty teams take on eighty-two games of basketball throughout a seven month time period. This grueling schedule for a team’s playoff position that will be determined in several months leaves fans unmotivated to watch many games early in the season. The National Basketball Association has set out to captivate and encourage fans to watch the early stages of the season by introducing the Emirates NBA Cup in 2023, making this the second year this in-season tournament will be performed.
The tournament is structured with all teams divided into six groups of five for the group play stage. There are three groups with teams from the west and three from the east. Each team will play every team in their group once and the team with the best record will advance to the knockout stage. Two wildcard teams will also advance. From this point, the tournament will carry out in a single elimination fashion until a team from the east and the west reach the championship round where one game decides the winner.
This year’s six random group stage groups from the west are: West A: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, and Trailblazers. West B: Thunder, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, and Spurs. West C: Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors, and Grizzlies. Moving on to the east: East A: Knicks, Magic, 76ers, Nets, and Hornets. East B: Bucks, Pacers, Heat, Raptors, and Pistons. East C: Celtics, Cavaliers, Bulls, Falcons, and Wizards. These groups leave for some interesting match-ups before the knockout stage especially the Cavaliers and Celtics along with the Thunder and Lakers.
In terms of winning odds, the Celtics are currently favored to win after their dominance in last year’s regular season, along with winning the NBA finals. After them, the Thunder, Cavaliers, Lakers, Warriors, Knicks and Mavericks also have good odds with a mix of young and veteran talent supporting them. Personally, I think the Lakers are going to win due to their previous victory in 2023 and with Anthony Davis having a potential MVP season so far. While the Lakers were dominant last year, other teams are hungry for the trophy, making this a great reason to watch professional basketball.