The NBA In Season Tournament group play is just 4 games for each team and after yesterday every single team in the NBA has played at least 1 group play game, most teams have played 2 and a couple have played 3.
When The NBA In Season Tournament was announced I was skeptical and the jerseys and courts did very little to pull me in BUT what does pull me in are standings and elimination games and now after just a few group play games many teams will very quickly find themselves on the outside looking in as the group winners join Michael Imperioli in Last Vegas. Also I’ve been impressed that it seems like the players are interested in winning these games.
One of the big reasons I was doubtful of the tournament was that the messaging from fans and media to players is that nothing but winning a championship matters in a season and that has contributed to the all star game and the dunk contest deteriorating. I was worried that the players would mail this in and we would get a team like the Bulls winning the tournament because the Suns rest KD and Booker in the final but I’ve been impressed that it seems like teams and players want to win these games. Maybe it’s the court, maybe it’s Lebron saying he wants to win it or maybe it’s that these are elite competitors but whatever it is I’d say it’s working.
As impressed as I am so far by the In Season Tournament I hadn’t kept up with who had won or lost their group play games so far so after last night made it so every team has played I wanted to dive into the group play games and look at who’s in trouble and see if there are any budding Cinderella stories.
*You may notice that I won’t be talking much about the point differential and that is because most groups will be decided by the first tie breaker head to head record. The point differential will likely decide the wild card team but since point differential can change by so much game to game I didn’t bother too much with it this early. Also I know that the standings are crooked I did my best and I’m super tired*
GROUP A
76ers – Cavaliers – Hawks – Pacers – Pistons
Standings W L
Pacers 2 0
Hawks 1 0
76ers 1 1
Cavs 0 1
Pistons 0 2
Group Summary
This is I think by far the most competitive group in the East but I think most people would assume that 76ers would be the team to come out of this group and they very well might but as it stands right now this group belongs to the Pacers who are 2-0. It’s certainly not over as the Hawks, Sixers and Cavs all have paths to catch and surpass them. The only team not in the mix is the Pistons who have already lost 2 games. Because the group stage is just 4 games losing 2 pretty much means you are eliminated even though there is technically a possibility that so many teams finish 2-2 that the best 2-2 team does get to advance but that possibility is so minute that I will be disregarding it entirely.
Each Team’s Path to Vegas
The Pacers
Like I mentioned above the Pacers are 2-0 with two victories over the Sixers and the Cavs. With wins over 2 strong teams and the free win they will be getting from the Pistons they are pretty much a lock to win this group. They will play the Hawks next Tuesday and if they win that matchup they automatically win this group. SO THAT’S A BIG GAME.
The Hawks
The Hawks have only played 1 game so as much credit as I am giving the Pacers for being the leaders in this group the Hawks could quickly catch up to them. They play the Sixers this Friday in a game that will be backs against the walls for the Sixers who have already lost 1 game and will be eliminated if they lose to the Hawks. If the Hawks win the Sixers game then they will be set for a winner take all game against the Pacers on the 21st. If the Hawks lose to the Sixers then that game against the Pacers becomes do or die for the Hawks especially because they already cashed in their free Pistons win. So the Sixers game this Friday is a big swing game for the Hawks.
The Sixers
The Sixers got off to a good start vs the Pistons but stumbled against the Pacers. Now they need to win their next 2 games in order to have a shot at being the East wildcard. Although if they beat the Hawks and Hawks beat the Pacers it creates an interesting scenario where all three of those teams would be 2-1 with wins against each other and suddenly point differential is what matters. But the important thing to remember is that the Sixers are in the must win zone for the rest of the tournament.
The Cavs
The Cavs are 0-1 after a tough loss to the Pacers so they are also in do or die mode where they need to run the table against the Pistons, Sixers and Hawks. It would be a difficult task but not an impossible one. They will play the Pistons this Friday and hope to even their tournament record at 1-1 and then the Sixers next Tuesday. I feel good about the Cavs chances against the Pistons so they will likely be 1-1 facing off with an either 2-1 or 1-2 Sixers team. No matter what the Sixers’ record is, I don’t love that matchup for the Cavs. It’s early but it might be Joever in Cleveland.
The Pistons
This team got screwed when they got put in a group where they were by far the worst team. They’ll try to play spoiler in their remaining games vs the Cavs and the Pacers but there’s a pretty good chance that they go 0-4 in group play. Which I think brings up an interesting conversation about how the in season tournament might make bad teams look even worse when good teams put in a playoff level effort against them but the Jazz are 2-0 so it might just be a Pistons problem.
Tournament MVP Watch
Tyrese Haliburton
25.5 pts – 14 ast – 4.5 rbs
Joel Embiid
36 pts – 4.5 ast – 14 rbs
Dejounte Murray
32 pts – 10 ast – 5 rbs
Donovan Mitchell
38 pts – 9 ast – 5 rbs
Best Remaining Games
Friday November 17th
Sixers @ Hawks
Tuesday November 21
Pacers @ Hawks
GROUP B
Bucks – Heat – Hornets – Knicks – Wizards
Standings W L
Heat 2 0
Bucks 1 0
Hornets 1 1
Knicks 0 1
Wizards 0 2
Group Summary
This group has plenty of high end talent headlined by the defending eastern conference champion Heat and the Vegas title favorite Bucks along with a very competitive Knicks team. These three teams will be looking to beat up on the Wizards and Hornets and then survive the matchups with each other. The Heat are in pole position with a 2-0 record but I am interested to see if the 1-0 Bucks take these games very seriously to try to manufacture some chemistry with their new lineup.
Each Team’s Path to Vegas
The Heat
Similar to the Pacers the Heat have sprinted to the front of the pack in this group with 2 early wins. Unlike the Pacers who beat arguably the 2 toughest teams in their group the Heat got their 2 wins off this groups cupcakes. The real test will be next friday against the Knicks and then their final game for the Bucks. I have a feeling that November 28th matchup against the Bucks will decide who is representing group B in Vegas.
The Bucks
The Bucks have only played 1 tournament game which they won vs the Knicks. It’s the NBA so anything can happen but I see the Bucks taking their next 2 matchups against the Wizards and the Hornets very seriously as they try to build team chemistry. So I think that we will see a 3-0 Bucks team vs a 3-0 or 2-1 Heat on November 28th to decide the winner of this group.
The Hornets
Now I’ve discounted the Hornets a few times in my assumption that this group will come down to the Bucks and the Heat but they have a tournament win albeit against the somewhat hopeless Wizards so they must be considered a threat to get involved in this group. They’ve faced the Wizards and the Heat and their next matchup will be against the Bucks this Friday. I mentioned in the Bucks blurb that the Bucks will be taking this seriously but taking it seriously or not they have had some disastrous performances from their star duo and their defense against guard and wings has been terrible this year. I’d watch for Melo to absolutely go off in this game and keep it close. If the Hornets can sneak out a win vs the Bucks then suddenly they would be 2-1 with a matchup vs the Knicks to decide if they could potentially be a wild card team. They’ve got a chance to shock the world as much as you can shock the world in the In Season Tournament.
The Knicks
The Knicks started their group play off in the tough spot with a loss to the Bucks but their Vegas hopes are not dead. They play the group punching bag Wizards this Friday and then real do or die match up will be vs the Heat next Friday. If they can win both of those games they would feel really good about a matchup with the Hornets with a chance to advance on the line. I hate to be constantly disrespecting the Hornets and Wizards but the Knicks In Season Tournament hopes lie in beating the Heat next Friday other than that it’s just taking care of business.
The Wizards
Similar to the Pistons it has gotten late early in DC. As bad as they’ve looked this year blowing a bunch of late leads I don’t think the Wizards are as bad as people think they are after all in order to blow a lead you have to get a lead. As high as I am on the Wizards in general now that they lost to the Hornets their most likely outcome for this group is to go 0-4 but don’t be too surprised if those crazy kids in Washington pull off an upset in their remaining games vs the Bucks and the Knicks.
Tournament MVP Watch
Damian Lillard
30 pts – 4 ast – 4 rbs
Jimmy Butler
26 pts – 3.5 ast – 5.5 rbs
Lamelo Ball
26.5 pts – 8.5 ast – 6 rbs
Best Remaining Games
Friday November 24th
Heat @ Knicks
Tuesday November 28th
Bucks @ Heat
GROUP C
Bulls – Celtics – Magic – Nets – Raptors
Standings W L
Celtics 1 0
Nets 2 1
Raptors 0 0
Bulls 0 1
Magic 0 1
Group Summary
I just realized that somehow the Raptors are the only team that hasn’t played a tournament game yet and earlier I said multiple times that everyone has played so I’ll have to go back and fix that. Besides the Raptors not playing any games this group is unique because there is not one team that has jumped out to a 2-0 lead like in the other 2 groups. The Celtics seem like obvious favorites and they did beat the Nets who so far have been the other impressive team in the group beating both the Magic and the Bulls. This group is up for grabs (and at the same time it’s the Celtic’s to lose)
The Celtics
The Celtics are off to a good start by beating the Nets who so far seem like their biggest competition in the group. But there are no guarantees in the In Season Tournament especially considering both the Bulls and the Magic have had the Celtic’s number in the regular season over the past 2 years. This Friday the Celtics will play the Raptors and if they lose then they will fall to 1-1 and the Raptors will suddenly be the #1 team in the group.
The Nets
The Nets are one of the few teams that have played 3 times so they have just 1 game left in the group stage. They’ve done about as well as they could hope to have done and if they beat the Raptors on November 28th they’ll finish the group stage 3-1 and be a strong contender to either win the group if the Celtics stumble or be the East wild card team.
The Raptors
Somehow they haven’t played so everything is in front of the Raptors. They have to start their road to Vegas with the Celtics which is tough because most likely they’ll be 0-1 quickly and have to claw back into contention but if they can sneak a win (and this week might be the week to do it with Porzingis and Brown both missing games) then it only get easier from there for the Raptors.
The Bulls
The Bulls lost a close matchup with the Nets to start their tournament and it probably set them far enough back that I wouldn’t consider them a factor to come out of this group as executives around the league eagerly watch and wait for this team to implode it doesn’t seem like they’ll be making a miracle run through the tournament.
The Magic
Similar to the Bulls, the Magic started their tournament by losing to the Nets. Unlike the Bulls I would still give the Magic a fight chance to win out and compete for the group of the wildcard. The Magic are exactly the kind of team that people thought might make a big push to win this Cup since they have an exciting young team that has no real shot to win the Championship this year. Like I mentioned in the Celtic blurb the Magic matchup well with them and in their remaining games vs the Bulls and Raptors I’d pick the Magic. They’ll play the Bulls this Friday and then they’re make it or break it game will be against the Celtics on the 24th.
Tournament MVP Watch
Jayson Tatum
23 pts – 3 ast – 10 rbs
Jaylen Brown
28 pts – 5 ast – 3 rbs
Mikal Bridges
17.6 pts – 2.6 ast – 4 rbs (lol not a lot of great options in this group)
Best Remaining Games
Friday November 24th
Celtics @ Magic
Tuesday November 28th
Nets @ Raptors
I’ll do the West in part 2!
The Dishwasher 
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