The Knockout Round of the NBA's In-Season Tournament starts tomorrow, with eight teams vying for the inaugural NBA Cup:
Tue, Dec 5
8:30a BOS @ IND
11:00a NOP @ SAC
Wed, Dec 6
8:30a NYK @ MIL
11:00a PHX @ LAL
The winners of the Knockout Round games will advance to the semifinals which will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 8 (Manila time). The finals will be held on Dec. 10. The teams eliminated after the Knockout Round in each conference will face each other as part of the NBA's slate of regular season games on Dec. 9.
Except for the finals of the In-Season Tournament, all the games in the Knockout Round and the semifinals will also count as regular season games.
The Celtics are the +300 favorites to win it all, followed by the Bucks at +330. The Lakers and Kings are both listed at +550, followed by the Suns at +650 and the Pelicans at +1200.
The In-Season Tournament prize pool will be allocated to the players on the teams that participate in the Knockout Rounds, with allocations increasing depending on how far a team progresses in the tournament.
At the end of the tournament, the NBA will name the Most Valuable Player of the competition and the All-Tournament Team. Selection will be based on the players’ performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.