CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The NBA’s second annual in-season competition is inching closer, and the Cavs’ schedule for the NBA Cup was released on Tuesday by ESPN.
The Cavs are in East Group C, which is also comprised of the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards. All 30 teams have been randomly drawn into six groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2023-24 regular season.
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Their first matchup is on Friday, Nov. 15, continuing through Tuesday, Dec. 3, each team will play four designated group play games – one game against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two on the road.
All 67 games across both stages of the NBA Cup will count toward the regular-season standings except the championship.
Cavs NBA Cup Group Play schedule
Friday, Nov. 15: Cavs vs. Chicago Bulls at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on NBA League Pass with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern
Tuesday, Nov. 19: Cavs at Boston Celtics at TD Garden on TNT with tip-off at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Friday, Nov. 29: Cavs at Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on NBA TV with tip-off at 2:30 p.m. Eastern
Tuesday, Dec. 3: Cavs vs. Washington Wizards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on NBA League Pass with tip-off at 7 p.m. Eastern
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The knockout teams will compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup championship trophy. The Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup against the Indiana Pacers in 2023.
Eight teams will advance to the knockout round with single-elimination games.
The Cavs learned firsthand just how tough it is to reach the knockout round in 2023. Despite finishing group play with a 3-1 record and a plus-29 point differential, they still missed out.
There are six teams that automatically earn a spot in the knockout rounds by having the best record in their groups, but there are also two “wild cards” — the team from each conference with the best record in group play games that finished second in its group.
In the event two or more teams are tied within a group or for the wild card in a conference, the tie among the teams will be broken according to the following tiebreakers (in sequential order):
- Head-to-head record in group play
- Point differential in group play
- Total points scored in group play
- Record from the 2023-24 NBA regular season
- Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers).
- Overtime scoring will not count towards the point differential and total points tiebreakers in the Emirates NBA Cup. A team’s point differential will be “0″ in Group Play games that go to overtime, and a team’s total points scored will exclude points scored in overtime.
In 2023, the Knicks had a plus-42 point differential, giving them the edge over the Cavs for the wild card spot.
As they head into the 2024 in-season tournament, the Cavs have a chance for revenge against the Celtics, who eliminated them from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals, as they face off in East Group C.
The Cavs are determined to reach the knockout round, not just for the incentives and trophy at stake, but also for the playoff-like experience that will prove valuable in May.
“I think that’s what’s cool about the in-season tournament is like your mental approach, it’s different but it’s also playoff-like,” Donovan Mitchell said last season. “The intensity level, the focus, the little nuances of the game, it’s playoff-like and you’re going through these experiences in November, you’re going through these moments in November, December continuing to build and I think that’s great. That’s great for the game, it’s great for the fans but it’s also great for us to put us through these moments and I think it’s not just us, all the teams throughout the league are definitely going through it.”
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