Welcome to Cupping Season

The knockout round is set.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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The Senses of Hearing, Touch and Taste; Jan Bruegel the Elder; 1620

Here’s our knockout bracket for the 2024 NBA Cup after the end of the group stage.

EAST
Magic (4) at Bucks (1)
Hawks (3) at Knicks (2)

WEST
Mavericks (4) at Thunder (1)
Warriors (3) at Rockets (2)

Those games are next Tuesday and Wednesday, and the winners will face off in Las Vegas on December 14. The championship game is set for December 17.

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Ziller’s Review of the Knockout Field

This eight-team group is not nearly as funny as it could have been going into the final night of group play. The Pistons, who lost 28 games in a row last season, could have been here! The Spurs, who were so bad so much of last season, could have been here. Alas. Those of us rooting for improbable outcomes must find solace in the Atlanta Hawks, a mystery team of the highest order.

Anyway, this is how we got here.