Mapping out all situations for the Black Friday NBA Cup video games

After taking Thanksgiving off, Black Friday will characteristic 11 video games, all of them a part of the NBA Cup.

Only three groups have clinched spots within the quarterfinals, with 5 extra spots left to assert within the video games that will likely be held Dec. 9 and 10. The winner of these video games will advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas on Dec. 13, with the championship on Dec. 16.

Here is what’s left to find out on the ultimate night time of group play. A reminder: Head-to-head outcomes are the tiebreaker inside a bunch, whereas level differential is the primary tiebreaker when contemplating every convention’s wild card — the very best non-group winner — after report.

Eastern Conference

In Group A, the Toronto Raptors (4-0, +55) have clinched the group. The Raptors would be the high seed if the Orlando Magic lose on Friday and the second seed if the Magic win. Regardless, one of many two East quarterfinals will likely be at Scotiabank Arena.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (2-1, +33) can nonetheless win the wild card in the event that they beat the Atlanta Hawks, however will need the Milwaukee Bucks to beat the New York Knicks and Orlando to beat the Detroit Pistons. That state of affairs would guarantee the Cavs advance. If Detroit loses however New York beats Milwaukee, Cleveland should win by not less than 16 factors; if Detroit and New York win, the Cavs should make up 28 factors of differential on Orlando.

In Group B, the Orlando-Detroit winner will win the group. The Magic (3-0, +61) would be the high seed in the event that they win, whereas the Pistons (2-1, +24) will likely be second or third in the event that they win.

The Magic can nonetheless win the wild card in the event that they lose, particularly in the event that they lose by a slim margin. The key numbers are the 28-point margin they’ve over Cleveland and the 12-point edge they’ve over the Miami Heat, who’re off. If the Magic lose by fewer than 12 and Cleveland wins by fewer than 17, Orlando would be the wild card, barring a staggering blowout win by Milwaukee at Madison Square Garden.

In Group C, the Bucks (2-1, +13)  and Knicks (2-1, +26) play one another in an odd elimination — New York can win the group however not the wild card, whereas Milwaukee can win the wild card however not the group. Miami is off, however the Heat’s destiny hinges on these two.

If the Bucks win, the Heat (3-1, +49) win the group, eliminating New York. Milwaukee would have an uphill battle for the wild card until the Bucks win in a blowout. Most probably, they want each Cleveland and Detroit to lose to assert the wild card.

If the Bucks lose, New York wins the group and would probably be the third seed, though they nonetheless might transfer as much as second, whereas the Heat would stay in wild-card rivalry. If Cleveland wins by 15 or much less or loses, and Orlando both wins or loses by greater than 12, then Miami is the wild card.

Western Conference

In Group A, the winner between the Oklahoma City Thunder (3-0, +71) and the Phoenix Suns (3-0, +35) will win the group and certain be the highest seed, whereas the loser has an excellent likelihood to be the wild card. The winner between the Memphis Grizzlies (2-1, +9) and LA Clippers (2-1, -9) is the one different group that would win the wild card, and each these groups path the Suns and Thunder considerably in level margin.

The Los Angeles Lakers (3-0, +36) have gained Group B and can probably be the second seed, though they nonetheless might be first or third. The winner of the Memphis-Clippers sport is alive for the wild card, however must win by a large margin. Given how good the Thunder are this season, the Grizzlies blowing out the Clippers and the Thunder doing the identical to the Suns, permitting the Grizzlies to beat their present 26-point deficit in comparison with the Suns, is the most certainly path towards this group producing the wild card. The Clippers have 44 factors to make up on the Suns.

The winner of the sport between the Denver Nuggets (2-1, +26) and San Antonio Spurs (2-1, +23) will take Group C. This group’s champ is prone to be the third seed however might transfer as much as second if the Lakers lose. Nobody on this group can win the wild card.

For the 22 groups that don’t advance, the league will schedule one residence sport and one away sport throughout the second week in December. Two of the video games must be interconference pairings. Typically, the league has scheduled light-weight matchups for these to keep away from impacting playoff races. Look for one thing alongside the traces of Washington-New Orleans or Indiana-Utah to be a part of this 12 months’s slate.