NBA Cup 2024 FAQs as Rockets begin play in West Group A

Posted by author November 15, 2024 NBA

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The Houston Rockets began their Emirates NBA Cup 2024 run with Friday’s home game versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Here’s a look at how it all works.

From the middle of November to early December, the NBA is playing the second annual edition of the in-season tournament that it introduced a year ago. Each season, six five-team groups — three groups per conference — play a round-robin format. The winners of each group, along with one wild-card from each conference, advance to the eight-team knockout round.

Now known as the Emirates NBA Cup 2024, this season’s event tipped off on Nov. 12 in team markets and culminates with the semifinals (Dec. 14) and championship (Dec. 17) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

For the Rockets, who are part of West Group A in the Western Conference, their slate began with a home game on Friday, Nov. 15, versus the Los Angeles Clippers. Houston’s complete 2024 NBA Cup schedule is as follows:

Friday, Nov. 15: Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers (home)
Friday, Nov. 22: Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers (home)
Tuesday, Nov. 26: Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves (road)
Tuesday, Dec. 3: Rockets at Sacramento Kings (road)

Answers to many frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the format are below.

Among five Group A teams (Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Rockets, Trail Blazers), the club with the best tournament record after four group-stage games advances to the quarterfinals alongside the winners of two other five-team Western Conference groups. Point differential is the first tiebreaker. Beyond group winners, one wild-card team — sorted by record among second-place group finishers and subsequently tiebreakers — will also advance.

Those three group-stage winners and one wild-card team will compete in the West’s knockout round, which takes place in the second week of December.

With the exception of the championship game, all in-season tournament games also count toward the league’s 2024-25 regular-season standings. For teams who do not advance to the eight-team quarterfinals, two additional regular-season games will be scheduled versus other same-conference teams who do not advance.

All NBA Cup games also feature a unique hardwood court for each team’s two home games, as part of a plan by the league to visually distinguish those games from standard regular-season contests. In Houston, that means a sleek red design at Toyota Center. To say the least, it will stand out.