Post by Admin on Nov 10, 2023 12:19:52 GMT -5
Celtics fans guide to in-season tournament: Everything you need to know
By Souichi Terada | sterada@masslive.com
By Souichi Terada | sterada@masslive.com
When the Celtics take on the Nets on Friday, some fans are likely going to be confused when they see the court at TD Garden. The NBA unveiled new courts specifically for its new in-season tournament, which has drawn the ire of some fans for the colorful aesthetics.
But that’s the new in-season tourney, which debuts for the 2023-24 season. It’s a new invention for the league as it looks to spice up the regular season. Plenty of fans — and even some players — are still wondering what exactly this new tournament will entail.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new in-season tournament:
What exactly is the in-season tournament?
The in-season tournament has multiple stages, but the most important part is that it still counts towards a team’s regular-season record. The NBA wanted to incorporate a tourney into the middle of the season, so this was the league’s solution. The tournament will last a total of 67 games and is called the NBA Cup.
The tournament itself is relatively straightforward. The NBA split up its 30 teams into six groups with three in each conference. Each group has five teams and those teams will play each other in a round-robin format. After the group play, the top team from each group will advance to the knockout stages. One wild card from each conference will also make it to the knockouts to form an eight-team bracket.
From there, it’s a single-elimination tournament, much like March Madness at the college level. The quarterfinals will be played at team sites, so the Celtics could end up getting an extra home game, for example. The semifinals and finals will both be played in Las Vegas at a neutral site. The semis will be Dec. 7 while the finals will be Dec. 9. The main detail to know about the finals is that is the lone game in the in-season tournament that won’t count toward a team’s regular-season record.
Teams that don’t qualify past the group play round will have two regular-season games assigned to them, one home and on the road. Teams that lose in the quarterfinals will have an extra regular-season game against another quarterfinal loser.
Who are the other teams in the Celtics’ group?
The Celtics are in Group C in the East. Their opponents are the Nets, Raptors, Bulls and Magic. They take on the Nets to start Friday. They’ll play at the Raptors on Nov. 17, at the Magic on Nov. 24 and wrap up group play at home against the Bulls on Nov. 28.
The Celtics are in Group C in the East. Their opponents are the Nets, Raptors, Bulls and Magic. They take on the Nets to start Friday. They’ll play at the Raptors on Nov. 17, at the Magic on Nov. 24 and wrap up group play at home against the Bulls on Nov. 28.
What do teams get for winning the in-season tournament?
Players and coaches will earn $500,000 each for winning the entire tournament and it’s a descending number from there. The runner-ups will get $200,000 each, semifinalists at $100,000 each and the quarterfinalists at $50,000. Now, that’s not a huge sum for guys like Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, but that could be a nice penny for the end-of-bench guys. Assistant coaches get a separate pool where they will share 75% of whatever the head coach’s pool is.
Players and coaches will earn $500,000 each for winning the entire tournament and it’s a descending number from there. The runner-ups will get $200,000 each, semifinalists at $100,000 each and the quarterfinalists at $50,000. Now, that’s not a huge sum for guys like Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, but that could be a nice penny for the end-of-bench guys. Assistant coaches get a separate pool where they will share 75% of whatever the head coach’s pool is.
What’s with these new courts?
For home games at the in-season tournament, the NBA unveiled 30 courts for each team to be played on just for this competition. Some of them are extremely colorful to the point where fans have criticized the court. Here’s a look at the Celtics’ in-season tourney court. The Garden court has some details and goes well with the Celtics’ “City Edition” uniforms for this season.
For home games at the in-season tournament, the NBA unveiled 30 courts for each team to be played on just for this competition. Some of them are extremely colorful to the point where fans have criticized the court. Here’s a look at the Celtics’ in-season tourney court. The Garden court has some details and goes well with the Celtics’ “City Edition” uniforms for this season.
Why should you care?
Well, the Celtics are still playing regular-season basketball games. They just come with a little bit more attention with the in-season tournament, along with more flash with the courts. The NBA’s been pushing for this idea for the past few years as a way to make the regular season a little more interesting. While it’s likely not going to replace playoff-intensity basketball in group play games, that could chance once teams start getting to the knockout stages.
It’s also important to note this is the first season the league is doing this tournament. It takes at least a few tries to smooth out any issues in a new idea. Fans, players and coaches will go into the tourney with skepticism since it is a new idea. But it only takes a few fun games in the knockout stages for there to get some more buy-in as a whole. There could also be a middle-tier team making a Cinderella run, which is entirely possible in the single-elimination format.
Also, the NBA will get some marquee cross-conference matchups in Las Vegas for the semifinals and finals, so those should be fun to watch. East and West teams meet only twice during the regular season, so an extra third matchup between two contenders should add extra juice. If, for example, the Celtics and Lakers meet in Vegas, then fans are going to be tuned into that game.
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how the in-season tourney unfolds over the next few weeks. The group play games are ho-hum regular-season games, for now. But the stakes will rise in the knockout stages, and that’s where the NBA is banking it can have a better product. At the very least, the league is trying something different.
Well, the Celtics are still playing regular-season basketball games. They just come with a little bit more attention with the in-season tournament, along with more flash with the courts. The NBA’s been pushing for this idea for the past few years as a way to make the regular season a little more interesting. While it’s likely not going to replace playoff-intensity basketball in group play games, that could chance once teams start getting to the knockout stages.
It’s also important to note this is the first season the league is doing this tournament. It takes at least a few tries to smooth out any issues in a new idea. Fans, players and coaches will go into the tourney with skepticism since it is a new idea. But it only takes a few fun games in the knockout stages for there to get some more buy-in as a whole. There could also be a middle-tier team making a Cinderella run, which is entirely possible in the single-elimination format.
Also, the NBA will get some marquee cross-conference matchups in Las Vegas for the semifinals and finals, so those should be fun to watch. East and West teams meet only twice during the regular season, so an extra third matchup between two contenders should add extra juice. If, for example, the Celtics and Lakers meet in Vegas, then fans are going to be tuned into that game.
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how the in-season tourney unfolds over the next few weeks. The group play games are ho-hum regular-season games, for now. But the stakes will rise in the knockout stages, and that’s where the NBA is banking it can have a better product. At the very least, the league is trying something different.