The NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament resumes Tuesday, with 10 teams — including the leaders of Group A in each conference: LeBron James’ Lakers out West and Tyrese Haliburton’s go-go Pacers in the East — in action on the fifth night of the tournament’s schedule.
Here’s a look at what’s at stake in Tuesday’s five-game in-season tournament slate, as well as the lay of the land in each of the six groups as the tourney presses on:
Gone till (next) November
The Grizzlies, Spurs, Pistons and Wizards have all lost their first three in-season tournament games. Even if they win their respective finales, they can’t advance out of the group stage. Sorry, fellas. No trips to Vegas for you.
Who’s sitting pretty
The Lakers own the West’s best point differential in group play, having outscored their opponents by 42 points across three victories. They can finish off a perfect run through Group A — and clinch a spot in the knockout round — with a win over the Jazz on Tuesday. It’ll be the first meeting between the two clubs this season; they split their four games last season, with the Jazz taking two November contests amid LA’s early-season struggles (hey, remember the Russell Westbrook era?) and the Lakers winning two April affairs after remaking their roster at the trade deadline.
After knocking off the 76ers last Tuesday behind a brilliant performance by their Haliburton-led offense, the Pacers sit atop Group A in the East. They take on a Hawks club that has lost four of its last six, giving up more than 118 points per 100 possessions in that span — potentially a friendly matchup for an Indiana team that’s been burying opponents with buckets in the opening weeks of the season. Get past Atlanta and only already-eliminated Detroit will stand between the Pacers and a trip to the knockout stages.
Despite an uneven overall start to the season, Milwaukee is 2-0 in tournament play heading into a meeting with the woeful Wizards on Friday. Beating up on Washington to inflate their East-leading point differential (+36) would put the Bucks in great shape to advance — whether as the winner of Group…
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Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2023-11-21 13:42:32
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