Game 6: GSW @ Oklahoma City. LET THE NBA CUP TOURNAMENT BEGIN! Plus open thread.
Yes, of course I care about the in-season tournament
UPDATE (Nov 3, 7am): ESPN Sources: As the NBA pushes to accelerate the competitive environment of the new In-Season Tournament, the league’s coaches are joining the players in getting paid a financial prize pool for advancing into the final stages of event
This is the first game of the NBA Cup, the new In-Season Tournament. Some people think this is a silly idea. I think it’s great. NBA fans need more things to care about than who wins the Finals, and this is a good start.
American sports fans on the whole have a myopic experience of sports, which revolves around having ammunition to mock your enemies (haha you didn’t win the championship neener neener) as opposed to appreciating the amazing athletic accomplishments that come from hard work, teamwork and sacrifice, and honorable competition that brings out the best in everyone.
Eight teams will advance to the Knockout Rounds: the team with the best standing in Group Play games in each of the six groups and two “wild cards” (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group). The Knockout Rounds will consist of single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (played in NBA team markets on Monday, Dec. 4 and Tuesday, Dec. 5) and Semifinals and Championship (played in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9, respectively). The Knockout teams will compete for a prize pool and the new In-Season Tournament trophy, the NBA Cup.
Each of the 22 teams that do not advance to the Quarterfinals of the In-Season Tournament will be assigned two regular-season games (one home game and one away game) that will be played on Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Friday, Dec. 8.
Also there is prize money:
The players on the winning team will each get $500,000, while the runners-up will get $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals will each get $100,000, and the losing players of the quarterfinals will each get $50,000.
Warriors 2023 In-Season Tournament Schedule
Friday, Nov. 3 | 5 p.m. (PDT)
at Oklahoma City Thunder
Tuesday, Nov. 14 | 7 p.m. (PST)
vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Friday, Nov. 24 | 7 p.m. (PST)
vs. San Antonio Spurs
Tuesday, Nov. 28 | 7 p.m. (PST)
at Sacramento Kings
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City
WHEN: 2023-11-03 5:00 PM Pacific
WATCH: NBCSN Bay Area
https://open.substack.com/pub/dubnation/p/warriors-love-chris-paul-continue?r=3lpzv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web new threaaad
Really conflicted about OKC. I intensely dislike the team, the owner, somewhat the city and the fans as well, and resent them for stealing the Sonics from Seattle, BUT ... I really do like pretty much all of their players and find myself rooting for them when not playing the Warriors. SGA, the Williamses, Dort, Giddey, and now Chet and Cason Wallace, my draft crush. With all the picks they have coming, I hope a couple of those shake loose and end up on the Warriors in a few years.