Celtics’ group, opponents for 2024 NBA Cup revealed

Celtics’ group, opponents for 2024 NBA Cup revealed originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The NBA In-Season Tournament will return this year as the Emirates NBA Cup after a successful debut last season.

For the tournament, the two conferences are divided into three groups with five teams in each to make six groups in total. Each team plays one game against the other teams in its group.

The winner in each group advances to the knockout stage along with one wild card team, the runner-up from each conference. The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament.

The groups for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup were unveiled Friday live on ESPN. The reigning champion Boston Celtics will be in Group C with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, and Washington Wizards.

That should be a relatively easy slate for the C’s, who steamrolled their opponents en route to a 64-18 record last season before cruising to an NBA title. The Cavaliers, whom Boston defeated 4-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, present the toughest challenge. The Bulls, Hawks, and Wizards each finished last season with losing records.

In last year’s tournament, the Celtics won Group C over the Bulls, Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets, and Toronto Raptors but fell to the Indiana Pacers in the quarterfinals. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Pacers in the championship game.

The Emirates NBA Cup will begin on Nov. 12 and end with the semifinals on Dec. 14 and the championship on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas.