With a 30-team discipline of hopefuls now whittled all the way down to a ultimate 4, the NBA-watching world now trains its consideration on Las Vegas. Welcome to the semifinals of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. Seize a beverage, sit down, keep a spell; Trae’s bought a sizzling hand.
Two groups from every convention — the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and Houston Rockets from the West, the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks from the East — will sq. off in a Saturday doubleheader to find out which squads may have the prospect to compete for the NBA Cup. Let’s set the desk for what’s certain to be an exhilarating conclusion by revisiting how we bought right here and looking at some issues to keep watch over in every of our two semifinal tilts:
The place we left off
Within the East:
Taking part in with out injured main scorers Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the Magic mounted about as valiant an effort as you could possibly ask for in opposition to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. Orlando dominated the offensive glass, compelled 16 Milwaukee turnovers and led the top-seeded and favored Bucks within the ultimate minute behind a career-high 32 factors from guard Jalen Suggs.
However after a clutch triple and driving end by Damian Lillard put Milwaukee again on prime, Suggs got here up simply quick on two lengthy balls — one for the lead, the opposite for a tie — that allowed the Bucks to complete off a 114-109 win, keep undefeated within the match and punch their tickets to Vegas.
They’ll face the Hawks, who took down the East-leading Cavaliers and Celtics en path to profitable East Group C … and who saved their match run alive by defanging one other prime offense at Madison Sq. Backyard.
The revamped Hawks encompass All-Star level guard Trae Younger with a ton of measurement: facilities Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu stand 6-foot-10; forwards Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and De’Andre Hunter all go 6-foot-8; ascendant defensive menace Dyson Daniels flanks Trae at 6-foot-7. Atlanta introduced all that peak, size and athleticism to bear on the Knicks, holding Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Cities and the remainder of New York’s red-hot offense to only 46 factors on 19-for-49 taking pictures within the second half whereas proudly owning the offensive glass, grabbing 14 of their season-high 22 offensive rebounds after intermission.
That utilized physicality, mixed with Younger’s affected person dissection of New York’s protection to create open take care of open look, turned a recreation the Knicks had as soon as led by double-digits right into a 108-100 win for the guests, one other likelihood for Younger to tweak the MSG trustworthy …
… and a possibility for the upstart Hawks to take purpose at one other favourite in pursuit of an enormous gold trophy and a good greater bag.
Within the West:
The Thunder made two main offseason strikes to repair the issues revealed throughout their loss to the Mavericks within the second spherical of the 2024 NBA playoffs: signing Isaiah Hartenstein to shore up the weak point on the glass that Mavs facilities Daniel Gafford and Dereck Energetic II exploited within the postseason, and flipping the shaky-shooting-and-defending Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso, an All-Defensive Teamer contemporary off a 40% season from deep. Each strikes paid off Tuesday: Hartenstein led Oklahoma Metropolis to a 17-7 edge on the offensive glass; Caruso knocked down a pair of 3s whereas dishing 4 assists and snaring two steals off the bench; and a suffocating Thunder protection harassed Mavericks superstars Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving into simply 33 mixed factors.
That’s six fewer than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had all by his rattling self:
Behind a 39-point masterclass from SGA, a season-high 20 3-pointers, and a snare-drum-tight defensive effort that held the Mavs — who have been lacking beginning ahead/OKC killer P.J. Washington — to their second-worst offensive efficiency of the season, the Thunder cruised to a 118-104 win to safe a spot within the semis … the place they’ll be joined by the Rockets, following a controversial conclusion to Houston’s Wednesday slugfest in opposition to the Warriors.
Whether or not or not you agree with the referees’ late-game choices on the scramble drill that ended with Gary Payton II committing Golden State’s fifteenth turnover and Jalen Inexperienced hitting two game-winning free throws — Steve Kerr certain as hell didn’t — the Rockets deserve credit score for getting off the mat in opposition to the extra skilled Stephen Curry- and Draymond Inexperienced-led Dubs, ending the sport on a 9-1 run, and leaning on their elite protection to punctuate it with a cease and shut out a 91-90 squeaker.
Again in April, the Warriors edged out the surging Rockets, ending Houston’s hopes of constructing the play-in match; eight months later, Ime Udoka’s younger costs returned the favor, establishing what guarantees to be a bruising matchup between two of the youngest and greatest defensive groups within the NBA.
What to know in regards to the semifinal matchups
(1) BUCKS VS. (3) HAWKS — SATURDAY, 4:30 P.M. ET (TNT)
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Bucks: East Group B winner, East No. 1 seed, 5-0 file, +55 level differential (W vs. Raptors, W vs. Pacers, W at Warmth, W at Pistons, W vs. Magic)
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Hawks: East Group C winner, 4-1 file, +23 level differential (W at Celtics, W vs. Wizards, L at Bulls, W vs. Cavaliers, W at Knicks)
When these two groups met final week, Giannis and Dame mixed for 56 factors on simply 28 discipline purpose makes an attempt … and Atlanta nonetheless received by 15 on the highway, blitzing a Bucks crew that was on the second half of a back-to-back and lacked any juice past what its two superstars offered.
“I assumed we have been dead-legged a lot of the recreation,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers informed reporters after the competition. “We didn’t suppose nicely, which is a direct signal of fatigue. Didn’t execute very nicely. Our passes have been actually late.”
This time, the Hawks received’t be coming in with the remaining benefit. And this time, Milwaukee may have its third star, ahead Khris Middleton, again within the fold (albeit on a minutes restriction) after he missed the primary 21 video games of the season recuperating from offseason surgical procedure on each of his ankles.
The three-time All-Star remains to be knocking the rust off, taking pictures simply 5-for-20 from the sector in his first 63 minutes. However the Bucks have received these minutes by 23 factors, scoring at a league-best clip within the half-court with Middleton accessible to offer a important complementary playmaking possibility, dishing 19 assists in opposition to three turnovers — with 13 of the helpers going to Giannis:
7 of Khris Middleton’s 8 assists final evening have been to Giannis.
13 of his 19 assists since returning are to Giannis.
Their chemistry remains to be pretty much as good as anybody’s within the league. pic.twitter.com/4HEQSWRJj8
— Nathan Marzion (@nathanmarzion) December 11, 2024
The Bucks may want that stage of ruthless half-court effectivity if the Hawks convey the identical vitality they did of their quarterfinal win over the Knicks … which, now that you just point out it, resembled the script of final week’s win in Milwaukee.
The Hawks hectored the Bucks right into a season-high-tying 18 turnovers, 16 of which have been live-ball cough-ups — a specialty of an Atlanta crew that trails solely Oklahoma Metropolis in steals and deflections per recreation. That allowed the Hawks to repeatedly push the ball in opposition to Milwaukee’s bottom-10 transition protection, to the tune of 30 fast-break factors.
Atlanta additionally pounded the Bucks on the offensive glass, rebounding 38.6% of its missed pictures — the second-highest determine Giannis and Co. have allowed all season, simply forward of what Orlando managed within the quarters — and turning them into 19 second-chance factors. All these further possessions, mixed with Younger repeatedly getting downhill in opposition to a porous point-of-attack protection and his fellow Hawks taking benefit with sensible off-ball cuts behind somnambulant defenders, produced 64 factors within the paint for Atlanta.
That’s the second most the Bucks have given up this season, nevertheless it’s not an outlier for Quin Snyder’s crew. The Hawks have hit that mark 10 occasions in 26 video games and scored extra paint factors per recreation than anyone however Memphis. (The Bucks, however, sit twenty sixth in that class, regardless of using the game’s most devastating inside scorer.)
Shedding the possession battle almost price Milwaukee in opposition to a Magic crew lacking its two greatest offensive gamers. Do it in opposition to a Hawks facet that’s brimming with confidence led by help king Younger and an rising weapon within the 22-year-old Johnson — now averaging 20.4 factors, 12.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists and three.0 “shares” in NBA Cup play — and the top-seeded Bucks may discover themselves on the enterprise finish of a second straight upset in Sin Metropolis.
(1) THUNDER VS. (2) ROCKETS — SATURDAY, 8:30 P.M. ET (ABC)
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Thunder: West Group B winner, 4-1 file, +59 level differential (W vs. Suns, L at Spurs, W at Lakers, W vs. Jazz, W vs. Mavericks)
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Rockets: West Group A winner, 4-1 file, +41 level differential (W vs. Clippers, W vs. Path Blazers, W at Timberwolves, L at Kings, W vs. Warriors)
Two of the NBA’s 4 youngest rosters additionally function the league’s two stingiest defenses — huge, lengthy, athletic, versatile, bodily and offended outfits adept at both blowing up your units to snuff out your greatest choices or simply strong-arming the ball away from you.
Oklahoma Metropolis has most likely gotten extra publicity within the early going, and understandably so. The Thunder have outpaced the league’s common defensive unit by sufficient that, while you modify for period, they’re operating neck and neck with Tim Duncan’s 2003-04 Spurs for the very best protection for the reason that ABA-NBA merger in 1976, in line with Jared Dubin at Final Evening in Basketball. Udoka’s relentless Rockets aren’t far off that tempo, although, sitting simply outdoors the highest 10 by that adjusted effectivity metric, and simply outdoors the highest 5 since 2000, in line with PBP Stats.
The 2 groups have cut up their two conferences this season. OKC posted a blowout win in November, thanks partially to 29 factors from the now-injured Chet Holmgren. Houston bought its lick again two weeks in the past in a 119-116 thriller that includes 16 ties, seven lead adjustments, Fred VanVleet exploding for 38 factors in 35 minutes and a wild ultimate couple of minutes stuffed with playoff-level depth:
That’s the one recreation Oklahoma Metropolis has misplaced since Isaiah Hartenstein made his season debut; the Thunder have outscored opponents by a monster 14.6 factors per 100 possessions with the 7-footer on the ground. Crucially, they’ve additionally rebounded 72.4% of opponents’ missed pictures with Hartenstein within the lineup, a defensive rebounding price that might rank simply outdoors the highest 5 for the total season, welding shut the one evident crack in OKC’s defensive armor.
Hartenstein may have his arms full holding off a Rockets crew that leads the NBA in offensive rebounding price — and, extra particularly, with Houston huge man Alperen Şengün. The 22-year-old took it to Draymond Inexperienced and an elite Warriors protection within the quarterfinals, and is one in all simply 5 gamers within the league averaging 18 factors, 10 rebounds and 5 assists per recreation this season. (Three of them, coincidentally, will play in Vegas on Saturday: Şengün, Antetokounmpo and the Hawks’ Johnson.)
With two defenses this gifted and tenacious, the distinction may come all the way down to shot-making. No crew wins the possession battle extra constantly and successfully than Houston — the primary motive why the Rockets have fielded an above-average offense regardless of rating within the backside third of the league in field-goal share, 3-point share, free-throw share and help price. However the Rockets are dealing with a Thunder crew that turns the ball over much less steadily than they do, forces turnovers extra usually than they do and shoots higher than they do in any respect three ranges — all led by MVP candidate Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s on tempo for his third season of averaging 30-plus factors per recreation on higher than .600 true taking pictures (which components in 2-point, 3-point and free-throw accuracy). The one gamers in NBA historical past with greater than three? Michael Jordan and Adrian Dantley.
Gilgeous-Alexander would be the greatest participant on the courtroom Saturday. The duty dealing with his Canadian nationwide teammate Dillon Brooks, “Terror Twins” Tari Eason and Amen Thompson, and the remainder of that snarling Rockets protection? Dim the celebrity’s shine sufficient to show the semifinal matchup into the type of heavyweight prize-fight that Vegas is thought for — after which land yet one more punch than the opposite man.
What comes subsequent?
The winners of Saturday’s single-elimination semifinal video games will advance to the NBA Cup championship recreation, which can tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, airing on ABC. That championship recreation would be the just one in your complete match that received’t additionally rely towards contributors’ regular-season data and statistics. For these two groups, it can rely as Recreation 83.
Simply making the knockout spherical assured each participant on the collaborating groups a payout; to the winners, although, go better spoils, with the match champion taking house the largest financial institution.
For the inaugural in-season match, the prize pool operated in good spherical numbers: $50,000 for every participant on groups that lose within the quarterfinals; $100,000 for gamers on groups that lose within the semifinals; $200,000 for gamers on the crew that loses within the ultimate recreation; and a crisp $500,000 for everybody on the crew that hoists the NBA Cup. The mathematics’s a bit wonkier this 12 months, because of a passage within the collective bargaining settlement between the NBA and its gamers union stipulating that these prize payouts rise by a “development issue” tied to any improve within the basketball-related earnings (BRI) that the league generates.
BRI went up from final season to this one; ergo, so have the payouts:
(Granted: not fairly as clear as all these zeroes on final 12 months’s winnings. One way or the other, although, I don’t suppose the gamers will thoughts.)
Win on Tuesday evening, and you are taking house the entire showcase: the NBA Cup and no matter bragging rights go along with it, plus that $514,971 winner’s purse for every participant. Which, as vacation bonuses go? Fairly first rate.
