Sixers to open NBA Cup play against rival Boston Celtics on Prime
The Atlantic Division rivals are grouped with the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, and Brooklyn Nets (another division foe), in East Group B in the in-season tournament.
The 76ers will open NBA Cup play against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 31 at home. The contest will be televised on Amazon’s Prime Video.
The Atlantic Division rivals are grouped with the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, and another division foe, the Brooklyn Nets, in East Group B in the in-season tournament. All 30 NBA teams were randomly drawn into six groups of five within their conferences based on last season’s records.
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The Sixers (24-58) and Nets (26-56) finished with the conference’s third- and fourth-worst records, respectively. Meanwhile, the Celtics (61-21) had the East’s second-best record, while the Pistons (44-38) were sixth and Orlando (41-41) was seventh.
Each team will play four games against group opponents, with two games at home and two on the road.
Games will be played on “Cup Nights,” which will consist of games every Friday from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28 and additional “Cup Nights” on Tuesday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 26.
After hosting the Celtics at Xfinity Mobile Arena (the building’s name changes from the Wells Fargo Center on Sept. 1), the Sixers’ next NBA Cup tilt will be at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 against the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Then, they’ll host the Magic on Nov. 25 (8 p.m., NBC/Peacock). The Sixers will conclude group play vs. the Nets at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 at the Barclays Center.
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Like the previous two seasons, the two-month tournament will consist of group play and knockout rounds, similar to soccer’s World Cup.
The winners of the six groups and two wild-card teams will advance to the single-elimination knockout round. The tournament will culminate in Las Vegas, with the semifinals scheduled for Dec. 13 and the championship game three days later.
The quarterfinals will be played in-market on Dec. 9 and 10 before the tourney transitions to Vegas.
The champion will receive the NBA Cup trophy. In addition, a monetary prize pool will be allocated to players on teams that qualify for the knockout rounds. The allotment will depend on how far a team advances in the tourney.