Rockets NBA Cup preview

Houston hopes to advance in the second installment of the In-Season Tournament.

Get ready to relearn the Emirates NBA Cup, folks. The NBA Cup, aka the In-Season Tournament, officially tips-off on November 12, however, your Houston Rockets’ first game isn’t until November 15. The Cup won’t be short on disappointing City Edition jerseys, wacky court designs, and hopefully, a refreshing batch of meaningful games in the early part of the 2024-25 season.

Let’s recap the gist of the tournament:

• Each conference has been realigned into three new divisions based off last season’s records and random sorting.
• Group play consists of four games with the winner of each division and one wild card team advancing to the knockout rounds.
• The semifinals and championship game will commence in Las Vegas on December 14 and 17.

If you recall, the Los Angeles Lakers toppled the Indiana Pacers in last years title game, in what should be deemed an overall successful first-year venture for the NBA as they attempt to spice up the regular season.

The Rockets finished second in their division last year, going 2-2 and falling one game back of the wild card spot which was ultimately claimed by the Phoenix Suns. Houston will either need to sweep their division, go 3-1, or finish this year with the highest point differential to claim the wild card spot.

To accomplish this, the Rockets will need to march through the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, and presumed Group A favorite, Minnesota Timberwolves, to reach the knockout stage. The road won’t be easy, but a path to the next round is achievable. Besides Portland, every team in the division should feel confident in their ability to advance.

While the payoff for winning the NBA Cup isn’t as spectacular as winning the actual Larry O’Brien, it is a sufficient litmus test for the often-maligned part of the season. The Pacers rode the momentum from the In-Season Tournament all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Personally, I’m most interested to see how Ime Udoka manages his rotations during the group stage. Will he shorten the rotation, and could this resemble the potential rotations he uses during the postseason? The matchup I’m most excited to see is how the Rockets will guard Anthony Edwards? Ant has flashed special moments early on big moments so I’m curious to see what the Rockets will do to befuddle a legitimate star.

Overall, my prediction for the tournament is that the Rockets go 3-1 in group play, but fall short of the next second round due to point differential. As for the winner of the tournament, I’ll go with the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

How about you, what are you looking forward to the most in the second year of the In-Season Tournament?