The Milwaukee Bucks are about to kick off the fourth annual NBA Cup with their first group stage game tonight against Toronto. They are the only team in their group, East A, to have not played on October 30; the other four teams—Brooklyn, Toronto, Orlando and Detroit—all played, with Detroit beating Brooklyn and Orlando beating Toronto. Despite being 1-7, the Bucks could actually make some noise in the cup games, and that isn’t just hopium-charged optimism, but a reflection of the Bucks’ strengths this year (yes, they exist) and how cup games are generally played.
The Cup
Here is a quick refresher of the NBA Cup rounds, groups, and rules:
The games that are played every Friday, starting October 30 and ending November 27, are NBA Cup games.