Hawks NBA Cup Group Revealed

Just like last season, the Hawks will play the other four teams in their group once — two at home and two on the road– on designated NBA Cup nights during the first half of the season. The six winners, along with two wild card teams, will then advance to the knockout stages, where an in-season champion will be determined.

Last year, the Hawks won a group that also featured the Cavs and Celtics, the two teams that finished first and second in the Eastern Conference Standings. Atlanta then went on to beat the Knicks in the first round of the knockout stages before being ousted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals.

This will be the third year the league has implemented an in-season tournament, with the previous winners being the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.

There was some pushback when the idea was initially brought to light; however, there’s no question that the NBA Cup has had a positive effect on some early-season games that likely would not have featured nearly as much intensity. This is something the league should continue to try and grow, creating even more buzz and adding more drama to what can be a very drawn-out 82-game regular season.