Let's project group favorites and the teams fighting for a wild-card spot

Friday isn't conscionable Halloween. It besides marks the opening time of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup arsenic the league's in-season tourney kicks disconnected its 3rd iteration.

Thus far, the Cup's single-elimination bracket has yielded tricks for favorites and treats to underdogs. Although the eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder reached past year's last successful Las Vegas, neither of the archetypal 2 winners (the Los Angeles Lakers successful 2023 and Milwaukee Bucks successful 2024) won much than a azygous crippled the adjacent postseason, indicative of however antithetic the NBA Cup sprint is from the playoff marathon.

All of that is to say: Predicting the NBA Cup is simply a spooky proposition. Still, we look astatine which teams are champion positioned with the assistance of projections utilizing ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI), which accounts for squad wellness and subordinate ability.

For each six NBA Cup groups, we've utilized BPI to place a favourite to advance, positive different contenders with an oculus connected however the wild-card spots successful each league mightiness shingle out. Let's look astatine who has the champion accidental to beforehand to Vegas successful December.

Jump to a group:
East Group A (ATL, CLE, IND, TOR, WAS)
East Group B (BKN, BOS, DET, ORL, PHI)
East Group C (CHA, CHI, NYK, MIA, MIL)
West Group A (MIN, OKC, PHX, SAC, UTAH)
West Group B (DAL, NO, MEM, LAC, LAL)
West Group C (DEN, GSW, HOU, POR, SAS)

Note: All likelihood successful this communicative are arsenic of Wednesday morning.

East Group A

Group favorite: Cleveland Cavaliers (55%)
Contender: Atlanta Hawks (24%)
Lurking: Toronto Raptors (11%), Indiana Pacers (7%), Washington Wizards (3%)

This top-heavy radical is the astir apt to capable the East's wild-card spot. That's partially due to the fact that teams get the payment of facing the Wizards, who fertile past successful BPI, arsenic good arsenic the Pacers, the 2023 runner-up, who have been hard by injuries.

Indiana played Wednesday without a whooping 8 players owed to injuries, including the apical 4 guards from the team's full-strength roster ( Read Entire Article