Who are the Top 3 Favorites to Win the NBA’s Newest Competition – The In-Season Tournament?
Like most professional sports leagues, the NBA has continued to work on ways to engage audiences and increase its appeal to potential new fans while also enhancing the product and capturing the passion of avid supporters in new ways.
One way in which the league is aiming to do this is through the addition of a new competition during the 2023/24 NBA season. Known as the In-Season tournament, it is a format that is designed to try and give fans even more exciting basketball in the early stages of the campaign in the hope to make the sport more attractive.
Everything you need to know about the NBA In-Season Tournament
Given the name of the competition, it is probably easy to work out that it will take place during the main season. It has been designed to be a separate competition that can enhance the sport in a new way, and give teams more than just the NBA Championship to compete for. While this might be a new concept for American sports, other sports like soccer, cricket, and others often have various tournaments that are competed for throughout the year aside from the main league format.
All 30 teams will be involved in the competition, with it starting on November 3. It will last for a little over a month, with the final (championship game) being played on December 9. Teams will need to advance through a series of games if they are to become the inaugural champion in the 2023/24 edition.
The first phase of the In-Season tournament consists of a group phase, where teams have been randomly separated into six groups of five. Each team will place each other once, with two home games and two on the road to be played.
A total of eight teams will progress from their groups, with the six winners and two “wild card” entrants. These will be the teams that finish second in the group phase but one from each conference which has the best record from this format. The eighth teams will then compete in a knockout bracket, where they will receive prize money depending on where they finish. The winner will be presented with the NBA Cup on December 9, with each game based on a single result and not a best-of-series.
The semifinals and final will be played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, while each of the other games will be played in the home team’s NBA stadium.
Who are the favorites to win the 23/24 In-Season Tournament?
With the In-Season Tournament providing more action for fans, there has already been a lot of clamour over the fact that it will also provide more sports betting opportunities for those who like to enhance their viewing in another way.
Odds have already been released by the red32 sport bookmaker, with the sportsbook already giving punters a chance to get in on some potential value with the prices that they are offering. According to them, the Boston Celtics are favorites, having been priced at +700. The Denver Nuggets (the current NBA Champions) and the Milwaukee Bucks are both valued at +900.
What makes the Boston Celtics the favorites?
Much like many other tournaments around the sporting world that exist, the fact that groups and draws are made at random can be highly beneficial for some sports franchises. The Boston Celtics certainly managed to get the luck of the draw with this competition.
The team are odds-on favorites to win as they are considered among one of the main contenders to win the NBA Finals because of the squad they have. However, they are now expected to be the favorites to claim the NBA Cup because of the draw that they have been given.
The team will face the Brooklyn Nets, the Toronto Raptors, the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic. Each of these teams are expected to be in the challenge for a spot in the playoffs this year, but could easily miss out as they are considered to be in the borderline category.
As a result, many believe the Celtics could go unbeaten in the group stage, and if they are able to stay healthy, they could use it as a motivational tool to try and compete for the NBA Finals once again.