Welcome to Las Vegas, folks. With 26 teams eliminated and four still standing in the second annual NBA Cup, the festivities have moved to the league's unofficial western headquarters for two semifinal games on Saturday and a winner-take-all title bout between Saturday's winners on Tuesday. It's Bucks vs. Hawks and Thunder vs. Rockets on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament, but LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be watching from home this time around. The only team making a repeat trip to Las Vegas this time around are the Bucks, and joining them are three of the NBA's youngest teams. As it stands right now, the Thunder are +110 favorites to bring home the cup at FanDuel Sportsbook, but in a single-elimination setting, everyone has a real shot at glory.
Here's how you can tune into Saturday's action, and a couple of best bets for each of the semifinal games on the slate.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks
- Location: T-Mobile Arena; Las Vegas
- Time: Saturday, Dec. 14; 4:30 p.m. ET
- TV channel: TNT | Live stream: Max
- Beting line: Bucks -3.5; O/U 228
Here's a fun fact: the Hawks are 6-1 against top-six seeds in the Eastern Conference. They've beaten Cleveland twice, New York twice, and Boston and Milwaukee once each. You can't draw too much from a seven-game sample, but it's hard not to think of all of the upsets Indiana pulled in last year's In-Season Tournament as the Hawks keep racking up surprising win after surprising win. They may not be a championship contender in June, but this isn't the June championship. They've caught lightning in a bottle in November and December, and that's who this tournament was made for. The Pick: Hawks +3.5
This game seems designed for offense. The Hawks are one of the NBA's fastest teams. The Bucks are one of its oldest, slowest teams. Atlanta is going to be able to get what it wants in transition. No team allows more 3-pointers than the Hawks. Only the Cavaliers are making a better percentage of their 3-pointers than the Bucks. Expect a shootout in the first semifinal game on Saturday, and enjoy it, because the second game is going to go in a different direction. The Pick: Over 228
Trae Young isn't scoring quite like he used to, averaging only 21 points per game this season. But this matchup is perfect for him as a scorer. Milwaukee's poor point-of-attack defense and the slow-footed Brook Lopez at center playing drop-coverage is a perfect formula for Young to walk into floater after floater after floater. The Pick: Young Over 22.5 Points
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets
- Location: T-Mobile Arena; Las Vegas
- Time: Saturday, Dec. 14; 8:30 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ABC | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
- Beting line: Thunder -5.5; O/U 213.5
Wednesday's quarterfinal game was a preview of the sort of matchup Houston wants in high-leverage games. Slow. Physical. Defensive. They barely escaped the Golden State Warriors in a 91-90 slugfest. Oklahoma City's defense is far better than Golden State's. It's just hard to imagine this version of the Rockets scoring enough to keep up with the Thunder in a game in which both sides are rested and bringing playoff-level game-planning into the matchup. The Pick: Thunder -5.5
My game pick should've indicated where I'm going with the point total. The Rockets want a rock fight, and they're going to get a rock fight. While their defense isn't quite as good as Oklahoma City's, Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson will give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fits, and with the Thunder still struggling from deep relative to last season, there won't be many easy points on the board for them. The Pick: Under 213
Isaiah Hartenstein has played nine games and has pulled in at least 12 rebounds in seven of them. In a high-pressure game like this with plenty of missed shots likely coming, he'll have more opportunity than ever to vacuum in shots off of the rim. Expect plenty of boards for Hartenstein in a low-scoring game. The pick: Hartenstein Over 11.5 Rebounds
