The Toronto Raptors are one win away from a trip to Vegas — and their opponent will be determined on Friday.
As the lone team to have clinched their NBA Cup group in the East, the Raptors will sit back and watch as much of the rest of the league fights for positioning on the final day of group play.
Toronto (4-0, plus-55 point differential) is guaranteed a home game in the quarterfinals, but multiple possibilities remain for the visitors’ identity.
First things first, the Raptors’ seeding — either No. 1 or No. 2 — will be determined by a game between the Orlando Magic (3-0, +55) and Detroit Pistons (2-1, +24). If the Magic win, the Raptors will fall to No. 2; if the Pistons win, the Raptors claim the top spot.
Live coverage of Magic-Pistons will be available on Sportsnet+ with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
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NBA Cup
The Toronto Raptors are headed to their first-ever NBA Cup knockout stage — but most of the rest of the league’s fate is yet to be determined. Here’s how things stand ahead of the final night of group play.
Standings, schedule, scores
The rest of the bracket, however, is not so clean and simple.
In the quarterfinals, the Raptors could still face any of the Magic, Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers (2-1, +33), Miami Heat (3-1, +49), New York Knicks (2-1, +26) and Milwaukee Bucks (2-1, +13).
If the Magic surge into the No. 1 seed, the Raptors will play the winner of Group C, which can only be the Heat or Knicks.
New York controls its destiny — if it beats the Bucks Friday night, it will secure the top spot. If the Knicks lose, then the Heat, who like the Raptors have completed group play, take the division.
As the top seed, the Raptors would face the East’s wild-card team — the top non-division winner.
Since neither of the other two groups has been clinched, any of those teams still alive could slot into that fourth spot.
The likeliest opponent in that scenario, however, would be the Magic, who boast a conference-leading point differential. Barring a blowout loss, Orlando should still maintain that wild-card position even if it falls to Detroit.
Cleveland lurks as the biggest threat to sneak past Orlando, needing a win and a 29-point swing to leapfrog into the quarterfinals. The Knicks would require a 36-point swing, and the Bucks a 49-point swing.
In the West, only the Los Angeles Lakers (3-0, +36) have secured their spot in the quarterfinals as the Group B winner.
A game between the Oklahoma City Thunder (3-0, +71) and Phoenix Suns (3-0, +35) will determine the winner of Group A, with the loser likely claiming the wild-card spot in the conference ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies (2-1, +9) and Los Angeles Clippers (2-1, minus-15).
The Grizzlies and Clippers will square off against each other (Sportsnet+, Sportsnet ONE, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT), with both needing to usurp the Thunder-Suns loser on point differential to advance.
In Group C, the stakes are even simpler: a game between the Denver Nuggets (2-1, +26) and San Antonio Spurs (2-1, +23) will determine who wins the group and reaches the knockout stage.
The quarterfinals will take place on Dec. 9 and 10 before the tournament moves to Las Vegas for the semifinals (Dec. 13) and championship (Dec. 16).
