Tough Draw for Mavericks in 2024 Emirates NBA CupTough Draw for Mavericks in 2024 Emirates NBA Cup The Dallas Mavericks have been dealt a challenging hand in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup group draw. They are paired with the New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets, as well as the formidable Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies in Group C of the Western Conference. Despite Memphis’s poor record last season, they were hampered by injuries, and the other teams in the group are all Play-In qualifiers or better. This makes Group C the toughest grouping in the tournament. The NBA claims that the groups are drawn randomly, but it is unfortunate that Dallas was placed with similar teams as last year, when they missed the tournament. All five teams in Group C are ranked among the top half of Vegas’ odds to win the NBA Finals next season. The group stage games will be played between November 12th and December 23rd, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas on December 14th and 17th. The tournament promises to provide intriguing storylines, including Nikola Jokic vs. Luka Doncic in an MVP battle, Klay Thompson facing his former team, and Zion Williamson and Ja Morant squaring off. Despite the challenging group, the Mavericks will have the opportunity to prove themselves against some of the league’s best teams. Follow MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA offseason.
The Dallas Mavericks went 2-2 and missed the inaugural In-Season Tournament in 2023, as the New Orleans Pelicans came out of their group. The Pelicans would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Semifinals before the Lakers would win it “all.” Now, the NBA has released the groups for 2024 and they did the Mavericks no favors.
As of 2023, the Mavericks are paired with the Pelicans and the Denver Nuggets, but they’re also paired with the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies in Group C of the Western Conference. While Memphis was just 27-55 last season, they had more injuries than any other NBA team, and the other four teams in this group all at least made the Play-In.
The #EmiratesNBACup 2024 Group Draw results!
Starting November 12, all 30 teams will compete for the NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 14 and 17! pic.twitter.com/K9BT9b1wT2
— NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2024
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This is arguably the toughest grouping for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. The NBA says these groups are drawn randomly but it’s unfortunate that Dallas ended with similar teams as last year. All five teams in West Group C are in the top half of Vegas’ odds to win the NBA Finals next season.
What this group will give us is a lot of storylines: Nikola Jokic vs. Luka Doncic in an early MVP battle, Klay Thompson playing his former team in the Golden State Warriors, the top two picks in the 2019 NBA Draft going head-to-head with Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, and Naji Marshall playing against the New Orleans Pelicans for the first time.
The Group Play games will take place between November 12th and December 23rd, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas on December 14th and 17th.
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