Following an entertaining quarterfinal round of the second annual Emirates NBA Cup, the stage is now set for action in Las Vegas on Saturday.
And despite all the recent talk surrounding both the in-season tournament and the league as a whole — from talk about U.S. television ratings taking a dip and ticket prices plummeting — the basketball has been quite enjoyable.
Fans have been treated to slightly more meaningful basketball midway through the campaign, and Adam Silver’s NBA Cup is why. Players and coaches seem to genuinely care more given the heightened stakes. If you doubt that, just ask Steve Kerr.
On Saturday, all that comes to a head in Vegas as the four remaining teams offer an intriguing two-game slate. Out East, the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks enter T-Mobile Arena as two of the hottest teams since Cup play started. The West side of the bracket features two powerhouse defences in the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the NBA Cup semifinals.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Atlanta Hawks (4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+)
Season series: Hawks lead series 1-0
Dec. 4, 2024, ATL @ MIL: Hawks def. Bucks 119-104
Key question: Which team cools down first?
While it won’t exactly be a “David vs. Goliath” matchup when the Hawks and Bucks tip off semifinal action, considering Milwaukee is favoured by less than five points, it’s likely the closest thing to it fans will see on Saturday. At the very least, a Trae Young-led squad against a much bigger Giannis Antetokoumpo side fits the bill visually.
Since the start of NBA Cup play, the Bucks have quietly turned into one of the hottest teams in the league, going 11-3 during that span. Antetokoumpo and running mate Damian Lillard have seemingly figured out how to play alongside one another and the return of Khris Middleton has added a layer of stability. Over the last 10 games Milwaukee has boasted the league’s third-best offence, more than making up for a 2-8 start that had people asking some uncomfortable questions about the Bucks’ status as contenders.
On the other side, while Atlanta has unsurprisingly played .500 ball for much of the season, the Hawks too have turned things up once tournament play began. At 10-5 in that span, winning seven of their last eight, the plucky Hawks have built themselves into a “giant slayer” of sorts.
They advanced out of a group that featured the defending champion Boston Celtics and East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers (beating them twice this season) and also literally rolled through the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
A pretty impressive feat on its own, but even more so considering the Hawks’ 20th-ranked attack has found ways to outpace the league’s top three offences en route to Las Vegas.
X-factor: Can the Bucks make Trae Young work defensively?
It’s no secret that Atlanta’s star guard, while a showman and savant on the offensive end, is no lockdown defender. And while Young has improved on that end and the Hawks have done well to hide his deficiencies with the acquisition of Dyson Daniels, a top defensive talent, he remains a worthwhile mismatch worth hunting.
It’s something the Knicks failed to do on Wednesday.
Most of New York’s focus was on trying to stop Young from scoring or playmaking, which didn’t work as he finished with 22 points and 11 assists, and the Knicks hardly went at the three-time All-Star on the other end of the floor. A simple way to make life harder for Young and the Hawks is by making their star guard work more on defence and expend some energy.
If Milwaukee can find a way around Atlanta’s switch-heavy style and force Young to guard the likes of Lillard or Middleton more frequently, it could put an end to the Cinderella run.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets (8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m PT)
Season series: tied 1-1
Nov. 08, 2024, HOU @ OKC: Thunder def. Rockets 126-107
Dec. 01, 2024, OKC @ HOU: Rockets def. Thunder 119-116
Key question: which star breaks through?
When the Thunder and Rockets face off on Saturday, they’ll be representing all the people who still believe in the adage “defence wins championships.”
As things stand, they are No. 1 and 2 in the West standings while also boasting the first- and second-ranked defences in the NBA. So, if you come to watch high-powered and dynamic scoring, temper those expectations. Just look back at the Rockets’ 91-90 win over the Warriors on Wednesday as proof of concept.
Instead, enjoy how both these teams repeatedly find ways to break any success from their opponents on offence. For instance, how Oklahoma City held Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to a combined 33 points on 41-per-cent shooting in their quarterfinal matchup while the Dallas Mavericks were limited to 14 points below their season average.
The Thunder can at least take solace in the fact that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a perennial MVP candidate (shout-out Hamilton), has led his team to an eighth-ranked offence that has found ways to succeed even while primarily leaning on its defence for wins.
Houston, meanwhile, has relied almost exclusively on its defensive work to get to this point. Youngsters Amen Thompson and Tari Eason have routinely made life difficult for opposing ball handlers, like holding Stephen Curry to eight-of-17 shooting on Wednesday while forcing 22 turnovers off the Warriors.
And while the Rockets may not have a top-10 offence like the Thunder, ranking 15th and struggling through multiple scoring droughts, their saving grace has been a superstar leap from Alperen Sengun.
The Turkish big man has done just about everything for Houston, averaging 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.2 steals and one block per game. Unsurprisingly his 3.4 win shares are ranked 11th in the NBA. If Sengun can remedy the Rockets’ offensive woes once more, as he did against the Warriors down the stretch, he’ll start getting some serious buzz for hardware come the end of season.
X-factor: Can OKC keep up with Houston on the glass?
Rebounding is by no means a sexy topic, but an important one nonetheless. While the Thunder have been near-flawless in most other areas, they remain sub-par on the glass.
Oklahoma City has been middle of the pack rebounding the ball all season and as low as bottom-three when it comes to rebounding rate. It’s problem exacerbated when taking on a Houston squad that leads the league in almost every rebounding category — topping the charts for rebound rate, average boards per game and leading the league on the offensive glass.
That advantage was especially fruitful for the Rockets in their last matchup against the Thunder, when a plus-five rebound edge (plus-four on offensive boards) led to 26 second-chance points (plus-10) in what ended up as a narrow 119-116 win for Houston.
Seeing as the NBA Cup semifinals take place in Las Vegas, the combat sports capital of the world, a classic fight line seems fitting: “Styles make fights.”
And Saturday’s slate will feature two bouts with plenty of stylistic intrigue.
The Bucks are a veteran squad filled with tacticians face an upstart Hawks team who will, at the very least, have a puncher’s chance. Meanwhile, the Thunder and Rockets offer fans a classic heavyweight duel, set to trade massive blows as they put endurance to the test.
Ultimately, we’ll see who makes it to the NBA Cup final soon enough.
