Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
The NBA has a new name for its In-Season Tournament, and the Chicago Bulls certainly hope that a fresh look brings better results than in the inaugural one.
The NBA released its NBA Cup schedule on Tuesday, and the Bulls, who went 0-4 in pool play last season, will play at Cleveland on Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. Central, play host to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m., travel to Washington for a Nov. 26 matchup against the Wizards at 6 p.m. and play the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics at the United Center on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in East Group C.
The NBA Cup will begin November 12 and feature semifinal and championship games on Dec. 14 and 17 in Las Vegas. The top eight teams from pool play advance to knockout rounds that will feature quarterfinal games in NBA markets on Dec. 10-11.
The teams that don't advance to the knockout rounds, like the Bulls last season, will play two regular-season games from a pool of the other non-advancing teams. The NBA is expected to release its full regular-season schedule this week, which will only feature 80 games because of this wrinkle.
The Bulls' point differential of minus-48 last season marked the second worst in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only the Charlotte Hornets. The 0-4 record also featured the season's low point, a 124-97 loss at Boston in which Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan both got hurt and the Celtics toyed with them as they focused on improving their point differential.
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