In the NBA Cup’s second year, it is still a novelty. It is still something that everyone is trying to figure out.
Is this thing important? Do these games bring added intensity and added stakes? Are they special beyond the special court designs and different graphics on the broadcast?
It takes time, of course, to build a tradition. It was a novelty last year when the Los Angeles Lakers won the first trophy. There was a lot of ridicule for them putting up a banner to celebrate this trophy.
It is not the big golden trophy at the end of the year. No one will ever pretend it is. But it is a different kind of competition. And give some of the most competitive players in the world a chance to win something – and a little extra money – and they will go for it.
The real purpose of the NBA Cup though should be to promote up-and-coming teams. Like the mid-card belts in wrestling – the Intercontinental Championship, for instance – it is a stepping stone to the big trophy. Would the Indiana Pacers have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals without their trip to the NBA Cup Finals? Would Tyrese Haliburton have made All-NBA without that spotlight?
Maybe the NBA Cup means very little and it is just a small distraction on the way to the Playoffs. But it sure is fun when you have a chance to win the thing, right?
The Orlando Magic certainly saw it as a stepping stone last year. The win over the Boston Celtics a year ago on Black Friday that closed their group play at 3-1 with a 30-point cushion to win the group was a sign of their potential that season. That fact – and the 20-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the opener that cost the Magic the chance to advance still rings in their ears.
The Magic have taken that lesson to heart this year. They came out and dominated the Charlotte Hornets by 25 points in their opening game. They won by 12 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
As the Magic return to NBA Cup play for the final two days of group play Friday at the Brooklyn Nets – they close Tuesday at the New York Knicks on a game returned to TNT – they are in the driver’s seat. They are unbeaten and have the Eastern Conference-best +37 point differential.
The Magic likely would claim the top seed in the Eastern Conference with two more wins. They likely would earn a home quarterfinal game with a win over the Knicks on Tuesday. They likely advance with even a close loss in one of the games remaining in group play.
Orlando has bigger ambitions than winning the NBA Cup. They want to compete for the big trophy in June more than the little one in December. With Orlando’s offense, the team’s championship window is maybe not open yet.
But the Magic can serve notice to the rest of the league of their intentions and potential. They can take that stepping stone.
That is why the NBA Cup remains so vital to a young team why the Magic. And why winning and advancing in these games matters so much to this team. This is a chance to win some hardware and provide further proof their time is coming.
That journey picks back up Friday in Brooklyn.
