LAS VEGAS – Winning the NBA Cup won't bring a championship parade to Oklahoma City or Houston or Atlanta or Milwaukee. There's a trophy. There's some cash. There are bragging rights. And that's about it.
The way the final four teams in the tournament see things, that's enough.
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The semifinals of the NBA Cup are Saturday: Atlanta takes on Milwaukee, and Houston faces Oklahoma City, those games in Las Vegas — as will the championship game Tuesday night.
“As a kid, you grow up, you watch Lakers versus Boston on TV. You watch Miami versus Cleveland. You watch marquee matchups and you watch big games, and you dream about getting there one day,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “To be in this position is special. You don’t take it for granted.”
For most of the players in these NBA Cup semifinals, this is their first time on such a stage. Only nine players currently on the Hawks, Thunder, Bucks and Rockets have ever been to the NBA Finals.
“We’re a group that’s trying to develop an identity,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Having some success can help that.”
It's not a totally surprising final four: Oklahoma City was the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for last season's playoffs and if the season was over Friday the Thunder would have that seed again — just ahead of No. 2 Houston. And in the East, the Bucks (winners in 11 of their last 14) and Hawks (winners in seven of their last eight) are among the hottest teams right now.
“For a lot of guys that haven’t tasted the playoffs yet, it’s the closest thing to that as far as intensity and physicality and something on the line,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of the NBA Cup. “Meaningful basketball is really good for our young guys. They haven’t had a ton of those games.”
The Bucks have some players — Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton among them — who have been to the NBA Finals and won. But getting to Vegas is a huge accomplishment, even for those guys, considering Milwaukee started 2-8.
“It’s just a lot on the line,” Bucks guard Damian Lillard said. “It requires you to focus. You’ve got to come and get the job done. So, I think in that way it’s similar to a playoff experience, just that you've got to get the job done.”
It's also a chance for teams that are considered small-market — there's no Boston or New York or Los Angeles teams in this final four — to get more national TV games and maybe pick up a few more fans.
“At the end of the day, you just want to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But it’s pretty sweet to be highlighted and showcased in a way. Yeah, it’s what dreams are all about, and for them to come true is special.”
Semifinal matchups
—Atlanta vs. Milwaukee, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST (TNT)
Season series: Hawks, 1-0.
BetMGM line: Bucks by 3.5 points.
Outlook: Both teams are clearly playing their best basketball of the season. If there's one edge Milwaukee has, it's that the Bucks were in the NBA Cup semifinals (before it was called the NBA Cup) last season.
—Houston vs. Oklahoma City, Saturday. 8:30 p.m. EST (ABC)
Season series: Split, 1-1.
Outlook: The Rockets had to rally late and hold off Golden State in the quarterfinals, and the Thunder — since losing to Houston on Dec. 1 — are 4-0 and winning those games by a margin of 22.3 points.
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