With the entire NBA schedule set to be released later this week, Jazz Nation can now pencil in four dates they won’t want to miss.
Announced on Tuesday afternoon, Utah’s four group play games for the inaugural In-Season Tournament have been locked in. Placed in Group A of the Western Conference, the Jazz are set to face Memphis, Portland, Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Lakers throughout November.
Utah begins the tournament on Friday, Nov. 10, when they travel to Memphis to play the Grizzlies. The Jazz return to Salt Lake City for home games against the Blazers and Suns on Nov. 14 and 17, respectively. They close out group play with a road showdown against the Lakers in Los Angeles on the 21.
2022-23 Record Against Group A
Memphis: 2-2
Portland: 1-3
Phoenix: 1-2
Los Angeles: 2-2
Groups were determined based on their overall record from the previous season, with teams from each conference being placed in “pots” — The teams with the top three records in the West were placed in pot one, teams 4-6 were in pot two, and so on and so forth. One team from each pot was selected for the five-team, three-group tournament.
Pot 1: Denver | Memphis | Sacramento
Pot 2: Phoenix | LA Clippers | Golden State
Pot 3: Los Angeles Lakers | Minnesota | Oklahoma City
Pot 4: New Orleans | Dallas | UTAH
Pot 5: Portland | Houston | Sacramento
If two or more teams have the same record following the completion of the group stage, the tie will be broken according to the following tiebreakers.
1.) Head-to-head record in the Group Stage
2.) Point differential in the Group Stage
3.) Total points scored in the Group Stage
4.) Regular season record from the 2022-23 NBA regular season
5.) Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)
The In-Season Tournament is a new season highlight and piece of hardware for teams and players to strive for. There will be an All-Tournament team and MVP honors, allowing players to thrive in clutch situations and further build their legacies.
All 30 teams will be participating in the tournament, set to begin on Nov. 3 with the group stage and run until the championship game on Dec. 9. Every contest played during group play will count as a regular season game and go towards the overall record.
Group play will occur between Nov. 3 and 28, to be played on Tuesdays and Fridays — excluding Nov. 7 (Election Day). The six group winners and two wild card teams (one from each conference) will advance to the knockout rounds.
The two wild card teams will be determined by best record in Group Play that finished second in their respective group. If two or more teams are tied with identical records, the same tiebreaker (listed above) will take place to determine seeding.
Quarterfinal games are set to be played on Dec. 4 and 5 in a single-elimination format. The semifinals will be played on Dec. 7, with the championship following two days later, with games to be played at a neutral location.