Detroit — The NBA peeled back the curtain of how part of the Pistons’ regular-season schedule will look during Tuesday’s schedule release of the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
The tournament, which is expected to enhance and add more significance to the league’s lengthy regular season, features all 30 teams and will tip off on Nov. 3 and culminate with a championship game on Dec. 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Pistons will compete in East Group A, a balanced batch of playoff contenders and postseason hopefuls. The group also includes the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers.
The Pistons will host the 76ers at Little Caesars Arena on Nov. 10, followed by a home game against the Hawks on Nov. 14. Both games have start times of 7 p.m. Detroit will finish group play with road games against the Cavaliers (Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m.) and Pacers (Nov. 24 at 8 p.m.).
The Pistons are one of seven Eastern Conference teams who will participate in the tournament without any national television games on their schedule.
Here’s a reminder of how the In-Season tournament will work:
The tournament will consist of two stages: Group Play and Knockout Rounds.
All 30 teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their respective conferences based on win-loss records from the 2022-23 season. Every team will play four designated Group Play games, one against each opponent in its group, with two games at home and two games on the road. Tournament nights will be designated on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 3-28 (with the exception of Nov. 7, since no games will be played on Election Day).
The six teams with the best record in Group Play games and two wild-card teams (the team from each conference with the best record in Group Play games that finished second in its group) will advance to the Knockout Rounds. This stage consists of single-elimination games in the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship rounds. The winning team of the championship game will earn the NBA Cup trophy, along with a $500,000 bonus for each player.
The 67 games across both stages of the In-Season Tournament will count toward the NBA’s regular-season standings, except for the championship game. Each team will continue to play 82 regular-season games in the 2023-24 season, including those games that are part of Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
Detroit finished with the worst record in the NBA last season at 17-65, which resulted in the fifth pick in this year’s draft. It will enter their group as the least-favored team among the 76ers, Cavaliers, Hawks and Pacers. If the Pistons are one of the 22 teams that do not qualify for the Knockout Rounds, the league will assign them two regular-season games (one home game and one away game) to be played on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8.
There are other significant cash prizes involved in this year’s tournament that will be allocated to players on teams that compete in the Knockout Rounds. Players on the losing team of the championship game will receive $200,000 each. Those that lose in the semifinals will get $100,000 each and the players on losing teams in the quarterfinal round will receive $50,000.
The league will name a Most Valuable Player, along with an All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the tournament. Selection is expected to be based on the players’ performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds.
The NBA will announce the full regular-season schedule on Thursday.
mcurtis@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @MikeACurtis2