How Cavs Can Advance To NBA In-Season Tournament Knockout Stage

The Cleveland Cavaliers will wrap-up group play in the NBA In-Season Tournament on Tuesday vs. the Atlanta Hawks looking for a wild card spot.

Tuesday night will mark the end of group play in the NBA In-Season Tournament across the league, and plenty of teams are vying for the chance to secure their spot in the knockout round.

In Group A of the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers went 4-0 and punched their ticket already. Unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the same group of five. 

But where there is a will, there is a way, thanks to the wild card option that the tournament offers for non-group winners. One team from each conference will still have the opportunity to get to the knockout stage based on In-Season Tournament record and point differential.

According to NBA.com, the Cavs need the following to happen to get that final wildcard spot:

• A win over the Atlanta Hawks and losses by the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets
• A win over the Atlanta Hawks and winning a tiebreaker over any team from other groups with a 3-1 record

The NBA has instituted a number of tiebreakers in the event of a bunched-up field just like this. In order, here's what that looks like:

• Head-to-head record in the group stage
• Point differential in the group stage
• Total points scored in the group stage
• Regular-season record in 2022-23
• Random drawing (in the scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)

Nov 26, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; The Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate a play in the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

See, Stephen Curry was right. it's not all that confusing after all! 

The Cavs are currently 2-1 with a plus-6 point differential, jockeying for position with the aforementioned franchises who are hungry to win.

The NBA In-Season Tournament's group stage will come to an end on Tuesday night. We'll see who makes it to the knockout round and eventually travels to Las Vegas to crown the inaugural NBA Cup winner.