Dallas Mavericks Receive Brutal Draw for 2024 In-Season Tournament, Emirates NBA Cup

There will be some high-profile matchups for the Mavs in next year's In-Season Tournament

Dec 18, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks went 2-2 and missed the inaugural In-Season Tournament in 2023, as the New Orleans Pelicans came out of their group. The Pelicans would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Semifinals before the Lakers would win it "all." Now, the NBA has released the groups for 2024 and they did the Mavericks no favors.

As with 2023, the Mavericks are paired with the Pelicans and the Denver Nuggets, but they're also with the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies in Group C of the Western Conference. While Memphis was just 27-55 last season, they had more injuries than any other NBA team, and the other four teams in this group all at least made the Play-In.

The #EmiratesNBACup 2024 Group Draw results!

Starting November 12, all 30 teams will compete for the NBA Cup with 8 teams advancing out of groups into the knockout rounds, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas, December 14 and 17! pic.twitter.com/K9BT9b1wT2

— NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2024

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This is arguably the toughest grouping for the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. The NBA says these groups are drawn randomly but it's unfortunate that Dallas ended with similar teams as last year. All five teams in West Group C are in the top half of Vegas' odds to win the NBA Finals next season.

What this group will give us is a lot of storylines: Nikola Jokic vs. Luka Doncic in an early MVP battle, Klay Thompson playing his former team in the Golden State Warriors, the top two picks in the 2019 NBA Draft going head-to-head with Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, and Naji Marshall playing against the New Orleans Pelicans for the first time.

The Group Play games will take place between November 12th and December 23rd, with the semifinals and championship held in Las Vegas on December 14th and 17th.

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