Timberwolves still have great chance to advance to NBA Cup knockout rounds

The Wolves win Group A if they finish 3-1 and Portland ends up 2-2.

Apr 2, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) dunks as Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. (10) defends in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images / Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

How big is Tuesday night's game between the Timberwolves and Rockets? From a 30,000-foot view it's not all that important, but when zooming in on the NBA Cup and Minnesota trying to avoid falling under .500, it's pretty big.

Minnesota has been .500 or better for all but six of the past 398 days. They were 0-1 from Oct. 25-27 last year and 1-2 on Oct. 30 last year. They were 0-1 Oct. 22-23 this year. That's it. All 392 of the rest of the days have seen the Wolves at .500 or well above the even mark. At 8-8, the Wolves are walking a tight rope amid early-season growing pains.

More important is Minnesota's fate in the NBA Cup. The in-season tournament features four group stage games and so far the Wolves are 1-1, having defeated the Kings and lost to the Trail Blazers. The Rockets lead Group A with a 2-0 mark, followed by the Wolves, Blazers and Clippers at 1-1, and the Kings at 0-2.

If Minnesota beats Houston Tuesday night and is victorious at home against the Clippers Friday night, there's a good chance they will advance from the group stage to the knockout rounds.

By going 3-1 with wins over Houston and the Clippers, the Wolves would win Group A as long as Portland loses one of its final two group stage games Friday against the Kings or Tuesday versus the Clippers. If Portland wins both and ties Minnesota at 3-1, Portland would win Group A due to their win over the Wolves.

Ties are settled first by head-to-head results. If that doesn't do the trick, point differential in group play will be the next decider. If that doesn't work, it'll come down to total points scored in group play. And if that doesn't do it, the tiebreaker will go to the team that had the best record during the 2023-24 regular season.

Eight teams advance to the knockout rounds: the winner of the six groups and two wild cards. The wild cards are one team from each conference with the best record that didn't win its group. NBA Cup knockout games will be played Dec. 10-11, followed by the semifinals and championship games Las Vegas on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17, respectively.